Happy Thanksgiving! (Nam-Style)

Last year’s Thanksgiving was a pretty lame affair. Jessica and I had just arrived in Khorixas for the first time and were still reeling from what I can only assume was pure culture shock. We headed to a rest camp outside of town and feasted on chicken and chips. And as we did so, we made every effort to pretend we were somewhere else.

But this year I think we go it right. Mostly because this time, Thanksgiving actually felt like Thanksgiving—complete with mashed potatoes, gravy—and yes, even specially ordered turkeys! So maybe we weren’t with our families back home, but Jessica and I hiked up to Rundu (part of the way in the back of a cabbage truck in the pouring rain…) and spent the holiday with our “family” and friends here in Namibia.

Four generations of Peace Corps volunteers (Nam 25, 26, 27 and 28) spent most of Saturday cooking. Nam 27 was in charge of pumpkin pies, apples pies and vegetable side dishes (for 40!), Nam 26 had mashed potatoes (17 kilos!) and carrot cake, and Patrick, a member of Nam 12 who so graciously hosts Thanksgiving dinner at his rest camp each year, took charge of the turkeys (5!). Being newbies, Nam 28 just got to sit back and watch.

This was my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and I think it’s safe to say I learned a few things: You can never have enough gravy (or enough mashed potatoes). It’s never too early to start cooking (which is good, because most of us wake up at 5 a.m.). It is possible to make cheesecake without cream cheese, shopping the day-of ain’t no big thang, and sometimes "fine china" is just paper plates.

Perhaps most importantly, I learned that when you’re PCVs, it doesn’t matter whether the food comes out hot, or whether it comes out at the same time. Instead, it just matters that we’re there, our friends are there, and the turkey’s there, too.


Nam 26, 28 & 27


Not Sure What to Make of it...


Me & Rachel


YUM!