Turkey Day

Ever since receiving confirmation of this exchange, I have been looking forward to experiencing a 'real' American Thanksgiving with eager anticipation. It's a tradition which dates back to the seventeenth century, when the Pilgrims received help from the Wampanoag tribe to enable them to survive the harsh winter. The original feast lasted three days and records state that one of the foods consumed was 'fowl', which is probably where the tradition for having turkey originates from. Since 1941, the holiday has fallen on the last Thursday in November and has, just like other 'holidays', become increasingly more secular. It's now also commonly called 'Turkey Day'.

There is no half term in the US, so the Thanksgiving break is a welcome relief from school for students and teachers alike. I've been told that the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week is usually a half-day of school but this year we were fortunate to have the whole day off, making last week a two day week! As this is the holiday that most people head home for - moreso than Christmas, I've been told - I imagine it must have made travelling a whole lot easier.

The result of most people returning home is that Thanksgiving eve is traditionally the biggest night of the year in terms of going out. It's the time to reconnect with school friends and bars are therefore packed. Not one to miss out on the action, I decided to embrace this tradition whole-heartedly. We started the night at a Chinese restaurant - at a table for 20 - and then undertook the equivalent of a pub crawl - except here the distances between venues are so great that to do so requires the use of a car (there's no public transport either)! Our evening finished at lights up, at 2am. I think bars are open later as clubs are mainly only found in the major towns and cities. The vibe was very much New Year's Eve-esque, though without the extortionate door fees.

Thanksgiving day had very much the feel of Christmas to me, just without the presents and decorations. After a brisk walk through the woods, we headed over to a relative's house for a huge gathering - this time exceeding twenty - and LOTS of food. Being an only child of two only child parents, the sheer number of people was initially overwhelming but I relaxed over drinks and appertisers and chatted easily to my hosts and their various family members, all of whom seemed genuinely interested in me, this exchange and the UK.

The dinner itself was laid out on the counter and we all helped ourselves before sitting at the dining table(s). Again, it was reminiscent of Christmas: roast turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce (which can sometimes come in cans!). There was also a green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, straight green beans and yams. This was followed by a plethora of desserts, all home-made: apple pie (pictured above), pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream. I don't think I've ever felt so full! I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful though.

After dinner we all curled up to watch Home Alone on the hu-u-u-u-u-u-ge flat screen tv (a tradition with this family - Thansgiving signals a daily Christmas movie), played games and chatted. It was a truly lovely day and I couldn't have spent it with a nicer or kinder group of people: thank you so much!

The day after Thanksgiving is known as 'Black Friday' and is the most important shopping day of the year. It also signals the the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Our closest equivalent would be Boxing Day, as all shops hold sales, with extended opening hours. Black Friday is on a more epic scale though; some shops open at midnight, others at 4 or 5am and shoppers have been known to get violent. Now, I'm not a shopper. In fact, I hate shopping but a small part of me felt as though I should sample this tradition too. I therefore decided to head to an outlet village which was opening at midnight, as, being a night owl, that appealed far more than heading out at 5am and I'd somewhat naively believed that most people wouldn't be doing the same. I couldn't have been more wrong. At 11.30pm, the queue of cars running in one direction from the village was a mile long and police and workers had been drafted in to assist with traffic control and parking. Many of the shops had a line of people at least fifty deep just to get in and have a look around! Needless to say, I perused the less popular stores, bought myself some half price Curls Rock (Tigi) and headed home. Not one of my wiser decisions, but an experience, none-the-less.

All-in-all, I thoroughly enjoyed my Thanksgiving experience; it was certainly worth the wait and was almost like having a bonus Christmas day. Certainly, Christmas is now the focus of New Englanders: most people put their trees up this weekend and houses everywhere are fast becoming adorned with wreaths and twinkling lights. I shall endeavour to capture some on film before I leave as they're picture-book pretty.