Dear Friends and Family,
If I convey nothing else during the holiday season, I would like you to know that you are loved. You are reading this message because you have had a part in my life, big or small, at sometimes tiny and in other times enormous, and whether you realize it or not, you have impacted me. As I reflect back on my first Thanksgiving in Cochabamba, I realize that it was spent with loved ones, and the warmth in the room was evident. Before the day, I was apprehensive that it would not measure up to my annual Thanksgiving experience, the one time a year when I get to officially thank all of my guests for what they truly mean to me. Although I was super excited to make the turkey, another round of amoebas (yes, you read right, I finished my last amoeba meds two days before Thanksgiving day) firmed up the decision to opt for chicken instead. And man, was I nervous! I bought two smallish chickens, borrowed a beautiful and extremely heavy roasting dish from my host family, and the kitchen of a Maryknoll lay missioner (a special shout-out to Caitlin: THANK YOU!!!) because our dorm-sized refrigerator and tiny stove would not be sufficient, and started seasoning the bird. I used fresh rosemary and lemongrass that grows in the Maryknoll lay missioners' garden in la zona sur (another special shout-out to Lexie: THANK YOU!!!), fresh lemon that I cut in half and stuffed in each bird, carrots in the bottom of the roasting pan, and olive oil instead of butter to accommodate my crazy diet. Although the chickens turned a nice brown within the first fifteen minutes and the smells wafting from the oven were delicious, I couldn't shake the sensation that something was wrong. It occurred to me about thirty minutes in that as all measurements are different here, there was a possibility that my chickens were not roughly 2 1/2 pounds each like I had envisioned in the roasting time, but really 2 1/2 kilos each! A quick look back at the packages confirmed my suspicions, and I started praying and freaking out in alternating waves. In between the waves, I searched high and low on the internet to find out the approximate cooking time for roasting twice as much meat as I had planned, and was not comforted by what I found. From spatchcocking (which requires removing the backbone and smashing the entire bird...read: bacteria after I had already disinfected, plus I did not want a flattened bird for aesthetic reasons!) to broiling (can someone please tell me how to do this in a stove I am not familiar with?) to increasing the temperature, etc., the recommendations all said the same thing: your bird will be ready around 9pm. Since our start time was 7pm, I knew this would not work. The crazy thing was, through all of this, even though my heart was beating quickly and my brain said to panic, I had a sense of peace. I felt like God was telling me, "It's going to be okay." No matter how many times I responded, "How can it be okay...I simply don't have enough time!" the response I received back was "It's going to be okay." So I prayed. And I will admit, continued to search other ways and panic a bit...hey, I'm human, too! In the end, I was able to cook two beautiful birds that came out tasting as close to turkey as I believe is possible. I was also pleasantly surprised that I was able to avoid a heart attack when I balanced my birds while locking a door that requires a lot of finesse (with an Alaskan sized husky salivating at my feet and just waiting for me to drop it), walking with nearly ten pounds of chicken up a steep hill to hail a taxi, waiting in the rain and signalling every car that drove by because by then it was dark out and I couldn't see anything that would indicate the difference between a passenger car and a regular taxi, and asking God for patience as I waited in the taxi in an incredible traffic jam. In the end, I was Bolivian style late to my own party, all the guests arrived on time, but it all worked out. If they were feigning patience, I couldn't tell, as the greetings and the compliments on the birds were equally dished out in gracious portions. When I initiated the "What are you thankful for?" part of the night, my response was "pacienca y amistades,"...patience and friends. As you are reading this, I hope that you got a good laugh or two, if you had enough patience to continue to the end :). And as a reward for your patience, I would like to thank you again for your role in my life! I often reflect on how blessed I am to have people in my life from so many different countries, cities, ages, and walks of life. As you continue to enrich and enlighten my existence, please take a moment to remember that God put each of us on this earth for a special purpose, and even if you don't feel like it right now, every step you take is getting you one movement closer to your own gifts and talents that you contribute on a daily basis, and will contribute in the future. So I leave you with this song, as well as a request: please share with me what you did for Thanksgiving in a similar fashion...the highs, the lows, and everything in between :)! And remember, you are more!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDrzTQ5rn0 |
AuthorValerie Ellis, who is in alignment with the Black Lives Matter Movement and everyone whose life is impacted, now or before, by times of social injustice. Archives
July 2022
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