So yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. It was pretty much AMAZING. I took a road trip with Nir and Itamar and their two section friends Josh and Natasha to the colonial sites in Jamestown Settlement and Colonial Williamsburg, and on to their mate Geoff's house in Virginia Beach for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah man, AMAZING.
We left at about 8:00am and arrived in Jamestown Settlement at 10:30am. Jamestown Settlement was the first successful English settlement in America (as well as being Pocahontas' home, omgosh) so I was really excited about checking it out. We'd heard of this event called "Food and Feasts of Colonial Virginia" being held there, which we thought was a food festival where people could taste traditional Thanksgiving food at different stalls. It turned out to be just demonstrations of how the early settlers and native Indians would obtain and prepare their food, and how food played a big role in the two people's interaction and relationship. Volunteers were dressed up as native Indians and the colonial settlers to show us the food preparation and give us history lessons. It was a little disappointing in that we couldn't taste any food, but it was pretty interesting to learn about colonial life and to check out the various areas of the Settlement.
We went to the Powhatan Indian Village where we could walk inside individual tents and watch them cook deer on an open fire. It was pretty crazy, they had this big deer carcass just hanging on a tree, and two women were slicing off chunks of deer meat with sharp stones. Wow. The tents were real sturdy despite being made out of what seemed like dry flax, and there were all these animal skins hanging off the ceilings, as well as tools and hunting equipment. We then made our way to the ships moored at the port. We explored the biggest ship which was cool, we went down to where they kept the cannons and crew beds (it was really cramped, the sailors would not have been comfortable) and walked around all over the top. Nir and Josh had a Titanic moment at the head of the ship (the scene where Jack holds Rose at the edge of the Titanic and she has her arms outstretched), it was very cute. James Fort was interesting too. Two colonial settler volunteers were taking the meat off a huge pig that was hanging off a tree (maybe they learnt it off the native Indians) which was kind of gross. We tried on these uncomfortable metal helmets that the men presumably wore whenever they left the fort, checked out the various houses in the fort, and learnt about the types of settlers that would come over to America from England and how they lived from day to day. Good times.
On the way to Virginia Beach we stopped at Colonial Williamsburg to check out the historical part of town. There were heaps of people out and about, as well as more people dressed up in old colonial garb. The historical part of town was quite expansive, and the houses were all kept in really good condition. They were beautiful! It's amazing they've preserved everything so well. I really appreciated being able to take in all this awesome history. Virginia's a great place to be.
We got to Geoff's house in Virginia Beach at around 3:00pm. The house was really big, beautiful and cosy. His parents were really kind and welcoming, constantly offering us food and drinks. We met other family members and friends, drinking pomegranate martinis (heavenly) and eating appetisers (including this amazing buffalo chicken dip and olive and cheese dip) with the football playing in the background. They also had a beer keg in the garage. Wow. Dinner wasn't going to be ready for a few hours, so we hung out in the garage chatting and playing flip cup. It was fun. Josh wanted me to teach him the Kiwi accent, as well as some slang. He really got into the words "gutted" and "keen". I was happy to enlighten him.
Then it was time for the big event: the Thanksgiving meal. And omgosh you guys, you should've seen the spread! Geoff's mum had made a turducken, which is chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, with stuffing. Crazy awesome, right? And there was mash, salad, stuffing (my favourite part of the meal), ham, pasta, vegetables, cranberry sauce bread rolls... SO MUCH FOOD. Geoff's dad said a beautiful grace, and we dug right into the food. The table was pretty quiet for the first little while as everyone relished in the amazing meal. I felt gutted that I could only fit in one serving because everything was so delicious. At that moment I could empathise with the ancient Romans, who would make themselves throw up multiple times during a feast so they could eat loads. Disgusting and gluttonous, yes, but it didn't seem like such a bad idea after I finished eating. The dessert was fantastic too: pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, cookies, waffle cone pieces etc. I was in food paradise. I didn't want to leave. But my stupid little stomach made me.
We hung out for a little bit after dessert, chatting and making merry over some good wine. Geoff's family and friends were all such great people! Funny, kind, welcoming, very hospitable, so awesome. They asked me whether we had any holidays in New Zealand comparable to Thanksgiving, where the point is for family and friends to get together and eat for the whole day. Apart from Christmas, I couldn't really think of anything. I reckon New Zealand should adopt Thanksgiving, or something like it. Isn't it an awesome idea? Getting together with your loved ones and enjoying each other's company over amazing food? Yeah, I think so.
We left at around 9:00pm, checked out the Virginia Beach boardwalk where they'd set up these fantastic Christmas lights (I particularly enjoyed the jetskiing Santa lights), and got back to Charlottesville at around 1:30am. Natasha drove the whole way! She was a legend man, totally grateful to her.
So that was my first American Thanksgiving. I had a total blast. Checking out colonial Virginia, and partaking in a magnificent Thanksgiving meal in an American home. Although we didn't go around the table to say what we were thankful for, in retrospect, I would have said that I was thankful for this exchange. This opportunity to experience all this amazing American culture and meeting a bunch of great people to share the good times with. And my evening at Geoff's house reminded me of the important things in life: a loving family, good friends, and blessing others with hospitality and wonderful food and drink. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes isn't totally wrong about that. When I grow up I want to pay everything forward, host feasts at my place for my family and friends, as well as my kids' friends, loving them all with a servant's heart. I actually felt a little homesick during the festivities, eh. I can't wait to see all my friends and family back home! Also, I want to try to celebrate Thanksgiving each year in some shape or form, I think it's a really great holiday. America is such good value.
Peace.
G.
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