Thanksgiving 2009
I. Thanksgiving Festivities
This year, I had the most fulfilling Thanksgiving in a long time. It was the first time in YEARS that my entire immediate family was able to celebrate together. Because of the nature of my family's business, Baba has to travel frequently, so he is usually not in town during American holidays. From the years preceding 2009, my family (minus Baba) spent Thanksgiving on short road-trips.
Looking back two years, in...
...2008, I was in Hangzhou teaching English and had to stay on campus all day. I was a bit sad that I could not spend Thanksgiving with my fellow English teachers. However, I was extremely thankful because I ended up spending Thanksgiving with one of my colleagues/good friends from the university. We had a "dongbei" dinner with all the delicious foods of the northern region. 'Tis a warm memory that stays with me during this cool Californian winter.
...2007, my Mom, Bro, and I went on a road trip to Yosemite, King's Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. We explored some beautiful mountainous territory and indulged in views of tall trees and dams with deep blue waters. We experienced one notable dinner in an isolated area with shops and a restaurant (the only one open within a radius of about 30 miles). After waiting over 30 minutes to get seated, we ate some mouthwatering Mexican fare. *Shivers deliciously.*
As is the case with some immigrants, Chinese people usually do not "celebrate" Thanksgiving the American way, that is, with a giant marathon dinner (lasting from lunchtime until after dinnertime) consisting of "American" dishes (stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.). Regardless, many in recent years have used the holiday as a way for family and friends to congregate and share food and fond experiences. In my case, Thanksgiving this year was truly epic.
Pre-Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving (Wednesday and Thursday)
Earlier in the week, Mom asked me to be the Official Recipe Director for our Thanksgiving festivities. I was so excited to plan Thanksgiving, as I never did this when I was younger. From Monday to Wednesday, I looked on various websites for easy, delicious recipes and Bro or Mom gave the recipes a seal of approval. On Wednesday, Bro and I shopped for extra ingredients. At the last store, I had a humbling experience:
At the self-checkout, I was planning to use cash, but I was short two cents. Bro asked the cashier if she could spare two cents for our can of yams. I was so embarrassed to ask the store for money (I could have used my credit card), but I was thankful that cashiers gave a few pennies of assistance. I had no idea they could assist the customers with a few cents of change, ha.
After the shopping odyssey, I reviewed the recipes and started to assist in the preparation of vittles. For the turkey, we used Alton Brown's recipe for a flavorful turkey. I instructed Mom on mixing a fragrant brine and she placed the turkey in the pot to soak overnight. Next, we prepared a pie crust from scratch (using more butter and fattiness than I cared to know about :S). After the pie crust was mixed, we placed this in the refrigerator to set.
The next day, I awoke at 10 AM to help Mom prepare the food. We first prepared the turkey, stuffing it and baking it at 500 degrees for 30 minutes, then allowed the meat to cook through at 350 degrees with a breast "shield." The turkey cooked for about 2 hours, 30 minutes total.
Next, we mixed a pie filling. I was not able to find any pumpkin puree/filling from any stores, so I substituted yam for the filling (bought above). Mom placed the filling into the pie crust; the pie baked for over 50 minutes. For some reason, the pastry was extremely jiggly whenever I tested its readiness. Perhaps it had not fully set (cooled) yet and would not harden until after it was taken out of the oven...
In between the pie-checking, we peeled potatoes. Then, we mashed the starchy goodness, adding rosemary, salt, garlic, milk, and a few other simple flavors. The potatoes did not mash well (we do not possess a proper potato masher), so I suggested we use a hand mixer. What a silly thing to do! The potatoes formed a strange, gluey consistency. From the taste test, we determined that the flavor was good, though the potatoes lacked a starchy-break-in-your-mouth feeling. To add to this fiasco, I accidentally added too much water to a gravy mix. How can one fail at mixing water and powered gravy? ._.U The gravy was too thin, but we discovered the gravy was thin even if we added more powder.
During the potato-hand-mixing, Baba's side of the family arrived and marveled at our hard work. My cousins were amazed that I was in the kitchen preparing food (a first). Strangely enough, though, Baba's family admitted that they ate before coming over (they arrived around lunchtime). Who goes to a Thanksgiving meal pre-filled with food?...Probably only ultra-polite Asians?
