Now, for those of you who know me, you know how strange of a statement that is for me to make. For those of you who don't know me, one of my biggest "things" is holidays. I really am not a holiday person. As in, at all. I'll go through the motions, and I'll do whatever, but generally, I'm not a fan.
However, Saturday night found me sitting on the kitchen floor in Justin's apartment, watching Jamie and Justin put the finishing touches on an AMAZING Thanksgiving Dinner. The apartment was crowded, no doubt ... what with nearly twenty or so people crammed into two rooms (three if you count the bathroom), but it all came together so wonderfully. And I was ... *gasp* ... happy.
It all started two weeks ago, when Justin sent out the notice that he was hosting Thanksgiving. Now, as I am A.) anti-holiday and B.) not fond of being crammed into a room with a bunch of people (as much as I may care about them, because I really do), I was hesitant to reply. In fact, I waited a few days, puzzling it out in my mind. Plus, there was the matter of preparing or purchasing something to contribute. In the end though, I did decide to attend, and I am really glad that I did.
Yesterday morning, on my way to my weekly meeting with Mrs. Yoon (Hyun's aunt), I swung by a vendor in the Shinsegae department store and picked up a cranberry tart. Later I found out that not only did it include cranberries, but it was ALSO dairy-free - SCORE!!! At least two of my favorite people are extremely lactose, and therefore ... no-dairy dessert options equal a good thing. Met up with Amanda and headed to Stone's in the evening ... his apartment smelled absolutely HEAVENLY. The two chefs (Jamie and Justin) had been hard at work all day ... and the results were uh-MAY-zing. They did a whole turkey (complete with a bacon cover), stuffing, hobak juk (pumpkin soup), gravy, and mashed sweet potatoes ... I think the only thing I can say would be a wholly awe-filled "oh EM geeeeee". Other entries included garlic mashed potatoes (Trevor), potato soup (Jeff), green bean casserole complete with the onions on top (Amanda), a Waldorf salad (Ellen), a green salad (Jonathon), a broccoli-based salad (sorry, but the contributor of this is unknown to me), and Sunny's abso-freaking-lutely delectable candied yams. And if that wasn't enough, dessert was tiramasu, Apple pie (Oh, Costco, how we adore you), pecan pie (I think it was pecan?), and the cranberry tart. And, we of course can't leave out the dozen bottles of wine or so. ;)
The bird.
Chef Kembrey and Sous Chef Stone
After we all had attacked the food ... this was only half of it - there was still the yams (on a different table), the soups (on the stove top), and most mashed potatoes.
Even better than the food (hard to believe, I know, what with that spread), was the company. It was amazing. For a good portion of the evening, I seriously just sat on the floor in the corner and listened to everyone talk. Some of the guys camped out and played video games (girls, too), there was music playing, and conversation flowing freely the entire night. It was absolutely wonderful. It never ceases to amaze me, the sense of community that we seem to have forged in this country, so far from home. Everyone really just comes together. It truly is a beautiful thing.
Afterwards, we headed out to Beomgye to celebrate Hannah's birthday and dance the night away at Slang, a new dance club/bar. It was pretty sweet.
Janet, Hannah, and Erica at Slang. Love them.
Good music + good people = fun times. Post-Slang, I ended up at ... not Okinawa ... but the bar/restaurant/whatever next to Oak Bar. It's name for some reason is escaping me at this moment. Anyways, ended up there with Justin, Trevor, Trevor's friend Seth who is teaching in Ilsan, Jamie, Dean, Angela, Jeff, and Stuart. Five plates of chicken, an assortment of beverages, and hanging out until the wee morning hours (okay, 4 AM or so). Good times, good conversation, all in all, tons of goodness.
So this Thanksgiving weekend, I have spent more than a little time thinking about what I'm thankful for. There really are so many things in my life that seem to be going just so right, and it's not because of me. I'm thankful that I can be doing something I love, in a country that I adore, and I'm surrounded by people whose paths have seemed to cross with mine at precisely the right time. I'm thankful that I have a great support system of friends and my own created family back in the states (Japan and Korea, too!), who I love dearly and who love me as well. I'm thankful for hour-long phone calls, e-mails, MSN messenger conversations, and of course the postal service. I'm thankful for efficient subways, Korean cell phone service (and cheap text messaging), ondol heating, friends who have friends who send them Reeses peanut butter cups, and seventy cent busrides. Most importantly, I am thankful for every single thing that has happened in my life - as much as those events may have sucked at the time (and still do), I know that they have made me the person I am and brought me to where I am today.
Coming up? The Christmas season ... believe it or not, I actually found myself listening to Christmas music today ... and ... ... ... looking forward to Christmas time. Not only will Ms. Bahk be arriving (and I am extremely STOKED to see her again), but my amazing coworkers are planning a Twelve Days of Christmas Extravanganza. And it's gonna be off the hook.
Thanks for reading this looong freaking post. Pictures will be updated soon on Photobucket. If ya can't wait, just check out Mindy's Flickr. :)
I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. (^_^)
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