Categories: Food & DrinkHolidays

Expat Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner: turkey breast, rice with mushrooms, cornbread, and cream of corn. Enjoyed with a bottle of red wine.

Before I ramp up coverage of what it’s like to be living in Medellin in December, as the festivities for Christmas get under way, I want to briefly share how I celebrated my expat Thanksgiving in 2010.

Aside from comments on Twitter and Facebook earlier in the week, I wouldn’t have known it was Thanksgiving back in the USA.

I’m growing accustomed to the Colombian holiday schedule since that affects my daily life to a greater degree.

In spite of my passion for cooking, I don’t do it much here.  On Thanksgiving morning, I heated up an arepa, and made a comment about it on Twitter.  Pretty pathetic.

A typical American holiday dinner is a welcome break from a steady diet of arepas and empanadas.

Luckily, my new friend Mike (Twitter @gobigmike, blog) who has been living in the Art House since October, noticed what I wrote, and invited me over to help him cook a traditional American meal.

Appreciating his enthusiasm for the holiday, I headed over and played the part of sous chef in the kitchen.

Mike had written down a few recipes, and already bought all the supplies.

The menu included turkey breast with gravy, wild rice with mushrooms, cornbread, and my favorite, the cream of corn.

We washed it all down with an inexpensive bottle of red wine from Bordeaux.

If you’re reading Mike, thanks again for making my 2010 Thanksgiving one worth writing home about.

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Dave

Dave is the Founder of Medellin Living and author of the Medellin Travel Guide ebook. Connect with him via Twitter @rtwdave

View Comments

  • Hey David, if you want to build up your blog to generate income, you should focus more on the female aspects of Colombia, or at least tie that theme into your writings. And what if you go to Brazil as you said on Roosh's blog... then Medellin Living will go kaput. If you're not actually planning to live in Medellin, you may want to change the name of the site to something more flexible ?

    • Hey Jesse, appreciate the suggestions. I was already back in the US for 11 months after starting Medellin Living last year, and kept it going by soliciting contributors who were still living in Medellin and Colombia. For me, this blog is less about making money and more about sharing personal experiences and helping others to get to know a city I enjoy so much (and has suffered from negative stereotypes for a long time).

      That said, I do make money from the site through advertising, which acts as a nice supplement to my other sites and projects.

      When I start traveling long term again next year, I'll start seeking contributors again, and might be willing to pay a monthly figure by then depending on how much the site is bringing in.

  • Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday in the US. Glad you were able to join me for the feast, and that everything turned out at least edible!

    For future Medellín Thanksgiving planning reference, Carrefour sells big frozen turkeys, and also has non-frozen turkey cuts (breast, thigh, leg) in the butcher's case.

    • Quick question, because Carrefour is no more, any other tips on where I can get some turkey, cranberry sauce, and gravy? ?

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