Thanksgiving

As it is for many of my readers, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Thanks to the generous people in the Foreign Service, the Thanksgiving bar was raised. After waking up at 6am (on a holiday, who am I?) I arrived at the extremely hard to find interim ambassadors “compound”. After exchanging pleasantries, the Charge told us to make ourselves at home. Peace Corps Volunteers are not the type to pass up generosity, therefore, I soon found myself floating in a pool drinking beers brought to me by people in suits. After “working” up an appetite, the Charge, his wife and 23 PCVs gathered around a table outside for dinner. Secretly all of us were asking the same question, “Is there going to be rice and beans?”. Answer? A resounding NO! Two 22 pound turkeys, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, sweet potatoes, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, rolls, EVERYTHING! Add to that an open bar of red and white wine and it was perfection. And for dessert? Banana bread, pecan pie, fruitcake, pumpkin pie and biscotti. Everything was top notch and just like home.

After willing myself to move, I rolled myself to another diplomat’s residence to slip into a well-fed coma. Instead of participating in the conspicuous consumption of Black Friday, I went to a career panel at the embassy. I learned about the interesting work that Foreign Service Officers do for the State Department and USAID. After a little networking and a 50 minute bus ride, BEACH! I spent the weekend soaking up the sun, surfing and enjoying good food, cocktails and company.