16 Steps to preparing Thanksgiving Dinner in Paraguay
- Tell host family you would like to cook a large traditional American meal for them
- Brainstorm with host family if there are any markets that sell Turkey
- Research Thanksgiving menus and gather old menus from Dad
- Translate ingredients into Spanish
- Convert gallons, lbs, and cups into liters and kilograms for shopping purposes
- Go to the grocery store that is farther away because it has the Turkey
- Gather ingredients (READ: Make due with what is available) through explaining ingredients to host Mom when translation from google translate didn’t work and come to the conclusion that A) YES said ingredient exists, B) NO it does not exist in this country or C) I am unable to sufficiently explain “celery” any other way than “vegetable” “green” “long and skinny” “no leaves like lettuce”
- Turkey basically defrosts in the car on the way home because it’s 95 degrees out with 95% humidity
- Turn oven on. A task that is incredibly painful, see #8.
- For cooking purposes convert cups, Tbsp, and tsp into small mug, big spoon and small spoon from the kitchen
- Cook for 4 straight hours, covered in sweat, see #8.
- Recruit a helper, because maybe starting to cook Thanksgiving dinner at 5pm wasn't the best idea.
- Explain the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving using a 5-year-old’s language abilities, while trying to remember everything I knew about Thanksgiving when I was 5.
- Explain I have no idea why Thanksgiving is the last Thursday of November, but after this experience I’d guess it has something to do with #8.
- Go around the table and share what you are thankful for.
- Eat (at 9pm - normal dinner time), Drink (wine without the ice and coke for today) and Be Merry! Then eat pie.
Shopping List
This may have been the first time I'd ever cooked a Turkey
Helper Yohanna
It worked!
I am thankful for this wonderful family who have opened up their home and shared their lives with me.
SUCCESS!
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