A full belly makes me smile

Happy day-after-Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all got to eat plenty of delicious food, and I hope you were surrounded by people you like.

I am on my first trip away from site and unsurprisingly feeling a lot better than when I wrote my last post. Early Tuesday morning, I started the trek up to Dakar - the ferry ride, the 4.5-hour cramped bus ride, the taxi ride. (Nothing, I know, to volunteers who have to take 20-hour+ rides.) Eventually, I landed at the regional house (dorm-like transit houses throughout Senegal for PCVs) and re-found Alyssa, Katherine and Jackie. We celebrated surviving our first five weeks by eating out at a Chinese restaurant. Eggrolls and hot-and-sour soup were oddly absent, but the lo mein, Sezchuan tofu and cumin calamari were delicious. I'd forgotten what spices taste like...

Wednesday found us at the Peace Corps office, getting Swine and regular flu shots. People will be heading back from their Mecca pilgrimages soon, and the risk for Swine flu is going to be especially high. I'm covered - phew?

Thursday, Thanksgiving, the greatest holiday ever, devoted to food, glorious food, and family. Admittedly, even in the company of my friends, Thursday was tough. I'm used to spending Thanksgiving in the kitchen with Eema, cooking up a feast which we've planned for days, opening the wine early and staying full late into the night no matter how early we start. I'm used to trying new pies from scratch, new turkey or stuffing recipes, and finding new ways to incorporate pumpkin into at least one dish. I'm used to spending the entire day with my family. Anything else is, well, not Thanksgiving.

But there is Thanksgiving, even in Africa, and PCVs were lucky enough to be invited to celebrate at the Ambassador's house. We spent half the day at our boss' house using her kitchen to make some delicious garlic mashed potatoes. Apart from our potluck contribution, we also threw together some cupcakes from a mix which Alyssa's mom sent over in a care package. [Shout-out to Sharyl: they were amazing!] Then, about 40 of us converged on the Ambassador's home and had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Sappy as it is, being surrounded by other Americans, getting in some kitchen time and, above all, a full belly, made for a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Now, I'm back in Thies, crashing at Alyssa's place to witness the glory (translation: sheep-killing) that is the Muslim holiday of Tabaski. More on that tomorrow.

There are a few pictures of ML~ online, finally. New pics start around #144.