Thanksgiving with the Indians-Trevor

It is hard to put into words how special our Thanksgiving was here in India but I will try my best.  To our surprise our Thanksgiving celebration started the night before.  Sid, Brooke, and I were eating dinner at Vara and Prem’s house, our adopted family.  Normally we eat chapati and a different amazing curry each night but that night Vara made special vegetable chapati, special omelets, and then off course there was delicious curry.  He told us this was to start our Thanksgiving.

We woke up Thanksgiving morning remarking to each other how it really didn’t feel like the holiday at all.  When I think about it, this is the first time all three of us have been away from family at the holidays.  The kindness and special day to follow would quickly help us forget that.  During the morning the principle and his wife had us over to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving and to give us some carrot cake.  At lunchtime Chandu, brought over two different curries for us to try, one of them was even a pumpkin curry!!! The little things definitely make us excited here in India. Yes, we spend a lot of time eating.

For dinner we had invited Vara and Prem, and Nancy, their adorable little girl, Chandu and Ramana, our neighbors, and Rajeev, a younger single guy over for dinner at 7:00, so the afternoon found us preparing for the meal.  The day before we had made a shopping list and busted right down to the grocery store, just kidding, we went to the bustling street market in Vempalli and bought potatoes, green beans, beets, carrots, and cucumbers, all for the whopping price of about three dollars.

By the time 7:00 rolled around we had used pretty much every dish and pot in our house, plus borrowed some from next door and some from Vara and Prem.  Sid set up two tables together, found a table cloth, lit candles, and also ran around until we had enough plates and utensils for everyone.  We were going to make this a legit Thanksgiving!

In typical Indian manner, everyone showed up around 7:30.  The table was full with two pots of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, seasoned green beans, a fresh vegetable plate, pineapple, and cooked carrots and cauliflower.  Brooke deserves most of the credit for the food, especially since she needed the power for some of the cooking, and the power here likes to play games with us, especially when we need it the most.  We resorted to just keeping our headlamps on for the last half hour spent cooking.

Rajeev loves ketchup!!

Ramana

As dinner began, watching our guests try some American food was almost as entertaining as Ramana lifting his plate up to his face to use his fork, complete with elbow sticking straight out. The ketchup was also a big hit with baby Nancy and Rajeev, as he put it on mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and the vegetables. Kind of reminds me of American kids and myself. Ketchup makes everything better.  Sid played the part of an Indian host very well and for the first time we were the ones giving and offering more food even though they were full.  We concluded the meal with some apple cider from home, custard, and Brooke made one killer carrot cake complete with frosting.

It was Sid’s idea to continue the American tradition and go around the table and say what we were thankful for.  Brooke and I started by saying how much all of them meant to us and how they had made India so special.  I will never forget what happened next.  Vara had to translate for Ramana but as he began to talk about how Sid and I are his brothers, and Brooke his sister, my eyes started to water.  By the time Chandu, Vara, and Prem had talked about how they would miss us when we left I was a goner.  I was sitting at Thanksgiving dinner crying, that’s a first.  Sid didn’t fair much better soon after I started.  I don’t think it helped that we were sitting directly across from each other.  So now the two American boys are crying at the table and Brooke is able to hold it together, classic.

These incredible people are not just like our family, they are family.  Their immeasurable kindness and beauty blows me away every day but as I was sitting around the table with all of them together I could just feel the happiness in the room.  It is definitely true, food brings people together.

Dishes-Before and After!

After dinner, just like in America we all found ourselves in the kitchen.  I physically had to stop Vara from washing the dishes, which I’m glad I did because after everyone had left we could fully survey the damage.  I had to stack dishes on the floor to get to the bottom of the sink to even start.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, we were over at Vara’s and Prem’s for dinner and to our surprise in a pot we found mashed potatoes, with an Indian flavor of course.  My favorite line of the evening was, “I want you guys to terminate them!”  Well we terminated those potatoes! Ha!

India has definitely gotten under my skin.  Sorry for repeating, but these people are truly incredible. Rajeev told us that he would remember our meal for the rest of his life. I would have to agree.  Happy late Thanksgiving!  I’m thankful for India!


-T