How to host American Thanksgiving

Sometimes, when living in another culture, you have to give up certain cultural traditions and festivities from your home culture. But fortunately, others you can bring with you. And often many of your new friends will even be interested in sharing in those experiences from your home culture. Such was the case with American Thanksgiving.

Many of my friends here have seen Thanksgiving on TV or in movies, but have never actually tasted a turkey or experienced it for themselves. So I decided to host American Thanksgiving and let them all be part of my traditional holiday experience. So here are my steps on how to host American Thanksgiving while living abroad:

Step 1: Make up a menu list including but not limited to turkey, homemade stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, mac & cheese, cornbread, corn-on-the-cob, pumpkin pie, apple pie, ice cream, etc.

Step 2: Hand out good American recipes to all your friends who are brave enough to try. Assign others to bring store bought items like drinks, sweet corn, ice cream, or plastic utensils.

Step 3: Warn your friends that this is not a Namibian braai so there will be more vegetables than meat.

Step 4: Purchase two small, over-priced turkeys and allow them to thaw a few days in advance.

Step 5: If you like cold apple cider, make it from scratch a day before and put it in the fridge. If you like it hot, 3 hours before will do the trick. Ensure you make a little extra because it won't all make it to the event because someone needs to taste test and it's delicious.

Step 6: Mix up your homemade stuffing.

Step 7: Stuff the pre-brined birds just before you stick them in the oven.

Step 8: Welcome guests to the lovely aromas coming from your kitchen and the familiar sound of football on the TV.

Step 9: Remove the lovely smelling birds from the oven when the little button thing pops out.

Step 10: Announce that now is the time to take selfies with the birds.

Step 11: Carve the birds.

Step 12: Organize the spread and take recipe-book worthy photos.

Step 13: Load up the plates (ladies first, of course!)

Step 14: Find a spot in the shade and enjoy!

Step 15: Play games to allow time for the food to settle.

Step 16: Pull out the tasty treats!

Step 17: While enjoying dessert, everyone shares something they are thankful for.

Step 18: After everyone heads home, lay down and drift off into a tryptophan-induced coma.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Early Rains

Namibia is often called the 'Land of Contrasts' and for good reason. You can drive east from the lush, cool ocean town of Swakopmund and within 15 minutes you're surrounded by the most arid, dry, hot desert you've ever seen.

Similarly in our dry season it seems to be about 0% humidity and you don't see a cloud in the sky for months. But then sometime around October the clouds start to reappear. Some late-afternoon it will get dark and cool, and then the sky opens the floodgates. Yesterday afternoon's showers were even accompanied by lightening and hail! In many places of the world rain storms signify troubles and force us to cancel plans and stay inside. But here we pray for rain and see it as God's blessing on the land and go outside to enjoy the wet drops on our faces.

Soon these early rains will stop and for the next two months it will get hot hot! Then from January to March we'll get our real rainy season. And such are the cycles of life in the desert.

This is about as close as I'll get here in Namibia to making a "snowball."