This is How You Give Thanks in Austria

Last week I had the pleasure of celebrating two Thanksgivings, thanks to the fabulous American friends I’ve made here in Austria! Luckily I only have to teach one class on Thursdays so it was almost like I had the day off for the holiday. I went to Vienna for a lovely make-shift Thanksgiving dinner with three other Teaching Assistants and 2 visiting Americans, one of whom had brought Partridge Farms stuffing mix and Ocean Spray dried cranberries from home with him (Thanks Michael!). Considering the fact that stuffing and cranberries are two Thanksgiving foods I usually don’t eat, the fact that I was so excited about them shows just how deprived of traditional Thanksgiving ingredients I was feeling. Trying to find canned pumpkin, brown sugar, corn, and any kind of turkey was nearly impossible, and even if we had found all these things, none of us have ovens or pans big enough to cook a turkey! Instead, we made do with lots of side dishes: carrots, potatoes, Michael’s stuffing, applesauce, and rolls. I made apple crisp, but even that had some questionably substituted ingredients. Luckily it turned out to be surprisingly delicious!

It may be a sad looking plate, but everything on it was delicious!

The important part was that we all gathered together and could talk about the holiday, our families and traditions, and the things we’re thankful for. I made my usual list of 100 things I’m thankful for, and some of the others loved the idea and said they would too. Sharing the happy, thankful sentiment is of course more important than the turkey, although some pumpkin bread would have been a nice touch. With chocolate chips. Mmmm.

Michael and Tschuna serving a very happy Meredith her stuffing

4 American TAs, 1 American visitor, and 1 Austrian roommate

On Friday I got to do the whole thing over again with a different group of Americans in St. Pölten, a city directly west of Purkersdorf (the opposite direction of Vienna). This one was a little more Thanksgivingy because we had roasted chicken, which is one step closer to turkey than no meat at all. We had so much fun cooking together and spending time with one another that we decided to try to hold these kinds of group dinners more often. [And we also decided we’re all going to see The Lumineers in Munich in March! SO PUMPED]

The cutest potato I've ever seen, hidden in our bag of potatoes

You mash those potatoes, Michelle!

All that remained of our dinner...plus some leftovers in the fridge.
It's not Thanksgiving if you don't stuff yourself, right?

This time with friends reminded me again just how thankful I am to have been blessed with a community over here in Austria. I’ve been here for just over 2 months but I certainly feel at home already and that’s largely thanks to these great friends I’ve made! I am so excited to continue to grow these relationships throughout the rest of the year. Although I’m a little late in saying this, Happy Thanksgiving to all!! I hope your holiday was lovely and this coming holiday season brings you great joy!