Happy Thanksgiving

yes, some yanks/ex pats celebrate it, but no, it is not a holiday in the Philippines.

Which is surprising, since we celebrate everything (from Mama Mary to El Nino to the Chinese new year to the Muslim holidays... and often shops or banks are closed so folks can go to their family or barangay celebrations.

no Dewali or Norwuz holidays yet, except in those ethnic communities (did you know a lot of Iranians study here? because English, and because the degrees are accepted in many countries).

Yesterday, one of the "green" sites I usually read had an essay suggesting how we could bring up "global warming" to instruct our sceptical relatives to do whatever (recycle, die of heat stroke instead of using air conditioning, walk or cycle to work in the snow when it's ten below instead of using a car, become a vegetarian and risk iron/vitamin/protein malnutrition).

I wrote back and told them off. Sorry but I do have a temper.

One of the good things in the Philippines is that parties/ fiestas are seen as happy times to gather together as a family. 

But as I pointed out in an earlier blogpost, they do more than let you eat and get fat.

going home for family reunions strengthen the ties between family members, 
 and public Fiestas increase social cohesiveness and ties of trust between neighbors.

since Kuya is busy with harvest (it rained on the drying rice yesterday so they are busy trying to get it dry again) and both Joy and Kuya are busy with getting ready for trade fairs and decorating rice packages for Christmas gift baskets, we probably won't have turkey.

A couple years ago, however, we held a Thanksgiving supper for family, friends and employees. So we bought two turkeys. LIVE turkeys to roast. 

Alas, they kept hopping over the fence; twice the neighbors called us and we got them home, but the third time we couldn't find them... So we bought a lechon instead.

we don't live in an affluent neighborhood or in a gated community, so we figure someone (probably a tricycle driver) saw them and decided to take it home for supper.
Nothing goes to waste in the Philippines, not left overs or even run away turkeys.