Thanksgiving

Ahhh, the glorious, glorious time of year for the gluttonous, tongue-tantalizing excitement of Thanksgiving in a foreign country (going on four years now!)! Seriously, I think ex-pats really make some amazing efforts to not only carry out tradition when it's not always easy to do so food-wise, but also to welcome new foreign flavors, foods, and friends in as well! It's a beautiful (and tasty) thing indeed!

Although I sorely missed stuffing my face alongside my husband (and usually with his delicious creations), I was really excited to celebrate in Kiev this year with some of the diplomats I've had the pleasure of meeting through the English Language Fellows program here in Ukraine.

We had a crackling fire...

...local beer and comforting munchies...

...homemade stuffing for our beautiful turkey (ordered through the U.S. commissary...thanks, diplomats!)...

...lots of yummy sides and creations...

...and, of course, good people and conversation to share it all with:

To my non-oven-owning delight, we even had our fair share of amazing pies (sadly, canned pumpkin was nowhere to be found, so was not the star of this year's feast):

And it wouldn't be dessert in Ukraine without ice cream from a bag!

The day after Thanksgiving, I even got to channel a little Black Friday shopping spirit (without, thankfully, everything else that goes along with Black Friday) by doing some Christmas shopping in downtown Kiev! Besides hitting up the usual shopping spot of Andriyivskyy Uzviz (St. Andrew's decent...a winding, cobbled lane lined with artist and folk craft stalls), I was also lucky enough to be in town during a Ukrainian Folk Crafts Expedition, which had some unique items and exhibits as well:

All in all, it was a great little getaway to the capital and a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! I'm truly thankful to have such opportunities to live, work, and have so many wonderful experiences abroad, and am especially grateful for all the people who come along within these journeys! On top of that, with a fabulous husband, good family, and lovely friends waiting for me at home, what more could a gal possibly ask for for Thanksgiving?

Oh yeah, besides a set of Beatles matryoshka dolls, that is.