I hosted a Thanksgiving feast for my work partners this evening as part of Peace Corps’ second goal which is to educate the host country nationals about the American culture. As Turkey is extremely difficult to find in Cameroon, I served chicken instead, which was prepared by one of my favorite restaurants in Bamenda.   I cooked mashed potatoes and green beans and carrots.  I also made a pumpkin pie using the dutch oven technique, and it came out very delicious.

I incorporated a small nutrition lesson by showing them what a well-balanced meal looks like.  In fact, before I explained what a well-balanced diet looks like to the guests, one of the guests said to me as he was looking at the plate and starting to eat, “This is what a well-balanced diet looks like.  We have carbohydrates here, vitamins and minerals and proteins.”  This person had just attended a workshop on nutrition which I hosted a month ago for a small group of persons with disabilities.  It was great to see that he had retained the information.

We also discussed the history of Thanksgiving including the story that young children are told, the real history of pilgrims’ relationship with the Native Americans, and how the day became a national holiday.

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