We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration here at the house yesterday with friends! It was really a special day, and mostly because of the people that we shared the day with! Our celebration included a number of people of different nationalities. Sharing the American Thanksgiving holiday with a number of people from other countries was really rewarding to me, letting them see how Americans give thanks on this day. They all seemed to enjoy it, especially the fact that it involved eating food!
- Father Franco Uras – Father Franco is really a good friend! An Italian Priest who has been in the Philippines for the past 44 years now. Father is stationed in Buda, which is on the border between Davao and Bukidnon. Father has invited the group up to his place next weekend to continue the Thanksgiving celebration for an additional weekend!
- John Grant – a fellow writer here on this site. John is British, and it was his first time to celebrate Thanksgiving American Style. John seemed to thoroughly enjoy the occasion.
- Steve King – another Brit, and a good friend who lives here in Davao. Like John, this was Steve’s first Thanksgiving experience, and he seemed to enjoy it a lot!
- Klaus, Rose and Mutti Doring – Germans, Klaus and Rose are married, Mutti is the mother of Klaus. They all have been living here in Davao for the past 9 years. This was their first Thanksgiving celebration!
- Shannon Sauro – Shannon is a reader of this site, and she is a Missionary doing work here in Davao. Shannon is a student of Bisaya like me, and she is the one who introduced me to the lady who is now my Bisaya teacher.
- Ted Padova – Ted is an Italian American, he really seemed to hit it off with Father Franco, since they share Italian roots. Ted was awarded the championship yesterday as the biggest eater of the day! Wow, Ted can put away a Thanksgiving meal!
- Mandy Dinglasan – Mandy is a good friend. A Filipino, I am not sure if Mandy has celebrated Thanksgiving any time in the past, I forgot to ask! I have a feeling that he has, though, because Mandy has a lot of foreign friends.
So, that was the crowd, and we had a great time! We started off with some snacks and drinks (mostly, we drank Father Franco’s own concoction of Calamansi Liquor, which was excellent). After a great conversation we sat down to a dinner consisting of two turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans, pumpkin pie, and I am sure I am forgetting some of the components of the meal. While I did help out with a bit of the cooking, Feyma gets the credit for a great meal! Everybody seemed to really enjoy the meal. I guess it was obvious that the food was enjoyed a lot, because after the meal, none of us could walk anymore, except for Ted who seems to always have room for oner more helping! Thanks to Feyma for a great meal, and thanks to all the guests for coming and sharing their Thanksgiving with us!
I have posted a few photos of some of the celebration. Sorry, no food photos, because I got busy helping with the cooking and forgot to take the pictures! You can view photos of our Thanksgiving 2007 celebration by visiting the Photo Gallery.
I like to publicly thank Bob and Feyma for my very very first Thanksgiving celebration, and more over I like to say how great it is to have people from many nationalities share a table for food and company.
Lets hope the UN can learn from us.
Hi John – The pleasure was ours! We were glad that you could be here. You know, this thing about having many different nationalities share a table of food is something that I have really come to enjoy. Back in the USA for me (and I imagine in Britain for you too), I didn't have friends from so many different countries. Coming together like this is something that creates goodwill, helps us understand each other better, and generally just broadens our perspectives. It has become one of my favorite parts of living abroad.
How come I feel envious? 🙄 By the way, did John steal the left over again? 😆
Hi Bob and John, yeah it was one of the most special days this years for us. We enjoyed so very much. Of course EVERYTHING, the food, the liquor, the wine, the cake, and especially the very unique companionship of the whole group. John, you are absolutely right with your last sentence. Rose, my mam and I like to thank you and Feyma again very much. Looking forward to next weekend going to Father Franco's place.
Sounds wonderful! Wish we could have been there too! 🙂 So glad you all had such a great time together!
Hi Eric – No need for envy! You can come next year! No, John didn't get the leftovers, because we ate the turkey until the bones were clean! The very last of the turkey and the other foods were sent home with Father Franco. I am certain that he is enjoying them today!
Hi Klaus – We were thrilled to have you over! It makes us feel so good that the day was a highlight for you!
Hi AmericanLola – You and the AmericanLolo are always welcome at our place! Don't ever be shy to come to Davao and be part of our celebration!
HI Bob. It looked like a great day was had by all. Did you save me any left overs.
Hi Frank – Sorry… you missed out for this year!
Wow! A happy belated Thanksgiving! I am quite envious that you were all able to share the holiday with each other. God willing, one of these years will find me in the phils showing everyone just what it means to E-A-T!
Take care!
I want to add my thanks and gratitude to Bob and Feyma for a truly fantastic Thanksgiving celebration. The food was amazing and the mixture of company really made it swing.
It was my first Thanksgiving but it aint gonna be my last ha ha.
Thanks so much guys. I can see now I am going to have to up the ante with my cooking skills and providing the next dinner. Oh gosh, this is becoming a very tough competition…………..
Hi Lawrence Johnson – We'll be looking forward to that training you are planning to provide!!! 😆
Hi Stephen – We had a great time yesterday, and that was thanks to everybody who attended! Hmm… upgrade your cooking skills? You were a great cook before, I can't wait for the encore!!! 😀