Doing Thanksgiving

Yesterday, as you all might know, was Thanksgiving. And celebrating it in America is one thing; doing it in Israel, a whole other ballgame.

For one thing, there were no external cues that it was Thanksgiving week. Which is bizarre. No music, no decorations everywhere, no one wishing anyone a "Happy Thanksgiving." We didn't have any school off (which IO actually think should change, because 95% of the class is American, and it is a big deal for us). Most of our faculty is Israeli, British, or Canadians, and the American born ones are now "Israeli" so there was really nothing done at school. And the weather was all off, warm (even for LA standards) for Thanksgiving week. it just made it really disorienting to have Thanksgiving, and it really wasn't until the afternoon of that I was really excited.

It was decided by a non-voting discussion, by the Kef Committee, to host (organize?) an all-class Thanksgiving Dinner, for classmates, SOs, friends, etc. The organization fell the Leslie, who, admittedly, did a fantastic job getting everyone on their shit. Everyone was assigned a different dish - sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, dessert, stuffing, etc - for about 8-10 people, and about 3-4 people on every type of dish. Four people volunteered to make Turkeys - Amy, David, Gavin, and Meredith, and they are my heroes of the evening - which came out delicious, especially considering they were cooked in Israeli ovens (no Weber turkeys this year!).

I signed myself up for sweet potatoes - roasted in the oven with a little olive oil, thyme, and orange juice - and cranberry sauce. Now, I have a serious problem with canned cranberry sauce. I mean, really. Who eats that? But Israel doesn't grow cranberries, so making cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries was out. So... I used dried cranberries and stewed them for a long time in a secret concoction of things (among them fresh orange juice/zest, fresh lemon juice/zest, cranberry juice, cinnamon, pears). It turned out delicious. Almost as good as my mom's. But not quite.

So, heading into the evening, I was concerned that it would either be a fantastically fun evening, or a total bust - not because the food would suck (although there was the worry that there wouldn't be enough or the turkeys would all fail), but because it just wasn't Thanksgivingly enough. So Leslie and I conspired to put together a program that I do with my family. Before eating, people anonymously write on a leaf-shaped piece of paper something they're thankful for. After dinner, we go around the table, and each person picks a paper and reads what's on it and then we try to guess who wrote it. It's lot's of fun and also sweet, without being too sappy. It ended up being a great moment in the evening and made the night feel much more like Thanksgiving, and less like an all-class dinner with Thanksgiving themed food.

It really was a great night. I had a great time, and it was really nice celebrating this holiday that's really important to me with my makeshift Israel/HUC family. Thursday was, however, the first time in the last 4+ months that I really wished I was home, instead of here. T-Day is a really important holiday to my mom and her side of the family; we do a big, big thing, and everyone gets together. It really rivals Passover for "familial importance." And so not being home - this was my first Thanksgiving not home - was tough. I've done Rosh Hashanah not at home, I've done Pesach, I've done Hanukkah. But never Thanksgiving before. David, as well, wasn't home - he's in Kyoto for the year - and this year was my mom's turn to host. I would imagine in some ways hosting made it easier for us both not to be there; but it probably made it harder as well. I guess we're really growing up.

After dinner, there was football being played from a computer, and a poker tournament to raise money for Ride4Reform. I played poker and was at school til the wee hours winning, and then ultimately losing to Jon. Grrr. But it was fun. I miss playing poker. When I got home, I skyped with my family and got to talk to a lot of peeps - Mom, Stephen, Elana, Bobbie, Adam, and a wave to Joe - which made me feel better. It wasn't eating with the family, but it was close.