Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite holidays - pumpkin pie, loads of family, more food than you can imagine, the best leftovers, and because when it's all over, I can officially start listening to my favorite Christmas cds EVER. But this year was very different. First of all, you don't get pumpkin pie filling until the week after Thanksgiving. And I happen to not have any family with me. The past couple weeks, I've been almost dreading this holiday. It would be my first without family, and that's a really lonely and depressing thought. But I figured I would try to make the best of it, since I'd be heading back to family soon after.
The week before, my roommate told me we'd be getting together with some friends late afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. We'd also have a big dinner with the small group on Friday. Christina's mom had kindly brought me a can of pumpkin pie filling, so I could make a pumpkin pie for the late afternoon get-together. I was later approached by some other friends of mine from school about doing Thanksgiving with some of the other single ex-pats. I thought that sounded fun, so we organized a group of 10 of us to get together. So Tuesday I headed out to Safeway to look for turkey, pumpkin pie filling, butternut squash, and all other sorts of Thanksgiving foods. After getting over the initial heartbreak of no pumpkin pie available, we discovered big Butterball turkeys, sitting in the freezer like golden eggs. I was overjoyed, and ran to get a turkey, SO excited that at least some part of my Thanksgiving tradition would be preserved. Then I saw the price tag. $50 for a turkey. A smaller turkey. I was obviously not pleased by this development. But since I didn't actually know how to cook a turkey, I figured it was probably for the best. We did, however, find cranberry sauce and stuffing. And blueberry muffin mix with real blueberries. So it was a success, in a way.
Then came the actual day. I decided to skip school. No way to sugar-coat it really, but there it is. It was a holiday for the rest of my family, so I was not going to school. And I had to go get my visa renewed. So I slept in, took my time eating breakfast, read a little, then headed off to the police station to make sure I could be in the country legally for the next week and a half. On my way back home, I picked up 3 chickens, a boatload of fresh vegetables, and some Amstel, which was solely for the chicken marinade. (ever had beer-can chicken? it makes a pretty good marinade...) I made a pumpkin pie for the late afternoon party. Christina and her mom made an awesome appetizer - they stuffed dates with blue cheese and roasted pecans. Around 3:30, we headed off to Annemarie and Matt's house to hang out for a bit. We talked, and drank hot apple cider, made from scratch I believe, and sat down for butternut squash soup before I had to leave. I headed over to my friend's apartment near by, where the cooking marathon began. We cooked two chickens - stuffed the skins with chunks of butter and lemon slices, stuffed the actual chicken with fresh shredded spinach, halloumi cheese, whole pepper, and fresh garlic. The marinade also had chicken stock, clementines, lemons, lemon zest, and all sorts of spices. We made sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows, caramelized carrots, fried up some green beans with garlic, as well as some crispy stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a very colorful salad. We ended up with only 5 of us there to eat, rather than the original 10 we planned for. But we all enjoyed it. There was so much food, we didn't really know what to do with it. A large part of it is in my fridge right now. Which means I totally don't have to cook until I leave in 9 days. Yes!
I woke up Friday morning, still full from the night before. Then came the best moment of the day - I got to put on Nat King Cole!!!!! It's what I love the most about the day after Thanksgiving. I got ready listening to my favorite Christmas music, then headed off for a long choir practice. That afternoon, my small group got together for another Thanksgiving dinner - turkey included! It was awesome - we watched the Longhorns destroy Texas A&M, ate until we could eat no more, and played the most ridiculous game of Scattergories. Turns out it gets that way when there are a good 15 or more people playing.
All in all, I actually had a good Thanksgiving. I missed having family around, but I still got to enjoy that time with my friends here. And we had some awesome food.
Coming up: 2 more rehearsals, then it's concert time! Scary... Only 5 more days of class, 9 more days of the Middle East, and Twilight is finally being released here. Oh, and a cumulative test, because we just finished our first patterns book. Finally.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Ice Cream, Sheep, and Grammar
Not so much has happened since my last post. I'm enjoying quieter days, although they're only that way because I have to study so much more... I would like to take a moment to congratulate Bob and Ruth, on the birth of Anders, Liv and Rich, on the birth of Wyatt, and send my best wishes to John and Debbie, whose wedding I am sadly missing.
Now, in my last entry, I wrote about Ajiin and the medical screening. Ajiin got cleared for her surgery, as did at least 6 other children. One of those children left to get his surgery this past week. I was lucky enough to find out that a group of them, including Ajiin, were staying about a block away, so I have been able to visit them. A few of us took some of the mothers and children out to get ice cream, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Last weekend, I took some time off to relax and read a book, something that I haven't had much time to do lately. I found a lesser known book of Tolkien's, called Children of Hurin, which was edited by his son. It was a long and complicated read, but I really liked it. Who knows, maybe I'll actually try the Silmarillion next...
With just 10 days and only 4 more practices until the choir concert, we've started having multiple practices a week, all intense and running well past their original ending times. But the music is coming together, and we're all excited for the concert. Our director was given an opportunity to do a workshop with an esteemed director/composer in the States, so she has been there for the past two weeks. During her absence, one of our tenors, a Fulbright Scholar, has been working with us, which has been interesting, to say the least.
Also last week, my roommate and I discovered a sheep tied up outside our apartment. We found out that the sheep was going to be the meal for the Eid in 2 weeks, and that a local butcher was coming that afternoon to prepare it. I have never seen any animal being prepared to be eaten, so I watched some of it. I guess the one thing that stuck out for me was how unhealthy the lungs looked. Several years ago, my family went to see the BodyWorks exhibit, the one where you can see all the body parts and how they're affected by cancer, or smoking, etc. You would've thought this sheep was a chain smoker by the looks of his lungs. Goes to show how much second-hand smoke there is around here. Way too much.
We finished one of our textbooks this week - our pronunciation and writing book. We took a writing test, which I studied really hard for, and got a 100. We then started a new book, called "Petra", which deals with fuusha (classical written Arabic) and grammar. It's complicated. Grammar definitely was not my strong point in high school, but I'm getting the hang of the first few chapters because it's similar to the sentence structure we learned for French.
On Thursday, we had a SWAN (Students Without A Network) meeting. We played a game comparing lots of little known details of the group, like how many siblings we had, how many serious scars we had, how many countries we had visited, which turned out to be quite fun. We talked about the city, what we liked and didn't like about it, and what our first impressions were. Then we played some music and enjoyed some awesome home-cooked food. Christina's mom arrived that day as well, so I finally got to meet her.
Friday started out really well. I went to a friend's house to make apple pies from scratch. That afternoon, I hung out with some other friends from school and a friend from choir, where I got to help make a baked chocolate pudding. That evening, we had a class party, so we all got to hang out, eat, and chat outside of a school setting. It was a lot of fun. Then I spiked a fever, and stayed home from school the next day. I got some work done and studied for a bit, then watched a movie, and took the rest of the day slowly. Today I felt so much better, so it was definitely worth taking the day off.
Coming up: more choir rehearsals, teaching at the English center, EAGLES GAME TONIGHT!!!!!, and Thanksgiving, which really means pumpkin pie. Only the best. :]
Now, in my last entry, I wrote about Ajiin and the medical screening. Ajiin got cleared for her surgery, as did at least 6 other children. One of those children left to get his surgery this past week. I was lucky enough to find out that a group of them, including Ajiin, were staying about a block away, so I have been able to visit them. A few of us took some of the mothers and children out to get ice cream, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Last weekend, I took some time off to relax and read a book, something that I haven't had much time to do lately. I found a lesser known book of Tolkien's, called Children of Hurin, which was edited by his son. It was a long and complicated read, but I really liked it. Who knows, maybe I'll actually try the Silmarillion next...
![Ajiin :]](http://img5.travelblog.org/Photos/78054/347800/t/3143059-Ajiin-0.jpg "Ajiin :]")
With just 10 days and only 4 more practices until the choir concert, we've started having multiple practices a week, all intense and running well past their original ending times. But the music is coming together, and we're all excited for the concert. Our director was given an opportunity to do a workshop with an esteemed director/composer in the States, so she has been there for the past two weeks. During her absence, one of our tenors, a Fulbright Scholar, has been working with us, which has been interesting, to say the least.
Also last week, my roommate and I discovered a sheep tied up outside our apartment. We found out that the sheep was going to be the meal for the Eid in 2 weeks, and that a local butcher was coming that afternoon to prepare it. I have never seen any animal being prepared to be eaten, so I watched some of it. I guess the one thing that stuck out for me was how unhealthy the lungs looked. Several years ago, my family went to see the BodyWorks exhibit, the one where you can see all the body parts and how they're affected by cancer, or smoking, etc. You would've thought this sheep was a chain smoker by the looks of his lungs. Goes to show how much second-hand smoke there is around here. Way too much.
We finished one of our textbooks this week - our pronunciation and writing book. We took a writing test, which I studied really hard for, and got a 100. We then started a new book, called "Petra", which deals with fuusha (classical written Arabic) and grammar. It's complicated. Grammar definitely was not my strong point in high school, but I'm getting the hang of the first few chapters because it's similar to the sentence structure we learned for French.