By 1 PM, the scrumptious smells wafted around the first floor and my cousins were eager to sample our creations. By this time, I was stressed out and tired because I worried that the pie and potatoes would not work out. I thought that the effort put into the project might not be reflected by the results.
Finally, the ding of the oven signaled that the turkey was ready for consumption. We placed all the finished dishes in the center of our dining table and Baba carved the turkey for all. The other dishes were placed on the table and everyone was given a preliminary serving of turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, ham, and other dishes. To our delight, the turkey was PERFECT. We were so happy that the turkey breast was juicy and retained the right flavors. Later, we tried the homemade pastry, a yam-cheesecake-pie with the right amount of sweetness. The pie firmed enough in room temperature that it no longer jiggled; I was surprised that 'twas delectable at first taste! We all had several helpings of the dishes, then sat on our couches, defeated by the food. Photo albums came to life through narration and laughter echoed. A good time had by all. Later, everyone had a helping of pumpkin pie and some other dessert. Yummers. Baba's side of the family left around 8 PM, after my insistence at taking family photos.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the great results of our homemade dishes. The turkey was the best-tasting, most tender turkey I have ever helped to create. Many thanks to Alton Brown's Food Network video tutorial and other Food Network recipes. Mom also worked hard in the kitchen. We were able to make Thanksgiving a wonderful success this year!
Friday - Black Friday
Bro and I scanned some Black Friday ads on Thursday evening and made a list of desired items. On Friday morning, I was woken up by X's phone call at 4:30 AM...hahaha. I woke Bro and we headed out the door around 5 AM, the time most stores open...
I dropped Bro off at one of our target stores, while I went to another. I waited about 40 minutes to get into the store, found my desired items, and got into line within 5 minutes of entering. The checkout line wrapped around the store; after 40 minutes, I was able to leave the store, but waited another 30 seconds for a stampede of people to enter the store. There were two police vehicles here for maximum security.
I drove to meet Bro and walked into this other store, which had many walkways blocked by its lines of shoppers and their overweight shopping carts. Visualize the lines and amount of items in shoppers' carts at wholesale stores (i.e. Costco). Triple that and imagine several lines wrapping around a specific store. Bro and I did not find good deals, so I hunted around the store a few times, dismayed. Bro probably waited in line for 1.5 hours. We finished shopping and left to explore three more stores. At this time, it was almost 8 AM. We trudged around the stores, but after seeing the length of the lines, there was an unanimous decision to go home. We ended up not meeting with my friends that day, due to tiredness.
For the rest of that weekend, Bro and I were able to finish the Firefly series. I really enjoyed the characterization, witty dialogue, and unfortunate circumstances within the show. My favorite character on the show is probably Mal, as he has sort of an Indy-like love for adventure, with a foundation of leadership (y'all know how much I LOVE leaders ;P). The cast of mostly-Caucasians speaking Chinese is also an added bonus. I was able to teach Bro a few Chinese phrases, including "fei4 hua4" and "shuai4."
Overall, 'twas an eventful weekend.
II. On Gratitude
Through one incident in China, I learned the meaning of gratitude by experiencing its opposite. In Hangzhou, the city officials planned a fun-packed day where foreign teachers could experience the culture of the city. Because of busy teaching schedules, only moi and one other teacher represented our university. After having lunch and partaking in the splendor of Chinese calligraphy and stamp-carving, my colleague flatly told me that this tourism experience was fabricated and inauthentic. This person wanted to ditch the rest of the festivities and find some "real" culture. My colleague invited me to be a partner-in-crime, but I declined. Though I agree that the Chinese tend to embellish their historical achievements and culture for foreigners, I thought it was rude that this person would just take off in the middle of an event because of boredom, with the desire to see something more "real." It was as if the person felt no gratitude toward the city officials that planned a large-scale event for foreign teachers. This simple event created in me a desire to express my thankfulness and gratitude.
I have experienced so much in the past year, so I want to highlight some people/experiences/items I am grateful to know/have/possess:
- Family: Though I saw Baba very little in the year before 2008, I was grateful for the opportunity to spend extra time with him when I was in China. I am also thankful that Baba is doing well after an unfortunate incident. Mom, thank you for keeping in touch with me in China, being supportive of my endeavors, and cooking for me at home. Bro, thank you for your strange anecdotes, good recommendations, and overall guidance for any of my needs.
