Thanksgiving morning I got up at a decent hour and made it into the apartments at approximately 10:30 am. I hadn't really slept well the night before but I found out that Nicky hadn't slept at all. He did however have a turkey soaking in a mop bucket in a brine solution with a ton of lemons. There were a couple of chickens too in case we ran out of turkey as we had fifteen people to feed. After he finished putting the appropriate spices and vegetables with the poultry, Nicky laid down for a nap while Patrick and I went to scour Dublin in search of some pie tins. The task was not as easy at one might think. It took us about an hour and about eight different stores until we found some in a Euro 2 store at which point I jumped up and down and "Show Me What I'm Looking For" by Carolina Liar was flowing through the speakers in the store making the moment all the more monumental.
Once back at the apartments Patrick and I feasted on Subway (I know it's not cool to get American fast food while abroad, it's only the fifth time I have) and waited for Nicky to wake up. When he did we set to work making sure we could make use of multiple ovens in the apartments as they aren't very big. Nicky put a chicken in his and a chicken in Casey and Teri's while I put my pumpkin pies in Caitlin's. The pies consisted of me mixing the filling and Nicky making the crusts without a rolling pin, and they turned out quite well. Later on others arrived to make their food. Toby set about making an apple pie, Anthony made a bucket o' salad, Laura made soup, Casey baked a green bean casserole, Teri mixed sangria to go with appetizers, Chris and Caitlin mashed potatoes, and the list goes on but those are the ones I witnessed.
The problem with having 15 people eat Thanksgiving dinner in one apartment is that there is not nearly enough table space, so we had to move tables and chairs from Casey and Teri's apartment along with Caitlin's dining room set down to Nicky and Patrick's via the elevator. We were able to get it all set up and a few of us ran around to different apartments, of people we were eating with, to make sure we had enough place settings. Once we were finished setting up at Nicky and Patrick's, Teri and Casey hosted appetizers in their apartment which is fully outfitted for Christmas I might add. Casey even put on some Christmas music to add to the spirit of it all and we enjoyed finger foods with sangria.
The big event of course was when we moved down to dinner and had a huge spread of food across three tables. Despite our concern for not having enough food, we had way more than enough. It was rather enjoyable and all of the food was delicious. We even adopted one of Kyle's family traditions of going around the table and saying what it is we were thankful for, which I know a lot of people do but most of us haven't. Most of us were thankful for the opportunity to study abroad, travel, and meet new people including everyone there. All of us are truly blessed to have this experience as so few people our age get to do what we have done. After dessert we played a game, I can't remember the name, but it's like telephone only with sentences and pictures. It ended up being hilarious, but once we finished it was time to clean up so those of us getting home by public transportation could make it in time.
I must say I think everyone was quite pleased at how far above and beyond everyone went. We had more than enough food and great company. It was by far one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had and it was abroad with friends who have become family.
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