11/30/13
Today is the unofficial Thanksgiving in Poland. At 7 am my host dad and I pulled the turkey out of the dog food container that was brining for 24 hours. We placed the 18 kg turkey (they had to special order the turkey because turkeys this size aren’t sold until Christmas) in a tray and rubbed it down with oil. We then rubbed it down with salt and pepper. Honestly, I watched my host dad take care of the turkey. I only told him what seasonings to use. He gave me all the credit though for his hard work. After we placed the turkey in the oven, I went back to bed for another hour of sleep before Babcia Maria came back over my house. She came over at 9:30 am to help finish cooking the stuffing and soup.
Around 12 pm my host sister came downstairs and she talked with us in the kitchen. I am getting better at understanding Polish. I would say about 75% of what Babcia Maria is saying, I understand. Agata laughed at me because she remembers when I didn’t understand anything and now I understand some of the conversation. Babcia Maria and Agata talked about Agata’s hot new roommate. Apparently he likes Agata and tries really hard to impress her. It is super cute and she seems happier than before he showed up. Every girl loves attention though.
When 4 pm finally came, everyone arrived at my house. Ashley (ME) walked in with pots and containers full of food she made at her house. Sunny came in with Chinese dumplings that we wanted to prepare but didn’t have enough time. Lana came with a giant smile and empty belly. I was super nervous to have everyone try my food because they might not like it.
While the parents talked in the family room, Ashley’s host parents and my host parent, we heated up the food Ashley brought. Sunny also helped me make the gravy for the turkey. Lana helped me cover the warming sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Ashely heated up her white potatoes in the microwave.
After 30 minutes of struggling to heat up some food and keep other food warm, dinner was served. There wasn’t too much wrong with the dinner. The only real disaster was the motzah ball soup. The motzah balls were hard and raw in the middle. The soup didn’t taste anything like my grandmom’s soup either. But at least the dinner was delicious. My parents and Ashley’s parents didn’t understand the concept of Thanksgiving because they didn’t stuff their bellies with food to the point of being uncomfortable. So the girls and I stuffed our faced while the adults paced themselves. It was awkward to have us keep refilling out plates while the adults just watched. Shortly after they left the room to talk. I think I ate 4 plates full of food once they left.
We sat the table resting and chatting for about one hour until we could handle eating dessert. Lana melted chocolate and Ashley opened all the candy and cookies she brought. We ate Ashley’s apple pie, which was delicious! I ate 2 slices and packed a few more slices in a container for later. We also made candy/cookie turkeys to get in the theme. Ashley taught us the cookies were the feathers, the marshmallow was the body, and the head/beak was the candy corn. Everything stuck together with some melted chocolate. It was nice watching my host parents make the turkey together and then sit back to appreciate their work. My host mom took her time making it look really good and then my dad ate it once she was done. It was a lot of fun. The candy turkey is a tradition that Ashley does with her family back in the states.
This thanksgiving was full of mixed traditions and it was wonderful sharing it with people that have never experienced Thanksgiving before. Sunny and Lana have never seen Thanksgiving before because they don’t have a holiday like this in their countries. My host parents enjoyed my homemade recipes that my parents sent from America. I also taught everyone what motzah ball soup is because this is a traditional Jewish recipe. Ashley’s host father asked me questions about my religion and some other customs that I do on other holidays. Even though I am not home with my family on this holiday, I am thankful to have these wonderful people with me on my exchange.
Stephanie Raquel
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