Two Thanksgivings

We were fortunate enough to get invited to two Thanksgivings this year, but unfortunately we could only go to one. We accepted the first invitation at Steph and Erez's place, so we went to Kristen's place for aperitivo (appetizers).

Kristen lives in our old apartment where we were staying in September. She moved in to the apartment across the hall in October, but liked ours better, so when we moved out, she moved in.

She's from California and is studying to teach English to Italians. Her aunt, sister, and grandfather came from different parts of the US to visit her and then to go to Palermo, where their family is from originally. We brought Kristen a dessert from a pastry shop and a Poinsettia. She bought a turkey at Mercato Centrale near San Lorenzo and was able to find many other items at the Chinese market I told her about in Via del Giglio. This Chinese market was here when I was living here five years ago, but was smaller and across the street from where it is now.

Kirsten made a huge meal for her family and two other friends. We were sad that we couldn't stay especially since we know what a great cook she is, but it was about 4PM and our Thanksgiving dinner would be ready in a few hours.

We arrived at our American friend's house Steph and Erez from New York. They've been here for about a year and a half along with their son Jonah. They had two friends from New York as well as my old Italian teacher, Gianluca and his girlfriend, Renata, and another friend of theirs from Brazil, who loves New York.

Steph also bought a turkey at the same Mercato Centrale and found sweet potatoes there too. The terrific meal ended with a fantastic Chocolate cake that the Brazilian woman made and a tiramisł that Renata made.

Thanksgiving is normally a family holiday, but when you live overseas, those closest to you become your family. It's great how our new American friends want to celebrate this holiday with us.

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