I hope everyone had as great a Thanksgiving as I did. It felt like I was in America again. I had turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, pumpkin pie, sangria, draft beer, 200 Americans, American football, and went to a casino! It was absolutely everything it was hyped to be and more. And to top it all off I was able to get burgers and chicken sandwiches throughout my stay. I also stayed at a cheap hostel wit like 15 other volunteers which was nice to see. A lot of other volunteers stayed with American families which provided even more luxuries like pools, American food, and ESPN.
As you can see the spread at the Ambassador’s was pretty incredible. 16 turkeys, 2 hams, 25 pies and all the trimmings on his dime. He’s a really great guy. He’s been here for 4 years and does this every year. He invites all the volunteers and some Embassy workers but we definitely were in the majority. Unfortunately he may not be back for next ear which will be very sad but we’ll see.
The sports week was also good for the first 2 days I was there. Tons of kids but they actually didn’t bother me too much which was good. Our football teams were a combined 4-1-1 when I left and when I get back today I’ll see how we did.
So now I’ll be going back to my village for 3 weeks. The training I was supposed to have next week got moved to late January so it looks like I’ll be at my site until the beach.
I got a wonderful package from one of my friends which contained music and magazines so add that to the list of goodies to send. It sounds like everyone is doing well back home and my sports teams (besides the Illini) are also doing well. So take care and happy shopping!
Steve
P.S. Uploaded a new album to Facebook so check it out
