Top Ten Things I've Learned From Our First Thanksgiving Abroad

1. Thanksgiving does not have to be on Thursday. The Sunday after is perfectly acceptable, especially if having turkey difficulties.
2. The correct way to pronounce "turkey" in French sounds something like "dand", but flapping your arms and saying "gobble, gobble," gets the job done just as well.
3. Butterball is missing a major market opportunity!
4. If you are not inclined to pluck, the second best way to get feathers off a turkey is to burn them.
5. Burnt turkey feathers smell just like singed hair.
6. When looking for cornbread mix, don't assume just because the box says "Maizena" and there is a picture of yellow muffins on the front, that you are going to get cornbread. It is very likely that the box contains lemon muffin mix, which makes for a very weird tasting dressing!
7. Cooking a turkey in the oven, even if it is only 4 pounds, takes a LOT longer than deep-frying one.
8. Turkeys are extremely expensive in Brussels.
9. Who needs brown-n-serve rolls when you live above a bakery.
10. You can celebrate Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce and football. Celebrating Thanksgiving without friends and family is much more difficult!

© 2005 Cindy Lane. All rights reserved.