Year 3: Thankful for Turkey in Turkey

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expat life, Thanksgiving

Jumat, 23 November 2012

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Last night, we celebrated our third Thanksgiving in Istanbul.

I replicated nearly all the American feast traditions so honestly you wouldn't even know that you were in a different country. Well, except for the multitude of empty Turkish wine bottles in our recycling bin today.

Thanksgiving time naturally gives way to people expressing gratitude for what they have in their lives. I thought I'd share what I'm thankful for too.

First, I'm thankful our Turkish turkey was delivered safely to our door. You don't know how difficult it is here to find a big bird unless it's later in December. Turks only roast whole turkeys to celebrate the new year. You're lucky to even find turkey meat the rest of the year, which means a whole turkey should be available too, right?

Second, I'm very thankful for my hardworking husband. He puts in long hours at the office and battles with the bloody awful Istanbul traffic five days a week. He bears with my emotional rants and always (almost always) does the dishes for me since I always cook. Thank you, honey!

This year it was hubby's job to carve my herb-butter-basted turkey.

I'm eternally grateful for the fantastic bunch of friends we've made in Istanbul! Once again, our Thanksgiving table was filled with friends from the U.S., Canada, Turkey, Pakistan and France. Our friends are like one big family to us. We talked. We laughed. I almost cried at one point. We hugged. Thanks, friends!

Filling up our plates American-style around the table.

The shrimp and grits, in the blue/white bowl, became a new tradition this year. Everyone loved the cheesy grits, which were inspired by our trip to Charleston, S.C. last month.

But holidays do make me miss our families back in the U.S. too. This year, I am extra thankful for both my parents. I'm very thankful my dad made it through his heart surgery back in May. It was a scary time for me when I first heard the news. I rushed back to the U.S. to be by my family. My dad has really slowed down since the surgery, but at least he's still here with us.

I'm also thankful for all the traveling we've been able to do since we moved to Istanbul. We've done many trips around Turkey, to Italy, to Germany, to Z�rich and more. Friends often ask how we travel so much. Easy, you set a budget and look online for good airfare deals. We choose to spend our money on experiences and food versus things.

Looking back on just the last three weeks, I'm very thankful my emergency room visit in Istanbul wasn't for something worse. Though my nose is still a bit sore, I don't need surgery. I'll always have a few scars on my arms as a reminder of this crazy accident, but that's it. I'm very lucky.

As 2012 nearly comes to a close, it's as good as time as any to reflect on where you've come from, what you've experienced or survived and where you want to go in the future.

What are you thankful for this year?

Our Thanksgiving trio of desserts because you can't just have one!