Just One Expat's Opinion: December 2014

Admittedly, Thanksgiving was the first time I felt some real home sickness in the almost four months since leaving America. I won't deny that Rosh Hashanah gave me a tremendous craving for my mother's brisket and Halloween was strange here without much recognition, or candy corn (which I later received in my heavenly mommy package). But Thanksgiving has always been a favorite of mine, and it is one of those holidays that's synonymous with family, so it was hard being across the world from anyone I share genetic qualities with.

The week of Thanksgiving I realized my little "fivesome" of ladies whom I typically spend my time with are more non-American than American. We've got two Brits, a Canadian and then Natalie and myself, the 미곡 (Americans) of the group. Natalie was with her husband who had flown in to visit her that week so as Turkey Day approached I was starting to worry it would just feel like any ol' Thursday. Sure we had planned to do our own Thanksgiving feast that coming weekend, but I just didn't want the actual day to pass without so much as a dinner roll. Luckily, Jenni, one of my British friends, swooped in to rescue me from my self-pity and we went out for french fries and beer...because 'Merica.

The next morning, when I had just arrived to school it was actually Thanksgiving dinner time in the states, and I was able to call my family and see them during and after their meal. I have never been so happy for the invention of FaceTime. For just a second, I felt like I was there with them and it was just what I needed.

After school that day, a few of us traveled to another city to visit the closest Costco to find some essential items for our Thanksgiving meal. We knew we would have to make some sacrifices but we were determined to get as close to the traditional food as possible. Costco was a key player. Not only did we find everything we required but we also had a chance to enjoy some Costco pizza.

Truly never thought, in my life, that I would get excited about Costco pizza. Korean pizza, however, is an entirely different animal than American pizza, even from the Pizza Hut two blocks from my apartment. It typically has the most unusual toppings and most often comes with honey to dip it in. You just can't escape "sweet" here - even on garlic bread - even on pizza. I once had a slice of pizza that was topped with bacon, potato wedges, and what I assumed was goat cheese by it's appearance but turned out to be mashed potatoes. On. A. Pizza. I hope that helps explain my Costco pizza excitement to my more culinary-minded friends who are silently judging me while reading this.

Ok back to Thanksgiving...

So Natalie, Lizzie and I had planned on making the meat, mashed potatoes and stuffing (the staples) while we assigned other items out to our guests. We gave tasks like bringing plasticware to our non-American friends, and more traditional items such as sweet potato casserole to those who actually understood why putting marshmallows on sweet potatoes wasn't at all weird. Realizing we had a Korean kitchen to work in with two burners and very limited space we had to get a little creative. Turkey was not an option. Not only is it an incredibly foreign bird to this country, meaning incredibly expensive, but actual ovens do not exist here in Korea. We had to use our two toaster ovens and a microwave to cook the entire feast. So we opted for pre-cooked, rotisseri chicken from Costco's. We were also thrilled to find pumpkin and apple pie, pretty massive ones at that.

We had no choice but to put the giant
chicken/pie box in the middle of the aisle.

Sooo, here we are, three girls with three rotisserie chickens, two huge pies, a bag of potatoes and other various items, shoved into a rather large box that we tied up like a Christmas present, traveling via two cabs and one bus to get it back to our home town. The box was so big, two of us had to carry it, while one person had to clear a path and open doors (that was my job, I managed to wriggle out of carrying the box). The bus driver insisted on putting it beneath the bus but we insisted harder that there was no way in hell we were going to do that. Yelling "aniyo, fragile" to the bus driver while they cursed at us caused quite the scene. Too bad, not sorry - we had pies at stake. One of the positives to being a foreigner is pretending you don't know what they're saying when it's convenient for you..

Cutting veggies on the floor...
because Korea.

Only enough room to cook one at a time.

We somehow managed to make it all to Natalie's apartment with minimal pie crust damage and spent the entire next day preparing our meal. I made my mom's stuffing recipe which I had to divide into five tiny tin foil pans to bake in the toaster ovens, but it turned out better than I had expected. Nothing beats your mother's version but it was a close second.

With no potato masher or peeler, and the efforts of about four to five ladies, the mashed potatoes came out creamy and delicious. The sweet potatoes, brought by our friend from another town, were fantastic and reminiscent of home. Another friend brought a broccoli salad in lieu of green bean casserole, since there are no green beans in Korea, which ended up being the perfect compliment to a heavy meal. We had rolls, we had gravy, we even had deviled eggs as a starter.

Prepped!

Making mashed potatoes with a fork and
a spatula.

The wonders of a toaster oven.

Kate and her sweet potatoes. (You can see our
toaster set up in the background, again on the
floor, again because Korea)

Deviled egg anyone?

The whole feast.

It was a really great night that gave us Americans a touch of home in a time where it was most needed. We played games, had some wine, stuffed ourselves, and each had our own "doggy bag" thanksgiving meal, including leftover pie, to go home with.

Thanksgiving, picnic style.

The whole gang with the selfie-stick.

Soju cheers!

It can be easy to avoid home-sickness when you're busy and having the time of your life in a foreign country. But in those moments when it hits you that you're so far away from home, it's really nice to be surrounded by people who are just as far away from their home, for just as long as you, and know just what you're feeling.

A few more random photos for you...