cultural experiences
DAYS
A STRUGA THANKSGIVING
By Alex Dunn - Mak 17
It was a cloudy, cold, rainy 23rd of November in Struga when PCVs from around Macedonia gathered to
indulge their inner foodie, enjoy some good company, and celebrate Thanksgiving Day together. The menu
was replete with your typical Thanksgiving Day trappings. On display were three slightly-more-than-sevenpound turkeys, a river of mashed potatoes, a mountain of stuffing, and enough desserts to--as my mother
would say--choke a horse. Indeed, the feast was on. But you might ask, how did this amazing, exquisitelyplanned event come to be? And lo, what kind of life-altering experiences were shared by guests on that
fateful day? Read on, dear friends…
Saturday the 23rd dawned cold, rainy, windy, and grey. In the words of an arriving volunteer, overcome
with raw emotion, “It’s really shitty here.” Invited guests included the PCVs of Macedonia, roughly twenty of
whom made the pilgrimage (get it?), and local friends and families numbering in the dozens. The weather,
we concluded after the fact, turned a lot of the locals off the celebration, but the volunteers turned out in force
and we had around 30 guests in total. We were fortunately able to use the kitchen and dining space at PCV
Jessica Davidson’s workplace, which provided just enough space to seat everyone comfortably.
Each guest or family was asked to bring a dish to pass--and boy did they deliver. Food alone covered three
tables, and drinks another. Shortly after 2pm, and following a heartwarming and generally well-regarded
welcome speech from PCV Alex Dunn (also the literate and devilishly handsome scribe behind these
words), everyone formed a satisfyingly American-style line and dug into the offerings. Though the spread
was overwhelmingly American, Macedonia found space at the table in the form of Tavche Gravche and
Ajvar, among others. The next few hours were filled with laughter, joy, and unabashed gluttony. It was truly a
Thanksgiving to remember.
As the dust settled, with the local guests returning to their homes and a fair number of PCVs coming round
from their post-meal naps, the cleanup began. In the hour that followed, which has been termed with varying
levels of hyperbole a “great job,” a “Herculean effort,” and “quite possibly Peace Corps Macedonia’s finest
hour,” our wonderful PCV team cleaned the the whole place--including all the dishes, paving the way for the
evening’s festivities. After an hour or
so spent winding down, things picked
back up again that evening for a few
more hours together chatting, playing
games, and enjoying adult beverages
responsibly. The night finished off
with a rousing game of Cards Against
Humanity, leaving everyone a little more
offended than they came. And isn’t that
what Thanksgiving’s all about?
To end, a serious and heartfelt shout out
to everyone who came down to Struga
for the weekend. It was an absolute
blast and created some really great
memories. We thank you for sharing
your Thanksgiving with us, and wish
you all the best in the New Year.
Winter 2014 – 13