- Friends (through school): I won't mention individual names, but I am thankful to see and keep in contact with those awesome friends I know from high school and college. I am really lucky to have the chance to hang out with friends who live really close to me - thank you for making time for me! My Master's and Chinese friends - I was so humbled to be able to live in a different culture (as different as it gets when one is American) and to learn with/from you. Even rarer are those friends I know from childhood - though we do not talk much, I am glad to correspond with you.
- Toastmasters International: I have only been an official member for two months, but I feel the love. I am continually amazed by the caliber of awesomeness (enthusiasm, support) at my local club and I am always excited to learn new ideas about public speaking or life. I am tearfully glad to be part of such a high-quality club, one that pushes its members to become the best.
- China experience: I am happy to have the opportunity to live in a country where I could learn new things, investigate my heritage, spend more time with family members, travel freely, gain some worthy-to-tell-grandchildren stories (the ones they would hear one too many times), teach English and learn about the Chinese youth, earn my Master's, and become outwardly independent and fierce (though my knees may be shaking). I was also glad to have several professors' guidance in my coursework and thesis. As a whole, China 2008-2009 was truly a life-changing experience that opened my eyes to the cultures and mannerisms of the country and the adventures that lie beyond the U.S. borders.
- Work experience: I want to show gratitude for those colleagues who have given me support in my job endeavors and most recently, in my job hunt. I am also glad to have worked (or taken leadership positions) in my college days to build the experience I may need in the near future.
- My cameras throughout the years: Though one was stolen (>:/), I am glad that the others are in good condition and are working for my daily happiness. Though I can replace my cameras (and probably will in the future), the experiences my cameras have recorded will NEVER be replaced.
- This Sony laptop: Thank you for keeping me sane in China. Because of you, I was able to Skype with my family, make new friends, and complete homework. Though your battery life is low these days, I am glad that you are still alive.
Of course, there are more individuals and experiences I am thankful for - perhaps I will record some of these experiences as I get into the habit of blogging again.
In closing, according to a CNN article, those who keep a gratitude journal are happier with their lives. Such a tip could increase society's awareness of gratitude and their own role in influencing lifelong happiness.
This year, I had the most fulfilling Thanksgiving in a long time. It was the first time in YEARS that my entire immediate family was able to celebrate together. Because of the nature of my family's business, Baba has to travel frequently, so he is usually not in town during American holidays. From the years preceding 2009, my family (minus Baba) spent Thanksgiving on short road-trips.
Looking back two years, in...
...2008, I was in Hangzhou teaching English and had to stay on campus all day. I was a bit sad that I could not spend Thanksgiving with my fellow English teachers. However, I was extremely thankful because I ended up spending Thanksgiving with one of my colleagues/good friends from the university. We had a "dongbei" dinner with all the delicious foods of the northern region. 'Tis a warm memory that stays with me during this cool Californian winter.
...2007, my Mom, Bro, and I went on a road trip to Yosemite, King's Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. We explored some beautiful mountainous territory and indulged in views of tall trees and dams with deep blue waters. We experienced one notable dinner in an isolated area with shops and a restaurant (the only one open within a radius of about 30 miles). After waiting over 30 minutes to get seated, we ate some mouthwatering Mexican fare. *Shivers deliciously.*
As is the case with some immigrants, Chinese people usually do not "celebrate" Thanksgiving the American way, that is, with a giant marathon dinner (lasting from lunchtime until after dinnertime) consisting of "American" dishes (stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.). Regardless, many in recent years have used the holiday as a way for family and friends to congregate and share food and fond experiences. In my case, Thanksgiving this year was truly epic.
Pre-Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving (Wednesday and Thursday)
Earlier in the week, Mom asked me to be the Official Recipe Director for our Thanksgiving festivities. I was so excited to plan Thanksgiving, as I never did this when I was younger. From Monday to Wednesday, I looked on various websites for easy, delicious recipes and Bro or Mom gave the recipes a seal of approval. On Wednesday, Bro and I shopped for extra ingredients. At the last store, I had a humbling experience:
At the self-checkout, I was planning to use cash, but I was short two cents. Bro asked the cashier if she could spare two cents for our can of yams. I was so embarrassed to ask the store for money (I could have used my credit card), but I was thankful that cashiers gave a few pennies of assistance. I had no idea they could assist the customers with a few cents of change, ha.
