Unamerican

Thanksgiving menu for the Danes of Ørresunds B800:

Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Green Beans
Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Texas Trash (Chex mix for those of you who don't know Murdock slang)
Puppy Chow (chocolate/peanut butter Chex)

"Okay, so that is all we need for thanksgiving right," Keeley asked me after creating the menu.

"Well in actuality, we are missing green bean casserole, stuffing, ham, fruit salad, chocolate cherry cheese cake, tiger butter, oaties, fudge, peanut butter treats...Do you really want me to continue?" I answered, without listing the various casseroles and peanut desserts that usually accompany my thanksgiving meal.

"Okay, so we are missing a lot of things, but this is the shortened list that will have to make do," Keeley retorted, sounding a bit irritated.

----->
Later at Netto (the sorry excuse for a super market)....
"So, we still need Karo, Crisco, Pecans, worcestershire, peanut butter, pumpkin, doodads and Chex. ha ha ha, Like we are really going to find all that in DENMARK!"

Before coming to Copenhagen, I assumed that all ingredients could be found anywhere. Brands may be off, but generally all ingredients are on some shelf somewhere. Nej, nej, nej, nej (Danish for absolutely wrong)

Pecans, Chex, Karo, and pumpkin-in-a-can are rare commodities that I, as an American, have come to love. Apparently, even peanut butter is American, but this is easier to find in the stores. I assumed that since America is made up of a bunch of immigrants, everything had to come from somewhere else, right? WRONG! America really does have a culture, despite my preconceived notions.

So we were lacking these key ingredients and had to substitute them with other things. For pecans we used walnuts; for Chex we used cheerios; for Karo I dissolved a TON of sugar in water; and for canned pumpkin we pureed a mini pumpkin in a blender.

Everything turned out great, almost. The Turkey, mashed potatoes, green Beans, rolls, and Texas Trash cooked on without a hitch. The puppy chow turned into "mini dounuts," the pumpkin pie was changed to a pumpkin cheese cake, and the pecan pie was....well we won't discuss that just yet.

About ten Danes attended "Thanksgiving in Denmark," and ate every bit of the meal. Martin ate all of his plate and then started in on Ejnar's. (while Ejnar wasn't looking of course!) There was conversation, laughing, eating, and an all around good time. We took turns around the table telling what we were thankful for. (Of course, everyone was thankful for the Americans cooking the Danes their first Thanksgiving dinner!)

Knowing that we showed Danes what Thanksgiving is all about, Keeley and I went to sleep in peace.

...

I assume you are wondering about the "pecan pie."
Walnuts, fake Karo, and a poorly made crust combined to create a runny walnut pudding. I didn't want the Danes to perceive my favorite dessert as strange and yukky, so I tucked it into our fridge for a personal dessert later on. The next day after some long hard studying, I went to the fridge with a spoon and a glass of milk. I peeled back the foil only to reveal a half eaten runny-walnut pudding. Someone had beat me to the punch. I am still investigating the situation, but the only punishment the Danish perpetrator will receive is the consequence of telling me it was good despite the lack of ingredients.


We were missing a lot of ingredients for Thanksgiving this year, but the ingredient I missed most was not the pecans or karo, although that did break my heart a little. The main ingredient missing was my family: Aunt Nanna's laugh at my Papa's latest student story, Grandma rolling her eyes with a smirk as Aunt Sandra does the turkey gobble, Aunt CeeCee's big grin at Uncle Eddie's jokes, every one cracking up when Cody shouts "Dadburnit!" as he loses at catch phrase, and my Mommy's morning hug after she has her coffee (before the coffee I just get a crooked grin from the bed-head). I never appreciated the kids' table more than I did this year. I missed being able to joke with my little sister and shout "sense you was up..." Even if I didn't ask, Hannah would bring me back an extra roll and some mashed potatoes, because she knows I like them together.

I like our family together. I LOVE our family together. It doesn't happen as often as we would all like, which is why I was so upset to miss it this year. I don't like missing time with family, but time doesn't always cooperate. With such a short amount of time on this earth, we should use every minute, which is why I chose to study abroad in the first place.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and, more importantly, the company of your families. I can't wait to spend time with mine (because I know you will ALL be at my wedding ;•D)