Much to be thankful for

Cooking thanksgiving dinner in Volta Hall's main cafeteria...
We call it Ghanaian/ American fusion

"Ehh!? You are cooking green beans? Oburoni Why?? All the nutrients will leave them!!?

"but Auntie Ester, that's the whole point of thanksgiving - to cook the nutrients out of everything!"
...

The Cooks

"Ugh! Dabbi! Dabbi! (No! No!)"

"What's wrong Auntie Joyce?"

Auntie Joyce sticks her finger in the canned cream of mushroom soup. She makes a face.

"Ugh! Daabi! Daabi! I cannot eat this!"

"It's okay Auntie Joyce. This is Oburoni cooking. It's supposed to taste like that."
...

Six of us volunteered to help cook thanksgiving dinner. Elizabeth, one of our EAP coordinators, dumped about 10 loafs of bread in front of us. "You can make the stuffing". Anita and i looked at each other and then back at Elizabeth. "I don't suppose you have a recipe do you?" Right. Didn't think so.

We used our imaginations, tried to remember what we've seen in our own kitchens, and well... we faked it. At one point i asked for a measuring cup. "Measuring? What do you need a cup for? Use your hands".

Despite missing family at home, it was an awesome thanksgiving. Great food (i think we ate the only four turkeys in Ghana), Great music - drumming and lots of dancing. Great friends.
...

We found out about the Mumbai attacks on thanksgiving morning.

"Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think." ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

Thinking about friends and their families in India.

Love from Accra.