Thanksgiving

Thought I'd share a bit of my first American thanksgiving with you all....although I don't think it's been all that typical.

Yes, I had turkey. The Vineyard community I'm part of held a Thanksgiving lunch last weekend, complete with turkey and whatever traditional dishes anyone wanted to bring along. Lots of sweet potato (yum), cranberry sauce (homemade!), and jello (made up really concentrated and cut into cute shapes with cookie cutters).

On the actual day I joined some Australian friends for breakfast (pancakes with ice cream and blueberries and a few cranberries to make it authentic) then went to work. I know, it's probably an un-American enough act to have me deported :D It's very uncommon for people in my lab to stay home on public holidays, but it turns out that Thanksgiving is one where no one shows up. And I must admit I didn't stay very long.

Later in the afternoon my friend Meinolf dropped by to surprise me - which he did very well since he now lives in Providence (6 hours drive away). It was lovely to catch up with him. He is one of the people who is part of my "family" here, so it was particularly appropriate to see him on Thanksgiving.

The rest of the weekend has been a mix of work, preparation for Christmas (international postage times mean I have to be organised), and getting ready to go to a conference this week. I'll be having a few days to sightsee too - the conference is in Washington DC, and I've never been there before.