What a week it has been here in Dar. My week began by seeing tons and tons of statuses on Facebook talking about 2 and 3 day work week and people getting to spend Thursday with their families. At first I was sad especially at the short work week. I woke up Thursday and did not want to go to work, have never worked Thanksgiving in my life but I guess there is a first time for everything. Then I reminded myself that today is a day that we give thanks. So as I laid in bed that morning (trying to convince myself I must get up or I would be late) I thought about what I was truly thankful for this past year.....I am thankful that I have been given this amazing opportunity to do the thing that I love, I get to teach and it is even better because I have gotten the opportunity to do it half way around the world. So after I came to this realization I got up and got ready. That day at school it seemed like some of the students were a bit more energetic than usual but as a spent a majority of the day laughing or smiling, due to the silly things that my students do and say on a regular basis, I once again realized that working on Thanksgiving isn't that bad :) I ended my Thanksgiving with a Skype session with my family back home while I ate Subway. Then later that day I got to Skype with my best friend Jessica and her family. So even though the day was not a "traditional" Thanksgiving it was still a great day in its own unique way!
This week in school has been busy as I try to finish up a project I had been asked to work on, make my supplies list for term 2 and begin to work on end of the term reports. My goal for the week was to get everything finished so that I could do no school work this weekend. I almost achieved this goal but still have a few things to finish up later today. In other news I now have 3 animals in my classroom. Last week there was a lizard on my wall who I thought had disappeared but I was wrong. He decided to bring a friend so I now have 2 lizards that live in my classroom. they come out at times and scare me because it is usually when I am up in front of the class teaching and they decide to go running across the wall. I don't think I am scared of them but they tend to "catch me off guard". The other animals which I have yet to see but know it lives there due to my erasers being eaten and some food missing....I have come to the conclusion that I have a rat. My lesson for the week is to never say I want a class pet ever again!! When I said I wanted a class pet I was thinking fish, hamster, some like that not reptiles and rodents that come in through my window!!
This week was filled with lots of running around. My roommate and I decided a couple of months ago that we would have a traditional Thanksgiving meal and invite some of our close friends here in Dar to celebrate the day with us. So this week it was down to the wire I spent most evenings running around to different parts of Dar to get those last minute items to make the dinner a success. I learned that even though some of the things may not look the same or have the same name, they are quite similar to the items we would have bought in the states. On Friday I came home from school and started the preparations for the dinner. I typically would not have started this early but due to the random power cuts I had no choice. My first mission was this turkey weighing in at 6.4 kg (about 14 pounds). I had to make the stuffing first which took several trips back and forth to the neighbors (had to borrow an oven since we only have a double stove top burner). But finally the stuffing was prepped and ready. Next came stuffing the turkey......I am use to the extra parts being in a bag....nope they just put them back into the turkey so that was a bit disgusting but I managed to get all those parts out and the stuffing into the turkey! Next came finding a pan for the turkey....we had a bought a pan that we though would work perfectly but it did not fit into the oven.....so had to go to plan B and I used a casserole dish that was a bit two small but I made it work. The other challenge was back home we use a brown paper bag to cook the turkey in but did not have access to one here in Dar so I had to use a roasting bag(which was two small) so had to combine 3 of them and then cover the top in aluminum foil. But finally at around 6.00 pm the turkey was in the oven. Now the waiting began......it would need to cook for about 4.5 hours. This was the next challenge, I typically go to bed around 9.30 so staying up until 10.30 or 11 is quite difficult especially after a long and exhausting week. I took a few short nap but managed to stay up. I removed the turkey a little before 10.30. Then it came time to use the broth and make gravy. Mission accomplished for day 1 and the power managed to stay on the whole time the turkey was in the oven.
Day 2 began quite early. I got up around 6 and began to make two pies, pumpkin and apple. Just as I began the preparations the power cut. I thought for a minute on what to do. I decided to just keep making the pies with the hopes that the power would not be out too long. Good thing I did because just as I was preparing to finish the pumpkin pie, the power came back. I then was able to successfully cook both pies without the power cutting again. After finishing the pies and some other little preparations I decided it was time for a brief hour nap. Bad idea when it came time to get up I realized how exhausted I really was and did not want to get back out of bed. Over the next few hours I made the mashed potatoes, deviled eggs (which I realized this morning never made it to the table yesterday), green bean casserole, and warming up the turkey, stuffing and gravy. My roommate made the sweet potato casserole. Finally at around 2.00 pm all of the items made it to the table and the guest began to arrive.
