We Give Thanks

Now that I'm finished writing grad school application essays, I have a bit of room in my life again for writing here. So in the next few weeks I'll get you all caught up on the happenings of one Miss Spangles in the Ro of Manias.  Let's go back to Thanksgiving. Seems ages ago, but really only two weeks.  We decided it would be nice to share our quirky American holiday with some international friends who a) we don't usually see all that often and b) might not have had the chance to experience Thanksgiving before.  We each invited a few friends that fit the bill and cooked up a storm, considering it looked like it was going to be us and 13 men. Woh. In true international fashion about 50% of the guests were added/subtracted 2 hours before the meal, and in the end it was our team and 10 other male international students... 3 Nigerians, a Cameroonian, a Malaysian, and 5 Israelis. 

We are really fortunate here to be able to locate and cook a reasonably "normal" Thanksgiving meal, so we had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, rolls, glazed carrots, butternut squash casserole, green beans, jello salad, and seven (yes SEVEN) pies. Good good stuff. We had plenty of leftovers!  

I was reminded that night how meaningful it is to host international students for meals.  After dinner, we each shared something for which we were thankful.  One of the Israelis said that he had been here for 5 years at medical school (in the Romanian program, not the English program) and had never been invited to a Romanian's home.  He was a bit teary as he expressed his thanks and gratitude for the warmth and care he felt by being invited to our Thanksgiving dinner.  I mean, wow.  What an incredible opportunity we have to love and serve these students who are far from family and friends for such a long period of time!  

(Most of) the guys with the turkey

My plate-o-food. Round 1 anyhow

Our lovely little international gathering. 

We have much for which to be thankful!