thanksgiving in oz

many people in australia have taken great interest in the tradition of thanksgiving as i shared my intentions to celebrate it here. i'm guessing some of the tv shows give a good glimpse of it, but some have been surprised to hear that it is still so commonly celebrated, and that most of america stops on this official public holiday just to sit down and eat a turkey dinner and pumpkin pie with friends and family. i must say, bringing this american tradition to australia was not necessarily an easy task. first of all, it meant postponing the main event (the meal) until saturday, since thursday is of course a normal work day here. also, many of the ingredients you would normally find in the u.s., especially around thanksgiving, are not so easy to find here. here's a full narrative of the way our 1st thanksgiving here went down:

as i was at work on thursday (the real thankgsiving), still planning the menu for saturday's dinner, i got a call from the alliance francaise (french culture/learning organization) asking if i wanted to attend a professional development day they were hosting on friday - une journee en immersion - for all french teachers in perth. someone had canceled so i was first on the waiting list to get in. i knew how good it would be for me to go and get to know some of the other french teachers here and start preparing for next year, so i accepted the invitation. then, five minutes later, i received the email with the day's schedule and found out the program went from 9am until 9pm!! that's right, 12 hours of speaking french! trying to stay positive, i just kept thinking somehow thanksgiving would happen, even if sacrificing sleep was involved (that is the tradition, after all).

friday's immersion day went really well, although it was roughly 98 degrees outside when they were trying to do a medieval dance lesson. spirits were not too high at that point of the day, but the rest of it went well. i got home just after 9, and had to get to the grocery store by 10pm before it closed. i really struggled at the grocery store to find the strength to push through my frustration at some of the essential items on my list that simply were not to be found like:
- whipped topping (like cool whip!)
- miniature marshmallows
- corn syrup
- cranberry flavored jell-o
- wild rice (ok, i knew that would be hard to find)
- unbaked pie crust (i didn't think i'd have time to do one from scratch)

so i returned home w/ a few substitutes and proceeded to make my 'cran-raspberry gelatin salad' with all raspberry ingredients, big vanilla/raspberry flavored candy marshmallows from the candy aisle, and fresh whipped cream instead of cool whip. it still turned out to be a hit!

the next morning, jason and i got up early to try a bigger grocery store for some of the other missing items and were lucky to find a pie crust (although they call it 'flan shell' or something) and also some wild rice imported straight from canada. unfortunately, it was about $4.50 for a little 2 oz. box, but we got enough to mix with some brown rice for my 'minnesota wild rice & apple dressing.' we then picked up a few other things and went to pick up our fresh turkey from the butcher. i love the tradition of having a butcher shop in the neighborhood, with that friendly butcher who can tell you exactly how to cook the turkey to come out perfectly, even when it's your first time doing one.

the rest of the day went off without a hitch - jason worked his usual magic on the 'barbie' and the turkey came out 3 1/2 hours later as moist and tasty as could be. i went to work on the pumpkin pie, mom's 'escalloped corn,' a sweet potato casserole (thanks susanne!), and the wild rice dressing. everything miraculously got done just as our guests arrived. none of them had ever really celebrated thanksgiving before, so it was fun to talk about all the various food traditions (some of which are quite random, like the gelatin salad!), since it certainly is not food that you have very often. due to the many questions asked about thanksgiving, i've had the chance to reflect a lot about why it is such an important tradition. it's hard to pin it down exactly, but i really think the holiday gives me a chance to stop and feel a sense of 'home' and 'contentment' - this year, it came in the form of some new friends being with us, and the feeling of new accomplishments, opportunities and adventures awaiting us here in oz.

here's a few pics of our happy crew yesterday:
Carlos, Eli, me, Jason and Julien










Carlos, Eli, me, Julien and Simone

master's = done!

that's right, one week ago i officially became a master of education (in applied linguistics)! i apologize for how sporadic my entries on here have been as i have been approaching the end of this intense year of classes and my research project. a few weeks before my major paper was due, i wasn't too sure it would all come together, but it certainly did, and i'm really happy with the way it all turned out. i honestly can't believe that i squeezed a master's degree into just one year, but as i look over at my dining room table, which is piled high with many binders filled with all the articles i've read and assignments completed, i have physical proof of what i have accomplished. as with most things in life though, as soon as one journey ends, another begins. and i am finding that i am already looking ahead to what's next, which is getting ready to teach french next year at presbyterian ladies' college (plc). the 2007 school year is just finishing (ending mid-december for summer holidays here) so i am going to go in to school a few times over the next few weeks to sit in on some classes, gather materials and start preparing. my goal is to do as much prep work now because as soon as december hits, the holidays will be in full swing here with vacations and visitors

this week, i am eagerly preparing for my first 'aussie' thanksgiving here. i am determined to cook the full meal, even though it is not a holiday here, so we are planning to have it on saturday (instead of thursday). it is my first time 'hosting' a thanksgiving, so wish me luck! we have ordered a 5 kilo turkey and are planning to roast it on our grill (to save space in the oven for those yummy sides) so if anyone has any experience with this, please let us know! :) i think our friends here are more excited than we are to experience an american thanksgiving! ha!

a few weeks ago, the red bull air race came to perth, and we had front row seats at the swan river for watching it. the speed and precision of the planes on the course was just incredible! the following video is a bit hard to see, but it at least gives you an idea of what it was like: