Thanksgiving in Botswana

Though this is probably obvious to all, thanksgiving is not a holiday celebrated all over the world. One of the places it's not celebrated is Botswana. I am sure that the people here do give thanks, often multiple times a day for their lives, their families, friends, loved ones, the bounty of food, clean water, clean air, possessions that they have, etc.. They just don't make a national holiday out of it. That being said, I am an American and a New Englander, and thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. This is not the first time I've been out of the country for thanksgiving and it's not the first time that I have witnessed this holiday passing while not being in the presence of my family. But because of the circumstances, this thanksgiving has been one to remember for a long long time.

Part of what makes it a memorable thanksgiving is that it simply doesn't feel like thanksgiving to me. Today it was 83 degrees (F) and the only reason it was that cool was because it was cloudy for much of the day and we had two major thunderstorms roll through, one of which dropped ball bearing-sized hailstones that melted away within a fraction of a second in the heat and puddles of rain-water. The day was not all pelting water and hailstones; Shanthi came home from work, around 6 in the evening, walking beneath a rainbow. The rainbow made me smile and reminded me to be thankful of the beauty around us every day. I am thankful for all the good things I have in my life...families that support me and love me, Shanthi, my wonderful and loyal friends and acquaintances, my health, my talents and what wit I have about me, my cat Clove, who makes our exile here in Botswana feel like home more than anything else.

Lately the temperature has reached 95-100+ EVERY DAY. It's been humid, which is apparently quite odd for such a long period of time. But then again...who knows how long. The change in seasons has been so gradual that I find myself wondering what happened to October, and Edna's visit, two weeks ago this weekend seems like ages ago. Time goes by and you don't even know it. One day I feel I'll wake up and find that I'm 42 and I'll say to myself "What...just...happened?"

So it's thanksgiving. Shanthi and I are vegetarians. Hmmm. Our friends in the Baylor program here (Baylor College of Medicine has a program here in pediatrics, much like Penn's program in adult medicine) were hosting a thanksgiving dinner and invited us. Or maybe we just shouldered our way into getting an invitation. Either way, we were going. We decided to bake Spanikopita (one of my pot-luck go-to's) because...well, they don't have chestnuts in Botswana (well...none that I could find), and my first choice, a chestnut-loaf that my mother traditionally bakes for thanksgiving (all vegetarians when I was growing up) was thus a non-starter.

So I bought up all the frozen and fresh spinach available at the Riverwalk Mall on thanksgiving day (one good thing about it not being a holiday: shops are open). 2 bags frozen, 3 bags fresh. Bought two tubs of feta, a pack of portobello mushrooms. Phyllo dough from Woolworth's. We had garlic, onions, herbs and butter at home. Good to go. While the pies were baking (had to put them in the oven sequentially as there wasn't enough space for both pies at once), I called my parents on skype and spoke with my mother for long time, which was great. Skype is both a godsend and an instrument of depression. On the one hand, it's wonderful to be able to talk to our families and friends. On the other hand, it makes me miss being with them all the more...sigh...

I digress...So...here's one of the two pies I made: Here are some Stuffed Gem Squash that Rebeca made: So we then went over to the Baylor housing complex. It was great fun. There were about 20 people there, all great people to hang out with. We shared food and drink and humor. Here's the table before people stood or sat around it: Here are the people standing around the table: Michelle and Rebeca had a laugh while Parth helped Shanthi (and Jeff, who's somewhat out-of-focus in the background) re-set the table centerpiece that Jeff had accidentally knocked over: Jeff and Jennifer brought in their new, super-cute puppy who was especially fond of running to and fro while vigorously wagging his tail, much to everybody's delight: The puppy seemed to take a liking to Sam (turkey = great bribe for puppy love): On a sad note, I called my sister when we got home from the dinner, but she was not at home. I still have not had the chance to speak with her since we arrived in Botswana :( The 10 hour time difference between Gaborone and Seattle makes this more difficult. Hopefully I will get a chance to catch up with her soon.