SingAmerican Thanksgiving

Jacob and I have been so blessed to meet lots of wonderful people through both our jobs. Now that we've moved into a new apartment, we have the chance to actually invite them over! We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Singamerican Thanksgiving, than by sharing a little of our traditions with our friends here.

Our Thanksgiving table, post attack. A little blurry -
maybe even the camera was too full to function properly.

Since some of our friends haven't celebrated American-style Thanksgiving, I really wanted to make some of the more traditional dishes. And that is where I ran into a few limitation: no oven, no microwave (yet), and just a few pots/pans/woks. But by getting a little creative - and by asking everyone to bring something to share as well - we ended up with a fantastic feast! We did have some turkey (turkey breast, braised - I tried to sear it first too, but that started a teeny little grease fire...for a brief panicked moment I imagined trying to explain how I burned down the entire apartment block...), mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, rolls, salad - covering the more traditional foods. We also had chicken curry, pasta, watermelon & grapes, veggie & tuna bake, crackers & cheese(s) & sausage,potatoes, rice, curried tofu (and another spicy dish), and authentic Spanish omelettes (cooked on site by Jorge, our resident Spaniard). For dessert we had cream puffs, pumpkin bars, and pandan pudding cake/bars. And there was wine too!

Digging in!

Yes, we also made sure to introduce everyone to the post-meal tummy ache and ensuing food coma. Followed by several rounds of Mario Cart (did I mention Jacob bought a N64 from a friend who is moving away - and now I think we'll never be productive again) - and, of course, doing the dishes. But many hands make light work, and our kitchen was amazingly clean by the time the last people headed home. Thanks friends!

Candid shot - we were too busy eating to take many pics!

Jorge & Zach; deep in discussion
or deep in dessert?

I am so thankful for the chance to get together with new friends and to share food and drink and time together. And I continue to be excited and humbled by the opportunity to live and work here in Singapore. It is fun to be part of such a diverse culture - the 15 of us at dinner came from 7 different countries (India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, China, Spain, Germany and the US) and I don't even know how many languages were represented! Let's just say lots (and no thanks to my puny contribution)!





To cap off the weekend, Zach and I attended a performance of Handel's Messiah, in which Jacob performed. (You know the 'trumpets shall sound' part? Yeah, that was my awesome husband!). Great weekend.

In case it wasn't evident from this post, a quick run down of some of the many things for which I'm thankful:

• Jacob, my partner in crime
• Our families - and the ability to skype with them and be part of celebrations, even from far away. Special shout out to Matias, Violet & Beatrice, the coolest kids around.
• Our new friends in Singapore
• Our 'old' friends all over
• Our new apartment here - loving it!
• The blessing of being able to afford, obtain and enjoy good food and clean drinking water (not to mention wine!)
• My new job, which is engaging and thought-provoking
• All the opportunities Jacob is getting to perform and teach and generally come into his own as a musician. It is a joy to watch him doing what he loves - and doing it so well.
• Travels, both recent and upcoming (maybe getting scuba certified before Christmas!)
• The internet - I'm especially appreciative of it now, after a week of no internet in our apartment - easy to forget how much I depend upon it.
• Not having to own or drive a car. Functional, affordable public transportation.
• Podcasts, specifically from NPR. They make the functional, affordable public transportation rather more pleasant.
• Nintendo 64. Don't judge.
• Game of Thrones, books and TV show. Again, no judging my 'me time.'
• Rainy season - I love the thunderstorms and how the rain makes things slightly cooler. Seems we're always adding to our umbrella collection too, so if you visit, we've got you covered! Ha! Get it?!
• Puns
• You!
• And many more...