There was no way I was going to teach on Thanksgiving evening so I gave my students an independent assignment and accepted an invitation for dinner at the home of the Embassy Public Affairs Officer, Lisa Heilbronn.
While Thanksgiving is one of those very American holidays, Ugandans are familiar with it. Barnabas, one of the deans at UMU told me that Americans would shoot you if they couldn't celebrate Thanksgiving. I don't feel near that violent about it, but I did feel a strong need to eat turkey and stuff myself to the gills preferably in the presence of others who are doing the same.
Lisa had set up probably eight tables (I should have counted) with about six chairs per table under a large canopy. The evening was warm even if Bry'Chell did have her sweatshirt zipped up to the very top.
The food was great--turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, baked apples, green beans, bread and butter and even two kinds of canned cranberry sauce. For dessert there was pumpkin pie and apple pie. The only useful thing I did all evening was to whip the whipping cream.
The other Fulbrighters were there some with spouses, some Ugandan Fulbright alumni--Ugandans who have studied in the US as Fulbright scholars--and some embassy staff--those people who make my life easier when I get confused navigating life in Uganda.
Lisa, her housekeeper, Bernie, and Bernie's niece, Judith prepared the meal. They did a fantastic job. I can't believe they came up with all the ingredients. Most things were pretty easy to find, but some, like the cranberry sauce (even if it was the canned variety) took a bit of ingenuity. As I often say, any meal I don't have to cook is a great meal. This is the case a hundred-fold on Thanksgiving.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening. Thanks, Lisa.
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