Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving holiday was spent at the Ambassador’s home in the company of 120 or so other PCVs. The day served as a really great time for us to connect with one another, meet our future sitemates, and relax and enjoy ourselves. The Ambassador is just as new to Malawi as my training class, having previously served as Ambassador to Pakistan. He and his wife are both very friendly, down to earth people. It was extremely nice of them to host such a large group and we’re certainly very grateful for their doing so.

Instead of turkey, we enjoyed roasted pig and a variety of other Malawian and American dishes, mostly prepared by PCVs. The spread was pretty overwhelming; I helped myself to macaroni and cheese, potatoes, salads, desserts aplenty, and even a few fried caterpillars, a Malawian specialty. Honestly, they don’t really taste like much of anything to me, just a small piece of fried material. In fact, they could probably use some barbecue sauce or any kind of flavoring really. Anyhow, as evident by the lack of leftovers, everything was delicious and devoured fairly quickly. I suppose that when you’re used to beans, rice, and greens everyday it really is necessary to indulge when the opportunity presents itself.

Throughout the day there were games, drinks, and an open pool to keep us well entertained, yet I still really did miss being home with everyone for Thanksgiving. My Grandma’s house, my family, the food, arguing with Nissa about washing the dishes, none of these things were there this year. However, if I’m going to miss out on all of those great things, I guess spending my time with friends, food, and a cold beer by the pool is the way to do it.