The Perfect Paraguayan Thanksgiving: Turkey and Air Conditioning

Thanksgiving or Día de Accion de Gracías, obviously means little to Paraguayans, but for the 42 trainees, the 190 volunteers and the Peace Corps office staff, Thanksgiving was an amazing excuse to share in the time old tradition of eating too much food and sharing embarrassing stories about holidays spent with friends and family back in the U.S.

The Paraguayan Country Director graciously opened his home to all the trainees to share the holiday in a home setting with traditional Thanksgiving food. The Environmental Education and Bee Keeping training groups took him up on his offer and we traveled into Asuncion early Thursday afternoon to begin the festivities. We all cooked a dish to bring to the gathering, Brenda, Jessica and I baked apple empanadas for the event. They tasted almost exactly like apple pie and they had the convenience of being able to hold in your hand.

The Director’s house was amazing! It is quite possibly one of the most beautiful homes in Paraguay. Not overly expansive, but capable of holding the 30 or so people that sat down to eat that day. And there was wonderful air conditioning that provided me with one of my first non-sweaty afternoons in Paraguay. The house was decorated with center pieces made out of breadsticks and rolls, quite possibly the most Paraguayan center piece ever, but very beautiful to see in a home after the past two months.

The Director provided a 28 pound turkey that I carved up for the whole group. And I did a pretty good job if I can say so. Other guests brought stuffing, mashed potatoes, pasta salads, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce (which tasted like heaven even though it was canned), and all the other necessities of a glorious Thanksgiving feast. This Thanksgiving I ate my first piece of turkey meat in 7 years and nearly died at how delicious it tasted. There are days that I am glad I am not vegetarian here in Paraguay, Thursday was one of them.

Is it possible to be so full of food that you actually stop breathing because your lungs have no space to expand? Because that is what it felt like for me after clearing my plate. And then came the deserts: cake, pecan pie, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and of course our baked apple empanadas. The rest of the afternoon after stuffing ourselves, we swam in the swimming pool and sat around sharing some quality time with one another.

I was nervous to spend my first holiday away from friends and family here in Paraguay, but I was blessed with the company of my new friends, the opening of the home of our country director, and delicious food. We took the time while eating at our table to go around in a circle to stay one thing we were thankful for in our lives and it was amazing to hear the joy that everyone had in their hearts that day for one another and their families at home. My thoughts drifted to all of you at home throughout the day and I hope you all had an amazing time sharing a meal of thanksgiving with loved ones.