Turkey Day Nica Style

A week before the big day we sat in our program meeting and assessed what we knew about Thanksgiving 2007:

- We could have anywhere from 20-40 people at our house.
- We only have 7 plastic chairs and 3 of them are broken.
- We may or may not have enough serving dishes.
- Matt only eats dessert twice a year... which means we need to make A LOT.
- You can't find pumpkin pie mix in this country.
- Our oven only has one rack. The temperature settings are 1, 2, 3, and 4. We don't really have any idea what that means.

One Week till T-Day: All I remember was a flurry of market shopping, pie making, email sending, favor asking and house cleaning in preparation. We as Manna members were honestly a bit stressed, but happy and excited to be hosting not only my own family [yay Duncans!], but also a team from Vanderbilt, four of Manna's founders with their respective entourages, and just about all the single gringos we know.

12 Hours till T-Day: MPI had a casserole baking party while my family played a rousing game of spades [did I mention the Manna house has no TV?]. We kept giggling, making the chefs run away from their responsibilities to see what was funny.

Morning of T-Day: Vandy leaves for a surfing trip so we could clean and cook without stepping on people. Playing Geoff's Motown mix, my parents found aprons and took command of the tiny kitchen, directing Tessa and me to wash and chop until we could wash and chop no more. By the time we served the meal, Tessa had officially become part of our family.

The spread was incredible. Friends brought homemade rolls, yams, salads [who brings salad to Thanksgiving?!] and desserts. Our house produced a beautiful turkey with gravy [thanks, Mom!], sauteed vegetables, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, pumpkin soup, homemade dressing and four [count em, 4!] pumpkin pies. For the rest of my life, dinner parties will be a breeze compared to what we accomplished that day.

In a lot of respects, this was my favorite Thanksgiving. No one got snowed in-- although several chairs got thrown into the pool. No one got stuck cooking by themselves-- to pull it off, it truly had to be a group endeavor. Most importantly, no one forgot the reason for the day-- to celebrate friends, family and those friends who have become family. Seeing what we see everyday, we would be naive not to be thankful for such a privilege.

After all, Thanksgiving is so much more than just Pilgrims and Indians. It's not about our past, but rather being grateful for what we've be given today.