Thanksgiving while living abroad

Thanksgiving while living abroad

Although many other countries have similar holidays to our Thanksgiving, they aren't recognized on the same day. So, unless they are working for an American company, expats have to put extra effort into finding ways to celebrate. Thanksgiving can actually be a difficult holiday for Americans living abroad because it centers around certain types of food and usually involves being together with extended family members, all of which may be hard to find. But even though the only bird available to roast is a duck or a wild pheasant, many Americans find that it is a holiday that shouldn't be ignored simply because of it's difficulties. Finding a way to feast often helps expats feel like the new country is their home.

If you are living abroad, here are some ideas of ways to incorporate what is traditionally part of Thanksgiving with what is available in your area. And perhaps combining the two will make some new traditions and memories :

Invite friends over. Having company can keep you from having your own expat pity party. Plus, this can deepen friendships with locals, while giving them the chance to experience an American tradition.

Make a dinner using ingredients that you can find. Roasted chicken, duck, ham, or even wild meats, though they aren't part of the modern Thanksgiving, may bring you closer to what was eaten at the original Thanksgiving.

Include other favorite traditions, such as watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or football games online, or go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, having your own Black Friday (but without the chaos, and unfortunately, perhaps the deals as well).

Go out to eat at a special restaurant.

Get out of the house and explore! Many Americans back home pay thousands of dollars to visit what is on your own front doorstep.

Head to your American Embassy, a little piece of America which often has a little turkey celebration of it's own.

Here are two stories of how a couple of expats have spent their Thanksgivings abroad.

Rebecca, while living in Taiwan, was in charge of a Thanksgiving dinner celebration with nearly 100 people! Delegating some entertainment and pot luck dishes weren't much trouble, but finding enough turkeys to feed that many people was her first challenge. Then, once she had arranged for 5 turkeys to be delivered, she found she had a new dilemma they were a little fresher than any turkey she had prepared before. She had to make a quick call to her father in America who was raised on a farm and ask him how to pluck and otherwise prepare a bird to look more like the Butterball Turkeys we are all used to! Then, all she had to do was figure out how to cook all 5 turkeys in a country where it is difficult to find anything larger than a toaster oven. If this sounds like an episode of "Dinner: Impossible" from the Food Network, it was for her!

Also, an expat living in China, Magnus, said this as background for his most recent comic pictured above, "Expat Thanksgiving in China":

Shanghai is where I lived for 4 years. If I wanted to spend tons of money I could've had a better thanksgiving than home! Plus football. (I never did though.)

I used to live for a year in Zhengzhou Henan Province. We had duck for Thanksgiving. It was nasty. And we watched old VHS tapes of old football games. (This was in 2000.)