I wasn't quite sure how my Thanksgiving was going to go here in Korea. I pretty much just assumed that it would be a celebration spent figuratively and not literally. To my surprise, which should not come to much of a shock anymore, the Jeonju community came together with an outstanding celebration of thanks! One of my friends had a great idea to have a pot-luck dinner for Thanksgiving but the idea was to bring something that was specific to your family or your area of celebration. I decided to TRY and make my "famous" cheesy garlic mashed potatoes. I didn't have any bacon bits to work into the recipe and the minced garlic that I use at home was also unavailable but the Chef-Boyar-Dee came out in the end!! I had to chop and mince the garlic cloves myself and as small as I tried to mince the cloves, some bigger pieces snuck through. Instead of the bacon bits I decided to take some thinly sliced ham and chop them into smaller pieces in which I then fried crispy. Now cheese in Korea is a whole different topic!! The ONLY cheese available here in Korea is either yellow American cheese for sandwiches or shredded fake mozzarella cheese. So instead of the amazingly delicious extra sharp cheddar cheese that I use in my dish, I had to settle for the fake shredded cheese. Also, as you can see in the pictures, I didn't have a big enough pot for the all of the potatoes to boil in so I improvised with my deeper frying pan and boiled the rest in there. All in all it worked out pretty well and everyone liked them but I wasn't completely happy with the way they turned out. The entire table was filled with delicoius food ranging from home made potatoe soup, home made stuffing, mashed potatoes, salads, corn, and of course, Kimchi!!! But when in Korea, right???
I'm extremely thankful for my family. You have always stood behind me, supported me, and pushed me to the best person I can be. It's because of YOU that I have the comfort and confidence to move to an entirely different country to teach. Each and every one of you have given me a different aspect of my life in which I can give to others. I thank you and love every one of you more than you can imagine!!
To my friends, both in America and in Korea, you're amazing. I have laughed, loved, cried about, and appreciated so many different adventures in my life and without you in my life boredom would settle in faster than can be imagined. I look forward to seeing everyone again. I can't believe it but it's only 3 months away until I'm back in America!!!!