We did have one Brazilian guest for our American Thanksgiving dinner. I'm going to call it a she because it looked like she was about ready to give birth to a load of babies!! These giant lizards are fairly common around here. They hibernate during the winter and then come out during the hot, summer days to sun themselves. I can't get over them. Every time I see one, I just stare at it until it's gone. This one stuck around for a long time because the kids cornered it and guided it into the pool area. There was no escape, so we took several pictures with our little guest. Fortunately, by the time we finished lunch and it was time to swim, our friend was gone.
This past Sunday, all the Americans here celebrated Thanksgiving together. I didn't get any pictures of the adults and very few of the kiddos, but it was a great day. We had a real turkey, thanks to our newest ex-pat Sarah, who took her language teacher to the store with her to order it and then rigged the too-small roaster to work with the turkey. FYI - it's not common to eat turkey in November here. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving (obviously) and turkeys are more common around the Christmas holiday. Well, Sarah was able to get one and the meat was awesome!! We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes with melted marshmellows on top (which, by the way, is something I've never heard of in my life, but apparently, is very common to everyone else except my husband), a vegetable bake, my salad and veggie turkey tray, a pineapple bake that was so good, and of course, Pumpkin Pie and Scotcharoos. I was so full after we ate and all I wanted to do was find a couch and crash. Instead, we all grabbed chairs and sat around the pool while the kids went for a swim. I probably would have sunk had I decided to get in. Emma put on some arm floaties and spent the next hour swimming. I was sure she'd be cold and want to get out after a few minutes, but she lasted longer than any of the kids! I finally made her get out when it started to sprinkle. It had been an overcast, but warm day. Once the rain came, it cooled off pretty quickly. We had a great time and I was just really thankful for everyone there. Each Thanksgiving here has been different, but we've been very thankful for our time with new friends. This time, there were a total of twelve kids and thirteen adults, along with our Brasilian lizard-friend. We have much to be thankful for.