We began dinner with going around and saying the different things that we are thankful for in our lives. For most of us it was our first year out of school so we were thankful for getting a job that related to our degree. Then it was time to eat. It was quite funny seeing the looks and listening to the questions as everyone filled their plates. There was a lot of "what is this" but our rule was you had to put a little of everything on your plate and give it a try! Everyone was a good sport and followed the rule :) For the most part everyone liked all of the food. Even though it was different, still good. Following dinner we just spent time talking and reminiscing about different things. It was fun to just sit back and relax!
Last night as I sat on the couch after everyone departed I had time to reflect on this past year. The year has been like a roller coaster ride with lots of ups and downs. If you would have asked me last year where I see myself in a year, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania would not have been my answer. Over the past 6 months things have changed. I graduated and took a chance. And 3 months ago I moved to a country I had never been to but had spent endless hours researching. I love my life here in Dar despite the random power cuts, water shortages, animals that have made my classroom their home, and traffic jams. But most of all I love my job and the people that I have met because of my job. I think it is always hard to move to a new place and start over. But I am truly blessed to have met the people I have over the past 3 months and couldn't have asked for better people to share my Thanksgiving traditions with! So needless to say my first Thanksgiving on my own and in another country was a complete success!
This week in school has been busy as I try to finish up a project I had been asked to work on, make my supplies list for term 2 and begin to work on end of the term reports. My goal for the week was to get everything finished so that I could do no school work this weekend. I almost achieved this goal but still have a few things to finish up later today. In other news I now have 3 animals in my classroom. Last week there was a lizard on my wall who I thought had disappeared but I was wrong. He decided to bring a friend so I now have 2 lizards that live in my classroom. they come out at times and scare me because it is usually when I am up in front of the class teaching and they decide to go running across the wall. I don't think I am scared of them but they tend to "catch me off guard". The other animals which I have yet to see but know it lives there due to my erasers being eaten and some food missing....I have come to the conclusion that I have a rat. My lesson for the week is to never say I want a class pet ever again!! When I said I wanted a class pet I was thinking fish, hamster, some like that not reptiles and rodents that come in through my window!!
This week was filled with lots of running around. My roommate and I decided a couple of months ago that we would have a traditional Thanksgiving meal and invite some of our close friends here in Dar to celebrate the day with us. So this week it was down to the wire I spent most evenings running around to different parts of Dar to get those last minute items to make the dinner a success. I learned that even though some of the things may not look the same or have the same name, they are quite similar to the items we would have bought in the states. On Friday I came home from school and started the preparations for the dinner. I typically would not have started this early but due to the random power cuts I had no choice. My first mission was this turkey weighing in at 6.4 kg (about 14 pounds). I had to make the stuffing first which took several trips back and forth to the neighbors (had to borrow an oven since we only have a double stove top burner). But finally the stuffing was prepped and ready. Next came stuffing the turkey......I am use to the extra parts being in a bag....nope they just put them back into the turkey so that was a bit disgusting but I managed to get all those parts out and the stuffing into the turkey! Next came finding a pan for the turkey....we had a bought a pan that we though would work perfectly but it did not fit into the oven.....so had to go to plan B and I used a casserole dish that was a bit two small but I made it work. The other challenge was back home we use a brown paper bag to cook the turkey in but did not have access to one here in Dar so I had to use a roasting bag(which was two small) so had to combine 3 of them and then cover the top in aluminum foil. But finally at around 6.00 pm the turkey was in the oven. Now the waiting began......it would need to cook for about 4.5 hours. This was the next challenge, I typically go to bed around 9.30 so staying up until 10.30 or 11 is quite difficult especially after a long and exhausting week. I took a few short nap but managed to stay up. I removed the turkey a little before 10.30. Then it came time to use the broth and make gravy. Mission accomplished for day 1 and the power managed to stay on the whole time the turkey was in the oven.
Day 2 began quite early. I got up around 6 and began to make two pies, pumpkin and apple. Just as I began the preparations the power cut. I thought for a minute on what to do. I decided to just keep making the pies with the hopes that the power would not be out too long. Good thing I did because just as I was preparing to finish the pumpkin pie, the power came back. I then was able to successfully cook both pies without the power cutting again. After finishing the pies and some other little preparations I decided it was time for a brief hour nap. Bad idea when it came time to get up I realized how exhausted I really was and did not want to get back out of bed. Over the next few hours I made the mashed potatoes, deviled eggs (which I realized this morning never made it to the table yesterday), green bean casserole, and warming up the turkey, stuffing and gravy. My roommate made the sweet potato casserole. Finally at around 2.00 pm all of the items made it to the table and the guest began to arrive.
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