Tag: thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2019 / G’s 30th!

This year the Saturday of Thanksgiving (when we celebrate in the UK as it’s obvs not a holiday here) and Gareth’s 30th birthday fell on the same day. We had very recently moved into our new flat and gotten engaged – so there was a lot to celebrate!

We still didn’t have a couch, so we brought some gym equipment from The Yard and fashioned a giant table and fit most of our closest friends in. Other than an oven that broke just when all the pies went in, it was perfect. The food was amazing, after eating we went to the park and played football, a friend had pre-made Gareth’s favourite dessert, so we were still able to sing. Then we stopped into a new craft beer place next door that just opened, got pretty drunk, and played games all night. Perfect.

   

Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

MADAGASCAR – MONTH ONE

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So I blinked and it has somehow been just over a month since I arrived in Fort Dauphin! In some ways it feels like I’ve been here much longer, and in so many others it feels like I’ve literally just arrived.

GETTING HERE

To back up, I left Boston the evening of Sunday, November 11th and after a long journey (Boston → Chicago → Addis Ababa → Tana), I arrived in Madagascar on Tuesday, November 13th.

I was nervous for the chaos I’d been told to expect at the airport, but it was really easy to find my driver and secure myself a Telma SIM card for my phone – everything went smoothly right up until I realized I had forgotten the PIN of my brand new ATM card and had no access to money. I changed what little cash I had and THANK GOD was able to remember it the next morning, when I was back to catch the internal flight down to Fort Dauphin.

FORT DAUPHIN

Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

view from my front porch

Fort Dauphin, Madagascar Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

Fort Dauphin is stunningly beautiful. I keep having to take a break to look around in shock that I actually live here.

I’m really loving the work aspect of everything, which is exciting as that’s what I’m here for. My projects are all very interesting, and I’m really looking forward to learning so much more about HIV and WASH. I’m going to focus on learning enough Malagasy to get by — the basics, numbers, words for food, etc, and then I’m going to switch to learning French, as I think it’ll be really easy to learn the basics here and most people I’ve met speak it. There’s also an Alliance Francaise in Fort Dauphin where I might be able to take lessons. This is the first time I’ve been anywhere near an immersive French experience, and I want to take advantage!

SETTLING IN

I live with one other girl in house new to our company, meaning it’s empty aside from two beds, a table, and a couch. It’s going to take some work to make it homey, and our first week was a series of unfortunate events where every time we thought we had it figured out, something new went wrong. Finally got buckets to fill up when the water is on at night to use for showering/flushing the toilet, and the water went out for 10 days straight. There was a period of time when I had giardia, no water to flush and all the lightbulbs in our house had burnt out. Stumbling to a dirty toilet with a head torch whilst feeling like you’re dying in a brand new country is QUITE the trial by fire!

Flat in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

Flat in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar Flat in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar Flat in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

When I first arrived it was kind of terrifying how helpless I felt. I didn’t know my way around town and Google maps is not really a thing here. Nor is Google translate, and I didn’t know any Malagasy. So for things as basic as food and water I was so dependent on others to show us where to get them, order for us, handle the money.  I’m so excited for everything coming up and by this time next month to hopefully feel even more settled in than I do now!

The biggest adjustment has been how much time it takes to accomplish anything. It took a full week to get to a point where we had drinking water, toilet paper, soap, buckets to shower/flush with, and a trash can. My first week I learned to celebrate the smallest victories – having a shower was an entire day’s accomplishment, and I’ve grown from there. There are still so many things I need (a fan! a fridge, a functioning laptop, a dresser not filled with cockroaches, etc), but I’m getting closer and closer to living a relatively normal life. We also had a Thanksgiving meal on the day, which was so lovely as it’s tie for Christmas as my favourite holiday.

Thanksgiving in Madagascar Thanksgiving in Madagascar

That said, it’s only been a month and I’m now nearly as comfortable killing the roaches as our very capable upstairs neighbor is. We have a good stock of back up water, set up steady laundry service and a cleaner who comes twice a week (what luxury), and everything feels much easier. It’s shocking how happy the ability able to wash your hands, take a shower (even from a bucket), and flush a toilet can make you. I’ve also found a bunch of places  in Fort Dauphin where I love to eat, and beside the giardia haven’t been that sick from food yet (touch wood).

COMING UP

Somehow time has moved fast enough that Gareth is currently in the air, on his way to Tana. It feels like we said goodbye so recently, and if we can keep this up through the year I think time will fly and be much easier than our LA to London long distance was. We’re hanging around the Fort Dauphin area while hoping to do a few day/overnight trips to nearby reserves and lodges, and maybe a few nights at the fancy hotel here in town.

After that we’re into 2019 which is almost too crazy to consider! 2018 flew by, and it’s kind of freaking me out how fast time has been moving lately. That said, 2019 will be quite the adventure and I’m looking forward to being even more settled here in Mada.

Thanksgiving 2017

After the success we had last year having Thanksgiving in London, we did the same this year. It was wonderful, just like before. One of my friends from Logroño came, we ate lots, played games, and – of course – played football in the park. I love Thanksgiving.

Logrono, Spain in Autumn

Thanksgiving 2016

As I already posted about, I spent this Thanksgiving in London. I hadn’t been to London in quite a while, and was so excited to go back. I was a little nervous, because traditionally I spend Thanksgiving in America with Katie’s family, and I was worried I’d be homesick and surrounded by Brits on one of my very favorite holidays. That said, it was amazing!