After the shopping odyssey, I reviewed the recipes and started to assist in the preparation of vittles. For the turkey, we used Alton Brown's recipe for a flavorful turkey. I instructed Mom on mixing a fragrant brine and she placed the turkey in the pot to soak overnight. Next, we prepared a pie crust from scratch (using more butter and fattiness than I cared to know about :S). After the pie crust was mixed, we placed this in the refrigerator to set.
The next day, I awoke at 10 AM to help Mom prepare the food. We first prepared the turkey, stuffing it and baking it at 500 degrees for 30 minutes, then allowed the meat to cook through at 350 degrees with a breast "shield." The turkey cooked for about 2 hours, 30 minutes total.
Next, we mixed a pie filling. I was not able to find any pumpkin puree/filling from any stores, so I substituted yam for the filling (bought above). Mom placed the filling into the pie crust; the pie baked for over 50 minutes. For some reason, the pastry was extremely jiggly whenever I tested its readiness. Perhaps it had not fully set (cooled) yet and would not harden until after it was taken out of the oven...
In between the pie-checking, we peeled potatoes. Then, we mashed the starchy goodness, adding rosemary, salt, garlic, milk, and a few other simple flavors. The potatoes did not mash well (we do not possess a proper potato masher), so I suggested we use a hand mixer. What a silly thing to do! The potatoes formed a strange, gluey consistency. From the taste test, we determined that the flavor was good, though the potatoes lacked a starchy-break-in-your-mouth feeling. To add to this fiasco, I accidentally added too much water to a gravy mix. How can one fail at mixing water and powered gravy? ._.U The gravy was too thin, but we discovered the gravy was thin even if we added more powder.
During the potato-hand-mixing, Baba's side of the family arrived and marveled at our hard work. My cousins were amazed that I was in the kitchen preparing food (a first). Strangely enough, though, Baba's family admitted that they ate before coming over (they arrived around lunchtime). Who goes to a Thanksgiving meal pre-filled with food?...Probably only ultra-polite Asians?
By 1 PM, the scrumptious smells wafted around the first floor and my cousins were eager to sample our creations. By this time, I was stressed out and tired because I worried that the pie and potatoes would not work out. I thought that the effort put into the project might not be reflected by the results.
Finally, the ding of the oven signaled that the turkey was ready for consumption. We placed all the finished dishes in the center of our dining table and Baba carved the turkey for all. The other dishes were placed on the table and everyone was given a preliminary serving of turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, ham, and other dishes. To our delight, the turkey was PERFECT. We were so happy that the turkey breast was juicy and retained the right flavors. Later, we tried the homemade pastry, a yam-cheesecake-pie with the right amount of sweetness. The pie firmed enough in room temperature that it no longer jiggled; I was surprised that 'twas delectable at first taste! We all had several helpings of the dishes, then sat on our couches, defeated by the food. Photo albums came to life through narration and laughter echoed. A good time had by all. Later, everyone had a helping of pumpkin pie and some other dessert. Yummers. Baba's side of the family left around 8 PM, after my insistence at taking family photos.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the great results of our homemade dishes. The turkey was the best-tasting, most tender turkey I have ever helped to create. Many thanks to Alton Brown's Food Network video tutorial and other Food Network recipes. Mom also worked hard in the kitchen. We were able to make Thanksgiving a wonderful success this year!
Friday - Black Friday
Bro and I scanned some Black Friday ads on Thursday evening and made a list of desired items. On Friday morning, I was woken up by X's phone call at 4:30 AM...hahaha. I woke Bro and we headed out the door around 5 AM, the time most stores open...
I dropped Bro off at one of our target stores, while I went to another. I waited about 40 minutes to get into the store, found my desired items, and got into line within 5 minutes of entering. The checkout line wrapped around the store; after 40 minutes, I was able to leave the store, but waited another 30 seconds for a stampede of people to enter the store. There were two police vehicles here for maximum security.
