“Happy Thanksgiving” – that phrase finished each and every small conversation we had on November 24th. Alex, one of our guests, new he wanted to do something for Thanksgiving, so we did. The new Outpost Club Bedford House would be the location for our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time to be with friends and family, and lucky for Outpost Club members, we were surrounded by exactly that. We might come from all over the world, but we are one big community. The Bedford house is big (14 members in all)  so we needed a really big turkey… 21 pounds, and it needs 5 hours in the oven!

When my friends first invited me to spend Thanksgiving with them for the first time a couple of years ago, I jumped at the opportunity. It's one of the major holidays in the USA, a day celebrated with family and friends. I've always been fascinated by it because back in Europe we don't have a day like it. That’s a real advantage to living in a place like Outpost is that you can experience great moments like this shared celebration.

I've asked Americans about the history of this wonderful day, and no one seemed to know the know story. "Pilgrims and Native Americans ate a meal together once." they'd tell me. So I did some research on the subject and here's what i've found: the history of Thanksgiving is pretty inspiring. When the first European settlers arrived in America in 1620, they nearly died of starvation. But the Native Americans gave them food, taught them to hunt and showed them how to grow corn. Everyone was so grateful that they held a big feast together to offer thanks. Almost 400 years later, American families still meet to celebrate what they’re thankful for by sharing a traditional meal.

The values behind Thanksgiving are very close to those of Thanksgiving - spending time together, sharing, conversation, and mutual respect.

I found out very quickly that you need to start the preparations for thanksgiving well in advance. So the preparations for this holiday started by buying the famous turkey and all the ingredients needed to make a delicious meal. All the cooking was done at Outpost's Bedford House, and it was very helpful to have all the necessary appliances on hands to cook food for 15 people! On this day, everyone got up very early to prepare a tasty dinner. The Americans told meit changes from state to state when you start eating; some start around noon, others late afternoon.  We started around 4pm and we had a very traditional meal with turkey, gravy (you can find excellent recipes here), cranberry sauce, and stuffing.

It was great to have people coming from both Outpost Houses – Flatbush House and Bedford House - and spend that lovely evening with family and friends.