Pass the Gravy; and Other Things We're Thankful For

Oh Thanksgiving! What a wonderful holiday.  Though not every country and culture has a day dedicated to family, food, and being grateful for all of our blessings, it is a concept easy enough for everyone to get behind.  And this year we have so much to be thankful for.

1. Google:  Did you know that Google celebrates the holidays of many nations on it's home page? While you were probably all seeing a turkey or some pilgrims on yours, our home page was decorated with a classroom that had flowers and gifts on the teacher's desk. This year Öğretmenler Günü (Teachers' Day) fell on Thanksgiving Day.  It took me a while to figure out why Google was dressed up that way for Thanksgiving, but when I realized that Googlers don't only care about American holidays, my heart felt so happy.

Sonya receiving flowers and chocolates for Teachers' Day.

2. Öğretmenler Günü:  Walking into school on a day when all of our friends and family members are sleeping in or preparing for a day of feasting and fun was a bummer.  But we had no choice but to be happy on a day filled with so many treats.  The entrance of the school was transformed by a flower arch, violin and flute players serenading us, and the parent committee passing out chocolates and flowers.  Children arrived carrying even more flowers, and the school was decorated with portraits the students had done of us, poems they had written about us, and (best of all) movie posters they had photo-shopped our faces onto.

The Governator and Alan Stehli star in everyone's favourite classic...

 

Erin Moschetti is caught in a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf... whose baby will she have??

3.  Being married:  Our first year of planning, cooking, baking, and decorating for Thanksgiving was delightful.  We are both so lucky to be married to such a great teammate. (Sorry: Gag stamp)

4.  In-laws/ parents (Stehli's):  Thank you for raising a boy who bakes, and cooks, and cleans.  I can't tell you how much it means to me to not be married to a man who thinks those are "girl jobs."  Being my Grandmother must have been EXHAUSTING.

5. In-laws/ parents (Moschetti's):  Thank you for teaching me the importance of tradition, but even more, the value of flexibility/adventurousness. Baking a turkey dinner in Turkey (where there are no turkey's, no cranberries, no yams, and no canned pumpkin) would have been impossible for an inflexible foodie.  But the 4 whole chickens, pomegranate/quince sauce, and whole pumpkin-turned-pie, turned out delish. 


6. Friends to act as our stand in family:  When we announced that we would be hosting Thanksgiving with out other American friend Sonya, ALL of our coworkers promised to be there. No questions asked.  "We don't want you to be alone on your special day."  Thank you all for being such wonderful friends.  Even with both our table and Sonya's, with the leaves fully extended on both of them, and every chair and stool we have in our combined apartments, we still had to seat people on the couches.  18 guests in total, including 4 children.  It really felt like Thanksgiving.

















7. Gravy: All of our Turkish friends politely tried our "meat sauce,"  and then politely helped themselves to seconds, and politely asked for the recipe while politely pouring thirds straight into their glasses. "It's not exactly a health food," we warned.  "Yes.  Is there oil in it?  Butter?" "Well... so you cook the chicken, and then when it's finished you take the pan it was cooking in and pour all the fatty goodness into --" "Stop, don't say anymore. I don't want to know." (licking plate)

Cansu and Gözde: "We're not drinking gravy, we're drinking wine."