I drove to meet Bro and walked into this other store, which had many walkways blocked by its lines of shoppers and their overweight shopping carts. Visualize the lines and amount of items in shoppers' carts at wholesale stores (i.e. Costco). Triple that and imagine several lines wrapping around a specific store. Bro and I did not find good deals, so I hunted around the store a few times, dismayed. Bro probably waited in line for 1.5 hours. We finished shopping and left to explore three more stores. At this time, it was almost 8 AM. We trudged around the stores, but after seeing the length of the lines, there was an unanimous decision to go home. We ended up not meeting with my friends that day, due to tiredness.
For the rest of that weekend, Bro and I were able to finish the Firefly series. I really enjoyed the characterization, witty dialogue, and unfortunate circumstances within the show. My favorite character on the show is probably Mal, as he has sort of an Indy-like love for adventure, with a foundation of leadership (y'all know how much I LOVE leaders ;P). The cast of mostly-Caucasians speaking Chinese is also an added bonus. I was able to teach Bro a few Chinese phrases, including "fei4 hua4" and "shuai4."
Overall, 'twas an eventful weekend.
II. On Gratitude
Through one incident in China, I learned the meaning of gratitude by experiencing its opposite. In Hangzhou, the city officials planned a fun-packed day where foreign teachers could experience the culture of the city. Because of busy teaching schedules, only moi and one other teacher represented our university. After having lunch and partaking in the splendor of Chinese calligraphy and stamp-carving, my colleague flatly told me that this tourism experience was fabricated and inauthentic. This person wanted to ditch the rest of the festivities and find some "real" culture. My colleague invited me to be a partner-in-crime, but I declined. Though I agree that the Chinese tend to embellish their historical achievements and culture for foreigners, I thought it was rude that this person would just take off in the middle of an event because of boredom, with the desire to see something more "real." It was as if the person felt no gratitude toward the city officials that planned a large-scale event for foreign teachers. This simple event created in me a desire to express my thankfulness and gratitude.
I have experienced so much in the past year, so I want to highlight some people/experiences/items I am grateful to know/have/possess:
- Family: Though I saw Baba very little in the year before 2008, I was grateful for the opportunity to spend extra time with him when I was in China. I am also thankful that Baba is doing well after an unfortunate incident. Mom, thank you for keeping in touch with me in China, being supportive of my endeavors, and cooking for me at home. Bro, thank you for your strange anecdotes, good recommendations, and overall guidance for any of my needs.
- Friends (through school): I won't mention individual names, but I am thankful to see and keep in contact with those awesome friends I know from high school and college. I am really lucky to have the chance to hang out with friends who live really close to me - thank you for making time for me! My Master's and Chinese friends - I was so humbled to be able to live in a different culture (as different as it gets when one is American) and to learn with/from you. Even rarer are those friends I know from childhood - though we do not talk much, I am glad to correspond with you.
- Toastmasters International: I have only been an official member for two months, but I feel the love. I am continually amazed by the caliber of awesomeness (enthusiasm, support) at my local club and I am always excited to learn new ideas about public speaking or life. I am tearfully glad to be part of such a high-quality club, one that pushes its members to become the best.
- China experience: I am happy to have the opportunity to live in a country where I could learn new things, investigate my heritage, spend more time with family members, travel freely, gain some worthy-to-tell-grandchildren stories (the ones they would hear one too many times), teach English and learn about the Chinese youth, earn my Master's, and become outwardly independent and fierce (though my knees may be shaking). I was also glad to have several professors' guidance in my coursework and thesis. As a whole, China 2008-2009 was truly a life-changing experience that opened my eyes to the cultures and mannerisms of the country and the adventures that lie beyond the U.S. borders.
- Work experience: I want to show gratitude for those colleagues who have given me support in my job endeavors and most recently, in my job hunt. I am also glad to have worked (or taken leadership positions) in my college days to build the experience I may need in the near future.
- My cameras throughout the years: Though one was stolen (>:/), I am glad that the others are in good condition and are working for my daily happiness. Though I can replace my cameras (and probably will in the future), the experiences my cameras have recorded will NEVER be replaced.
- This Sony laptop: Thank you for keeping me sane in China. Because of you, I was able to Skype with my family, make new friends, and complete homework. Though your battery life is low these days, I am glad that you are still alive.
Of course, there are more individuals and experiences I am thankful for - perhaps I will record some of these experiences as I get into the habit of blogging again.
In closing, according to a CNN article, those who keep a gratitude journal are happier with their lives. Such a tip could increase society's awareness of gratitude and their own role in influencing lifelong happiness.
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