On Thursday, we had a SWAN (Students Without A Network) meeting. We played a game comparing lots of little known details of the group, like how many siblings we had, how many serious scars we had, how many countries we had visited, which turned out to be quite fun. We talked about the city, what we liked and didn't like about it, and what our first impressions were. Then we played some music and enjoyed some awesome home-cooked food. Christina's mom arrived that day as well, so I finally got to meet her.
Friday started out really well. I went to a friend's house to make apple pies from scratch. That afternoon, I hung out with some other friends from school and a friend from choir, where I got to help make a baked chocolate pudding. That evening, we had a class party, so we all got to hang out, eat, and chat outside of a school setting. It was a lot of fun. Then I spiked a fever, and stayed home from school the next day. I got some work done and studied for a bit, then watched a movie, and took the rest of the day slowly. Today I felt so much better, so it was definitely worth taking the day off.
Coming up: more choir rehearsals, teaching at the English center, EAGLES GAME TONIGHT!!!!!, and Thanksgiving, which really means pumpkin pie. Only the best. :]
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I Carry Your Heart With Me...
Hey all, sorry its been a while. For starters, my long weekend was one of those times when nothing ever goes right. All my plans fell through, including my plans to learn how to cook, which is being rescheduled. But it made for a quiet weekend that allowed me to relax and do all sorts of other things that were nowhere near productive.
Election Day. Yes, it was huge here too. We all sent in absentee ballots. Christina and Emily stayed up the whole night watching the results come in, and we left at 5 am to go to a friend's house to watch the final results and speeches, accompanied by Swedish pancakes and lots of coffee. We watched Obama win!!!! And then I proceeded to call my parents and let them know that we were up and watching, and to be the same old competitive child they're used to. :] We then proceeded to go to school, like normal.
That week was similarly simple: I worked, studied, and FINALLY got a gym membership at the Meridian, which has a wonderful indoor pool, and a sauna, and a steam room, and massage therapists.... Yeah, you get the drift. Thursday night was Jeff's (currently called Bing) birthday, and he and Jessey hosted "Bing's bistachio barty," keeping with our favorite theme of no p's. Last Saturday, I went to my friend Amanda's house. She had made pumpkin pie from scratch the day before, and I was lucky enough to be able to indulge in the deliciousness. We also had some awesome hot chocolate - Seattle's Best Triple Chocolate!!! - all while watching the latest season of Grey's Anatomy. And by season, I mean the first 5 episodes in a row. On Sunday, I started volunteering at a local English Center. I'll be working there for a couple hours on Sundays now. It was really fun, the girls there were all about my age, and they would rotate between working on the computers and learning how to cut hair, then would all get together to work on English. I'll be there with a couple of girls I go to school with.
Which brings us to this week. It's only Wednesday night, but I feel like its been years since Monday. A little background: a classmate of mine, Brenda, works to help Iraqi kids with heart defects get the surgeries they desperately need. She asked if I'd like to help with the medical screening they host here to see which kids can move forward to get the operations, and which ones are inoperable. I said I'd love to. The mothers and kids got in late Sunday night and early Monday morning. Monday afternoon, we had a meet and greet with other people who would be volunteering, and we found out that 5 families couldn't get across the border, and one baby died that morning. We had a couple hours after that until we'd all head out to a local church for a meeting with the families. When we got there, what we were doing here really sunk in. I met a beautiful little girl there - Ajiin. She only spoke Kurdish, so I never understood what she was saying, but we connected.
Yesterday was tough. We went to the hospital right after school to help with the screening. I brought face paints for the kids, which went over well. But not long after we got there, we found out that another baby didn't make it. A group of mothers tried to console her, but it didn't really help. We watched her fall apart, but as much as we wanted to help, there wasn't really much we could do except be there for her. Ajiin's mother knew the woman, so she was with her as much as possible. I kept Ajiin entertained for the afternoon. She certainly kept me on my toes - if I looked away for a minute, she would run off somewhere and hide, waiting to see how long it would take me to find her. We played with balloons, chased each other around, all sorts of things. The group from school I came with left around 330, but Ajiin was 3rd in line, and I wanted to be there for her and her mother when she went in. So I stayed, making arrangements to go back with another group who was staying down the street from me. I watched as mothers would come out of the screening room, looking hopeful, others who could read the doctor's face and knew they didn't have much hope. It was such a roller coaster of emotions, it was hard to keep the kids happy, when they could see so much grief. But we did what we could. Ajiin finally got in at 515, half an hour before we had to leave. I got to see her and her mother right before we left, but I haven't heard how it went. It's amazing how easily this little girl found her way into my heart.
