We were informed by Dr Jim in October that we were invited by one of our PDS co-ordinators Robin for Thanksgiving dinner and this was followed by an invitation by the lady herself.I did not remember what Robin looked like, as I had seen her very early on, in one of the September UMD programs.The entire group of DAT scholars , except the three who had gone visiting their local relatives , were taken by two vans to Robin's house on the 25th at 4.30 PM. I traveled in the van in which Robin's younger daughter , Darren ,had graciously agreed to drive us.With Lindi and his 'straight and daunting' questions directed at Darren, we made are way to our destination.With barely any traffic on the road , she was able to concentrate on fielding Lindi's 'googlies' regarding the origin of the name 'Black Friday'.Unfazed by all the conversation Darren drove us to their house situated in a lovely neighbourhood.
Once there, Robin came out to greet us with the webcam in which she recorded our arrival.We went into the warmth of a very lovely house.Her husband came to greet us and we settled down with a drink.In between the conversation with us, Jim ,Robin's husband would tend to preparation of the food for dinner .It was such a nice experience.He talked to us about his experiences in Argentina as he prepared the food.Robin too discussed her husband's passion for mountaineering and how by the early 1980's he gave it up when they settled to start a family.We took a tour around the house and settled down for some time in their 'cave' .It had a state of art music system , stuffed animals that Jim had hunted ,some pictures of his mountain climbing days and some very comfortable seating.
Robin went to get the turkey that they had placed in the neighbour's oven ' A Whole Turkey'.It was a sight to behold. Robin then rang a bell to announce dinner and we were arond the kitchen table , they discussed the significance of Thanksgiving as started by the Pilgrims who first came to America. We then sat down to dinner around 7.00 PM.They had prepared both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food .It was excellent .Both Robin and her husband had prepared every thing. The decor in and around the table consisted of artwork made by school children ; placement mats and turkeys and pilgrims made from paper.Sooo creative! During dinner Robin and Jim shared the recepies they had used for the dinner. After dinner we sat down in two groups ,one in the living room talking and watching TV and the other group went down to the 'cave' to listen to music.Lindi had a great time ,playing golf indoors.Close to 8.00 PM we had dessert.There were 3 types of pies with whipped cream;pecan pumpkin and apple.I loved the pecan nut pie.
When Lindi rode his hobby horse again about the woman's place being in the kitchen, Robin said 'Lindi I think I need to talk to you.Better still , I think you should follow Jim around.'
We went around shooting pictures of their beautiful house. After that it was time to leave.This visit will defintely leave us with some wonderful memories of American hospitality.We were there for 5 hours but we were so comfortable I never felt like an outsider.Remember, we were 15 guests in the house.Robin packed leftovers to carry home for some of us . It takes a lot to play hosts, in such a delightful manner.All good things must come to an end ! We left for our homes at 9.30 PM.Darren dropped us back with no incidents '.
Thanksgiving
thanksgiving I´ve heard is about giving thanks for what we have. Thank you friend for sharing this wonderful moment with with us and for our friendship as well.
ReplyDelete