Youm Dikruimi Saeed (Happy Turkey Day)!

Obviously this post is quite late, but I figured as long as I was in the holiday spirit, I would share a bit about our first holiday in Beirut - Thanksgiving! To clarify, I should say "American Thanksgiving" because clearly there were no pilgrims or Indians in Lebanon in 1620. So Tylor and I, along with our American-Lebanese friend Kareem (who is from Los Angeles, CA) decided to organize a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner for the Americans who happened to be around and for our Lebanese friends, whom we concluded should no longer be culturally deprived of traditional pumpkin pie, turkey and all of the trimmings!
Through our various parties, we have learned that "pot luck" is an American concept, even our British friends had to ask us what we meant! But with people short on time and money, it has quickly become a popular concept. It may not be the most culturally-appropriate move on our part, as the Lebanese pride themselves at being the hostess with the mostess, but it's become a practical necessity for broke graduate students like us! As a result, our American Thanksgiving pot luck dinner turned into a delicious (yet odd) hodge-podge of sorts - Kareem managed to track down two turkeys at Spinney's, a foreign grocery store in Ashafiyyieh, an area we rarely get to except for special occasions, Tylor and I made traditional stuffing and creamed spinach, our friend Colette brought the sweet potato dish with melted marshmallows on top, Iman made pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkins and our Lebanese friends surprised us with all of their yummy creations! Crab salad, garlic mashed potatoes with brie cheese, traditional French bread, various veggie side dishes and last but not least, tons of yummy Lebanese deserts! Of course, we can't forget about the sangaria and the numerous bottles of wine, which made charades all the more interesting later on!
After Kareem's official welcome speech, with a bit of history to fill the blanks in for those not fully versed on the details of American Thanksgiving, Tylor and some other Americans got up and spoke for a few minutes, each conveying their own messages about what Thanksgiving meant to them. Some speeches dealt with the theme of occupation, fitting for a country that has been occupied in the past, others talked about family, friendship and yummy food. As for me, I was thankful for an evening full of new friends, laughter, delicious food, the chance to mix new traditions with old and last but not least, for the opportunity to create new holiday memories! It's comforting to know that no matter how far away from home we are, there are some things, albeit a little alteration, that can be celebrated (and appreciated) anywhere in the world! Tonight, home was definitely where the heart is.
Hugs and kisses from Beirut, Tam