So for Thanksgiving this year we decided to invite the two owners of one of the English schools I work at, along with a coworker and my adult students. All and all there were 8 of us. Myself, Dereck, Toyoko (the owner of the school), her daughter Timiko (who helps run the school), Seth (an American teacher), his wife Sayaka (Japanese national), Sayaka's mother Yoska (my adult student), and Mayo (my adult student). My third adult student, Masaru, was unable to come due to a business trip... but even without him we still had a great time. For both my students, it was the first time for a Thanksgiving dinner. Toyoko and Timiko have had Thanksgiving once before, as has Sayaka when she lived in the USA with her husband Seth. Seth was so grateful to have an American holiday meal after living in Japan for the last 5 months!
With the help of a friend from base we signed all my guests onto the base at the visitors center and made our way to the house. There we were greeted by Dereck, who is such great cook. I helped him during the day to prepare some of the sides and be his "sous chef" for the main course, but for the last 45 minutes while I was getting our guests onto base he finished everything. I am so blessed to have such a talented husband who enjoys being in the kitchen! The menu was Turkey (roasted with onions and apples inside...), orange/honey glazed ham, Minnesota wild rice dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, maple glazed carrots and sweet potatoes, 2 types of green bean casseroles, crescent rolls, cranberry sauce, and to finish it off... 5 pies! Yes, 5: 2 pumpkin, apple, pecan, and fudge. Wow. Needless to say, we had TOO MUCH FOOD!
The guests loved our home, the dogs, and the food. They brought gifts for us, which is a Japanese custom. We got a variety of cheeses, fruit, wine, chocolates, and Japanese socks! We sat down, said grace, and dug in. They loved the food and were very inquisitive about all the new dishes, especially the wild rice! They wanted to know what it looked like uncooked (we showed them...), how you got it, and how much it cost. It was pretty funny. They were also thoroughly entertained by our dogs begging and being far too cute. There wasn't too much of a communication barrier- with so many bilingual ladies in attendance, anything that the students didn't understand was easily translated. Dereck even got to practice some of his favorite Japanese expressions with them- like "thank you for the delicious meal", and "separate checks please". They thought this was pretty funny!
After dinner they looked around the house a bit and were very impressed with our backyard. It was fun to show them an American style home, even though the one we have here is so small compared to what we would have in the states!
yum! sounds like a fun (and delicious) night!
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