Japanese Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is the national holiday of Thanksgiving back in the states (we folks who are abroad get a whole bunch of privileges for being abroad, we get to call the U.S. "the states" and we can call ourselves expats. Jealous much?). Here in Japan, it's just a Thursday. I will teach at Nagasaka Elementary School and pray that we don't eat fish for lunch.

To celebrate Thanksgiving (which is just a reason to stuff your face to the point of a heart attack and/or stroke), the group of English teachers organized an event this past Sunday. We all got together and had a potluck Thanksgiving. The group organizing took care of getting and cooking a few turkeys, and we were responsible for the rest. Not too shabby right? I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was busy eating as much as I could. 

Here you can see the spread of delicious things. The cooler was full of home made ice cream. You can see turkey, mashed potatoes, and other assorted ethnic things that really have no place in the Thanksgiving tradition...like sushi.

You can see right behind the cooler there in a clear bowl my amazing creation of Flakey Jakeys. They were a hit (they better have been because those things were crazy expensive to make). Also, the sacred pumpkin pie from Costco. Yeah. I don't actually like pumpkin. I know you are all going to get on my case for this, but I think that pumpkin is only marginally edible and we go crazy for it because it is so plentiful in America. You know, just because they grow with little to no effort and you can eat it, does not mean that we should. Can is not the same as should. For example see pickled...anything. What world do we live in where if you soak something in vinegar until it tastes like pungent doom makes it better. All preserved and canned fishes (I mean whole, I would never speak ill of tuna) is in the same boat (fishing joke). I'm looking at you sardines.  

My plate. You can see KFC fried chicken, croissant, turkey, mac and cheese, 3 kinds of mashed potatoes and some Spanish (from Spain) traditional potato pancake thing. When I asked if it was related to the latke, I was met with blank stares. Clearly nobody else watched the Judaism episode of Rugrats. Also featured is apparently the one British food that isn't awful. It is hidden, but it was like pigs in a blanket with delicious spiced sausage in it. A girl from England made it, so it's legit. Actually, all of the ethnic foods were brought by ethnic(esque) people. The croissants were made in Japan though. 

 Ah. The cheesebugers. I know you have been dying for this story. I hear you, and I give you this tale. We have heard of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," but this is the story of "How the Irish Didn't Get Thanksgiving." 

Once upon a windy and warbly night,

English speakers gathered in a country far removed from England's sight.

In the nation of the rising sun, 

the people gathered for the best American holiday...or at least the most delicious one. 

The tables were fraught with dishes from home.

Potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin pie, ice cream and a turkey complete with wishbone.

Among our party-goers were two from the emerald island,

who, never having heard the details of the American tradition, didn't quite understand.

In their haste to share with all,

they hastened their way to the oh-so-sacred American food hall. 

What they brought to share

they went to the store, ordered placed in a bag with the utmost care. 

In their minds they reasoned,

"What food best captures the idea of this American holiday season?"

The answer, as you have already seen,

was to bring a bag of cheeseburgers from McDonald's, where they had previously been. 

Personally, not wanting to reject their offering by being hasty, 

dug into a sweet hamburger that turned out to be extraordinarily tasty. 

Now, if you read between the lines, you will get what really happened there. A couple of Irish JETs wanted to contribute, but not cook. They went to McDonald's and got some cheeseburgers. Personally, I think it was a great idea. Hamburgers are delicious any day of the week.