A Week of Thanksgiving(s)

STOP 1: Bratislava ELCA Thanksgiving

Last weekend, Linnae and I traveled to Bratislava for the annual Poland/Slovakia Teachers’ Thanksgiving. I enjoyed meeting all of the new teachers in Bratislava this year, and visiting again with returning teachers. We ate a fantastic meal (3 whole turkeys!), had a turkey coloring contest, and played a fun gift game.

That night we walked around the Bratislava Christmas Market. The next morning, we had an English worship service and Linnae and I played clarinet duets during communion and also played on a couple hymns. It was a wonderful weekend.

STOP 2: Adult conversation classes and friends

I couldn’t host a dinner for all of my adult students or friends, but thanks to my mom who keeps me well-stocked in canned pumpkin (her pumpkin bread is my favorite bread in the world), I baked two pumpkin sheet cakes (with my favorite cream cheese frosting) and shared the cake with all of my evening students and some friends throughout the week. They all have a very special place in my heart and it was fun to share a “slice” of Thanksgiving with them.

STOP 3: Thanksgiving Day with students

On Thursday, I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at my flat for my oldest high school students. My students were the inspiration for the meal after they asked me if I planned to have a “barbecue” for America’s “Independence Day” and then asked if they could celebrate with me. I couldn’t resist a cultural lesson in the form of a Thanksgiving meal! (And the opportunity to clarify the differences between the 4^th of July and Thanksgiving.) Our school doesn’t have a kitchen, so we squeezed into my apartment and successfully cooked a Thanksgiving feast! (I’m terrible at remembering to take pictures but luckily a few students took photographs and kindly shared them with me. Thanks, students!)

The Menu:

• 10 pounds of turkey breast

• Gravy

• Stuffing

• Mashed potatoes

• Sweet potatoes with marshmallows

• Scalloped cheesy potatoes

• Cranberries

• Green bean casserole

• Corn

• Bread and rolls

• Pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting

• Apple crisp

I couldn’t have hosted this meal without the help of a few people. First, I have to thank my grandparents who sent a gigantic box of Thanksgiving essentials with everything ranging from stuffing to a fantastic paper turkey centerpiece (our Thanksgiving “mascot”). Grandma also sent a couple dozen home-baked chocolate chip cookies that mysteriously didn’t last until Thanksgiving... (don’t look at me). I also have to thank one of my friends who helped me with my “turkey search.” It wasn’t looking promising for a while until she directed me to the one butcher in Cieszyn who sold turkey breasts (well, specifically, the butcher who only had two 5-pound turkey breasts, and therefore, after I bought them, no longer had any turkey breasts.) For a few days, I had seriously considered serving hamburgers instead. And my students probably wouldn’t have batted an eye because they think hamburgers are our “national dish.” :)

My students’ reactions to the food at our feast:

• 7 of them had never eaten turkey before. No one had eaten anything pumpkin before. (Did you know that in the United States Illinois grows the most pumpkins?)

• They loved the gravy and ate all of it. They put it on the turkey and mashed potatoes (because I told them that’s how we typically eat it) but then one of them put it on bread and they fell in love with that. 13 students consumed about 4 cups of gravy, no joke. Quite a few said it was their favorite dish. (Is gravy a dish? I didn’t argue.)

• They thought the green bean casserole was the strangest dish they’d ever eaten. And they didn’t understand why we eat green beans in November when they’re not in season.

• They renamed the sweet potatoes with marshmallows “pasta do zębów” (Polish for “toothpaste”). Granted, it doesn't help that you have only two options when buying marshmallows in Poland: pink and white marshmallows, or blue and white marshmallows. I opted for the blue and white, and when melted, they did look like toothpaste. Did you know that when you mix blue marshmallows with orange sweet potatoes they turn bright green? Yum yum. :)

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• Potatoes are a staple in the Polish diet, and I had to laugh a little bit when I realized that different kinds/preparations of potatoes are essential for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. (I’ve probably been served my weight in potatoes over the past year and tend to avoid them when I’m cooking for myself.)

• They thought it was very strange that we serve sweet dishes (like cranberries and sweet potatoes) with salty dishes (like mashed potatoes and stuffing). When I put the cranberries and sweet potatoes on the table, a few students said, “We don’t need dessert now.” I said, “It’s not dessert!” Here you never eat fruit or anything sweet with a main meal (although they frequently serve a fruit drink called “kompot” with dinner). You wait until dessert for anything sweet.

In-between the meal and dessert, we talked about Thanksgiving and then I taught them American card games. They especially loved “Spoons” (played with crayons instead of spoons) and we played for almost an hour. I promised my students that I’d post this (not-very-attractive) picture that a student took at the moment I realized I’d lost the game of “Spoons.”

I enjoyed sharing this American tradition with my students. Sometimes it’s fun to accentuate and point out the differences between Polish and American culture and learn about each country’s unique traditions. And the message of Thanksgiving is universal: take time to give thanks! (And here is one of my favorite photographs from the evening - the coat pile - because I only have 7 hangers. It was also funny to have dozens of shoes and backpacks in my tiny entryway.)

STOP 4: “Black Friday” with friends

My last Thanksgiving was Friday with Linnae and my two friends Bozena and Rafal. I couldn’t pick a favorite from my three Thanksgiving meals this week, but this meal with good friends was very special. I’m very grateful for their friendship. It feels like forever ago (although it was only 14 months ago) that we first met and it’s difficult to imagine that I haven’t known them my entire life. They were my first new friends in Cieszyn last autumn and they were there for me when I was the “pilgrim.” I’m very thankful for them, and it felt very appropriate celebrating our friendship with a Thanksgiving meal.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!

“Lord God, we bless You and are filled with gratitude for the numerous gifts, the countless blessings, that come to us from You.

Your blessings come in times of joy, in times of victory, in success and honor. And they come as well in times of pain and sorrow, in sickness and defeat.

Your blessings, however, come always as life.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, who in the richness of Your divine love, blesses us with good things. Amen.” (Edward Hays, Prayers for the Domestic Church)