Giving Thanks

I had my first Thanksgiving dinner in Armenia, and it was awesome.  Now I have in fact been here for two Thanksgivings, but I am calling this one the first because the last one, while wonderful, I was not present at because I was the sickest I have ever been in Armenia while it happened and so I ate hardly anything and left it early.

So.  My first Thanksgiving in Armenia!  With a turkey FROM AMERICA.  Imported.  Good stuff.  I've wanted to get a heritage turkey for a while, but it we couldn't pass up the idea of an American turkey.  And it turned out wonderful.  Yep.  I cooked it.  But cooking it was really just me smothering it in butter and spices and making sure I didn't overcook it.  It was brined the night before so that I think did most of the work of keeping it moist.  The oven we cooked it in was so small, the turkey, only about 12 pounds or so took up the entire oven.  Success.  My second turkey ever.

Sadly no pictures, but I have pictures of snowy Goris, which is where I was.

Snowy Street

From the Balcony where we had out meal.

We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, cornbread, pumpkin soup, apple pie, mulled wine and so many other things, it really felt like Thanksgiving.  I had gravy on mashed potatoes, turkey, and stuffing at the same time, on the same plate!  Heaven.

And also we got little name tags:

Pretty Snazzy

The next day we watched Aladdin.  Don't know how it really came up and I wasn't thrilled, but after seeing it all the way through, that was a really solid, simple, good movie.

So this leads into a discussion after I return home with sitemates, talking about the movie, and then the term all-powerful genie comes up, and whether or not is an oxymoron.  Then we get into a long discussion the absurdity of which I can't adequately describe.  Perhaps if I was an all-powerful writer . . . . NO.  Done.  But rest assured that lions with telekinetic powers were brought up.

I decided to retrospecitvely title this post, 'giving thanks', instead of thanksgiving, so I feel like I have to give thanks, luckily I have plenty of things to be thankful for:

-awesome sitemates.
-awesome friends who sadly are not my sitemates
-my family, and also the package I just got yesterday with sponge candy in it
-safe travels in this early Armenian winter for myself and for my friends
-an awesome thanksgiving meal
-being told that I should try to aim while playing Goldeneye
-that I have so many things and people to be thankful for that I am surely forgetting many of them.