Thanksgiving in Croatia

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that serves numerous purposes. The first being something derived from the past...A day to give thanks for what God has given us. The second purpose is to enjoy family, friends, and eat too much food. The third is the act as a gateway into the booming Christmas season. Well here in Croatia, we kind of created our own little Thanksgiving day. One evening with students and one with my family, the tiger pirates, and a few visitors from WSU. It turned out great, but I think the one aspect I missed from home was the gateway purpose. There were no parades or Christmas movies to watch on tv, and no next day sales. So I will just stop and so I am so thankful for my team and the friends I have made in Croatia. We had 40 students come to our Thanksgiving celebration. They loved the pies, breads, and turkey, and it was a joy for us to share it. The next day we tried to create a traditional meal that turned out really well, but to be honest we made too much food. The turkeys we bought for the student party were perfect, 6 pounds each, and every last bit was eaten. The more important thing is that they fit into our Croatian size stove. For our meal though, a turkey was sent from Zagreb that weighed a grand total of 22 pounds. Yes huge, and it did not fit into our oven. Some students were kind enough to tip us off that the bakeries often will cook large meat in their ovens if you pay for it. We were able to do that, which saved us from some how cutting the turkey in half. Just to give you an idea of the size...it was shipped in a large rolling suitcase and it was compared to a small veloca raptor. What are holidays for but laughter. Thanks God for all you provided!




PS...It strikes again. The onions made me cry this much. Someday Sunny and I will win this battle, but for now will some one please pass me a tissue!