Today, the doctors are telling the families if their child has a chance or not. I won't know until later if Ajiin will be able to get her operation. I almost don't want to know, because if she doesn't get that chance, she won't be around for too much longer. But I'm hoping for the best.
This weekend should be another quiet one. I usually don't like quiet weekends, but I'm looking forward to it. I need some time to decompress.
Coming up: the countdown has begun! 26 days until I return to the States (I told myself I couldn't count down until after the elections...), maybe some cooking, and most definitely more time in that sauna. Gotta love nice gyms :]
Election Day. Yes, it was huge here too. We all sent in absentee ballots. Christina and Emily stayed up the whole night watching the results come in, and we left at 5 am to go to a friend's house to watch the final results and speeches, accompanied by Swedish pancakes and lots of coffee. We watched Obama win!!!! And then I proceeded to call my parents and let them know that we were up and watching, and to be the same old competitive child they're used to. :] We then proceeded to go to school, like normal.
That week was similarly simple: I worked, studied, and FINALLY got a gym membership at the Meridian, which has a wonderful indoor pool, and a sauna, and a steam room, and massage therapists.... Yeah, you get the drift. Thursday night was Jeff's (currently called Bing) birthday, and he and Jessey hosted "Bing's bistachio barty," keeping with our favorite theme of no p's. Last Saturday, I went to my friend Amanda's house. She had made pumpkin pie from scratch the day before, and I was lucky enough to be able to indulge in the deliciousness. We also had some awesome hot chocolate - Seattle's Best Triple Chocolate!!! - all while watching the latest season of Grey's Anatomy. And by season, I mean the first 5 episodes in a row. On Sunday, I started volunteering at a local English Center. I'll be working there for a couple hours on Sundays now. It was really fun, the girls there were all about my age, and they would rotate between working on the computers and learning how to cut hair, then would all get together to work on English. I'll be there with a couple of girls I go to school with.
Which brings us to this week. It's only Wednesday night, but I feel like its been years since Monday. A little background: a classmate of mine, Brenda, works to help Iraqi kids with heart defects get the surgeries they desperately need. She asked if I'd like to help with the medical screening they host here to see which kids can move forward to get the operations, and which ones are inoperable. I said I'd love to. The mothers and kids got in late Sunday night and early Monday morning. Monday afternoon, we had a meet and greet with other people who would be volunteering, and we found out that 5 families couldn't get across the border, and one baby died that morning. We had a couple hours after that until we'd all head out to a local church for a meeting with the families. When we got there, what we were doing here really sunk in. I met a beautiful little girl there - Ajiin. She only spoke Kurdish, so I never understood what she was saying, but we connected.
Yesterday was tough. We went to the hospital right after school to help with the screening. I brought face paints for the kids, which went over well. But not long after we got there, we found out that another baby didn't make it. A group of mothers tried to console her, but it didn't really help. We watched her fall apart, but as much as we wanted to help, there wasn't really much we could do except be there for her. Ajiin's mother knew the woman, so she was with her as much as possible. I kept Ajiin entertained for the afternoon. She certainly kept me on my toes - if I looked away for a minute, she would run off somewhere and hide, waiting to see how long it would take me to find her. We played with balloons, chased each other around, all sorts of things. The group from school I came with left around 330, but Ajiin was 3rd in line, and I wanted to be there for her and her mother when she went in. So I stayed, making arrangements to go back with another group who was staying down the street from me. I watched as mothers would come out of the screening room, looking hopeful, others who could read the doctor's face and knew they didn't have much hope. It was such a roller coaster of emotions, it was hard to keep the kids happy, when they could see so much grief. But we did what we could. Ajiin finally got in at 515, half an hour before we had to leave. I got to see her and her mother right before we left, but I haven't heard how it went. It's amazing how easily this little girl found her way into my heart.
Today, the doctors are telling the families if their child has a chance or not. I won't know until later if Ajiin will be able to get her operation. I almost don't want to know, because if she doesn't get that chance, she won't be around for too much longer. But I'm hoping for the best.
This weekend should be another quiet one. I usually don't like quiet weekends, but I'm looking forward to it. I need some time to decompress.
Coming up: the countdown has begun! 26 days until I return to the States (I told myself I couldn't count down until after the elections...), maybe some cooking, and most definitely more time in that sauna. Gotta love nice gyms :]
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