The perfectness started after Gareth felt last minute guilt and agreed to pick me up from the airport. It’s so nice when someone is waiting for you at the gate, and even nicer when that isn’t followed by an hour long night bus. I got in late the first night so we pretty much grabbed some food and went right to bed. Can I say again HOW MUCH I love to, on occasion, eat non-Spanish food? It’s pretty great.

On Friday we had breakfast at one of the best coffee shops in Peckham, and then headed into Greenwich. I used to spend a lot of time there when we were all still in college, but I can’t remember having gone anytime recently at all. It was almost the same as I remembered, except the got rid of the Tex Mex place which breaks my nostalgic Mexican-loving heart.

We wandered around the park, which was gorgeous. I caught a few pokemon, because I’m cool. Then it got too cold and we headed to a pub nearby for beer and mulled wine (guess who ordered what). After that we went to the market where I got a really old map of Massachusetts, and for quite the deal because apparently Gareth is an expert negotiator. We got lunch and an 8 pound bottle of Rioja wine (on sale from 16 and still about quadruple what you’d pay in actual La Rioja), and then went back and tried to sneak in a nap before meeting up with all our friends.

It was a chill night, we had a few rounds, played some pool, and caught up about everything I’d missed in my nearly 10 month absence! Just to put this out there, I have the best friends.

Saturday was our stand-in Thanksgiving day, and what better way to start stretching your stomach than with a classic fry up! After joyfully eating something other than a pastry for breakfast, we headed to the big Sainsbury’s in the hopes they would have all the American stuff I needed for my recipes. Which they did, apart from corn syrup (which I need a disgusting amount of for my chocolate bourbon pecan pie). I substituted golden syrup which was actually a pretty big step down but it worked in a pinch.

I spent the morning cooking the pie and helping (aka watching and criticizing) Gareth prepare the turkey. I met up with some friends at the pub to watch England defeat Argentina, and by the time we got back the kitchen was set up and food was nearly ready. (Thanks, G!)

I’ve never properly hosted a Thanksgiving before. I’ve had one at my place, but never was in charge of making sure everyone had assigned foods and knew what they were making. That said, because my friends put so much effort in, it was all perfect. We had enough for everyone to have seconds, the food was delicious, and I even got like two British people to say what they’re thankful for, which was the biggest surprise of all.

After eating we went to the park and spent about an hour playing 6 on 6 football. It was excellent (and not only because my team won by a lot). Eventually we wandered home and attempted to drink even half the wine that was brought. We played cards and talked about all the new engagements and had a perfect end to the night.

The next morning we watched Gilmore Girls (I want another season!), went to another great coffee place for breakfast, and then I had to leave for the airport. The trip went so fast. It mostly just reminded me how much I love London, and my friends there, and how much I miss it. It’s so nice seeing Gareth all the time, and exploring so many new places, but it was a reminder about how much I love the old ones too. Right now I’m deciding what to do after New Years, because in Spain we have the week after off too. I found cheap flights to Budapest and back to Spain from Vienna. Really cheap. But I could also spend like 5 more days in London, which I know I would love too. It´s hard to make decisions!

I’m writing this on my break before my lass class, and then I rush home, pack, and head to Barcelona. I fly out at 6:00am tomorrow morning for Berlin, and from there will visit Amsterdam, Prague, and Wroclaw. I get back Sunday morning, 10 days from now, and my mom arrives for the holidays on that Wednesday. I am so excited for all that’s coming up. Just once more, in case I’ve not made it sufficiently clear… I love the holidays!

Glacier National Park

Thanksgiving 2015

And just like that, summer ended in Los Angeles.

I’m not going to lie, Autumn is my favorite season, and being without it for the past few years has been tough. But Los Angeles does this great thing where out of nowhere it gets cold and a bit crisp. Today, I’m wearing leggings, a sweater dress (!), and tall brown boots. And it’s the best feeling in the world. It has also rained the past two days which I always view as a bit of a treat (compared to living in London when I was desperate for sun warm enough to sit outside in), and Monday there was an awesome rainbow.

For the past four years I’ve had Thanksgiving with Katie’s family (once when she wasn’t here). We hosted this year and her whole family, her parents, both her sisters and their partners and some aunts and uncles, came out. It was so wonderful! (I made a chocolate bourbon pecan pie and it was DELICIOUS.)

Quick update on No Spend Novem (I’ve shortened it because that way it almost rhymes): All my friends planned  a road trip to Vegas. None of us have been, as it’s not the highest on any of our lists. But it’s right there and our friend Maggie is going to support her father in a race. The plan was to road trip, get a cheap hotel for Friday and Saturday, and drive back Sunday. Originally I agreed, because I want to go everywhere and if I’m ever going to do Vegas, I want it to be with my best friends. But then I thought about the cost total, and No Spend Novem, and realized it was just not a real option. Vegas will be right there for the foreseeable future, but I only have one No Spend Novem and I want to kick its butt.

The (selfishly) happy news is that a day after I bowed out, the trip fell apart for unrelated reasons, and now we’re going to try to go in February. So I get the double happiness of making the financially correct decision while not actually missing out on Vegas with my friends.