Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I hope that all of you had a happy (and delicious) Thanksgiving day, and were able to spend time with loved ones. Although technically Panama doesn’t celebrate America’s favorite holiday, it felt like a real Thanksgiving, as more than 150 of the Panama Peace Corps Volunteers gathered together to cook, eat and be thankful this past Thursday. A Peace Corps Panama tradition, volunteers from all over the country gathered together last Wednesday in the province of Chiriqui – up in the mountains where the weather is a bit cooler, which helped to make it feel more like Thanksgiving. My group came directly from our IST (In Service Training – Peace Corps love acronyms) so we arrived late on Wednesday night. We dropped our bags and headed over the lodge – it was so chilly I even needed a jacket walking outside, and I remember breathing in deeply and being exactic to smell the cold in the air. We spent the night hanging out, making up for months without seeing each other.
Then on Thursday morning I woke up early to help with the cooking. We worked in shifts, with groups of people starting recipes, finishing others, working in shifts – I worked on the Stuffing and Candied Yams in particular – and it was a lot of fun.
working on the candied yams
my friend abby with the pumpkin pies (they were DElicious)
about 30 sticks of butter, 14 cups of sugar and 4 bags of marshmellows for the candied yams. they are better when you don't know all that goes into making them.
either a thanksgiving speech, or thanksgiving poem
no rice, no beans. heaven.
my friend Beth and I enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving meal.
friends
a surprise traditional dance that followed Thanksgiving dinner
