Sharing Traditions -- Your Special Holiday Abroad

Being apart from loved ones during Thanksgiving or any major holiday which you and your loved ones traditionally celebrate together can be lonely.
You may be traveling abroad for work, volunteering in another country, attending school overseas or residing in a foreign country. It does not matter what the reason is, it is still possible to have an authentic -- in this case, American -- Thanksgiving. The fourth Thursday in November is always Thanksgiving. The best advice I can give on this subject is not to try and make it just like you would do it back home because chances are you will be disappointed. Chances are you won't be able to find the ingredients to make the special dishes you would back home and you won't have those around you who are always there, etc.
The best way to celebrate any special holiday when you are not back home with those you usually celebrate with is to create your own traditions. If you are going to be overseas for many Thanksgivings to come, you might be able to come up with your own traditions based on the country you are in.
My Turkish friends have celebrated this holiday with me. They may not celebrate Thanksgiving, but they will understand that you do and will help make the most out of your holiday away from home.
Turks who have never traveled abroad do not realize how fortunate they are to have such an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Around this time of year I always take time to consider that for which I am thankful. One of the delights of living in Turkey that I am thankful for is the freshness and variety of the fruit and vegetables available. Inconsistencies in life and heavy traffic, of course, are only on my list because they can be used to teach me patience!
I grew up as a city girl and was used to supermarkets stocked with food forced out of season, or to fruit picked early that ripens during a long road or sea journey before it reaches shelves. After moving to Turkey, the quality and juiciness of Turkish fruit came as a surprise. In Turkey the fruit and vegetables I choose to eat depend on the season. I buy everything fresh.
The year starts with winter citrus fruits: juicy oranges and lemons and grapefruits. In late spring we find cherries are in season, followed closely by strawberries. In July, there are fresh apples and the hard green plums that the Turks eat with salt, and then the glories of August include peaches and bananas. In September, you'll find an abundance of fresh figs. An English friend of mine tells me that she had never seen fresh figs before she came to Turkey -- the only figs really available in England are dried ones, often eaten at Christmas time. Nearly all the figs available in England come from İzmir.
September is also the time for the grape harvest. An assortment of melons is plentiful in the summer and early autumn months. Many Turks take these beautifully thirst-quenching watermelons on a picnic with them, putting the huge ball of fruit in a river or stream to cool it down to the perfect temperature, before cutting it with a massive knife. Before the weather turns cold, the fall fruit and vegetables begin to appear.
Both pumpkin and squash, of course, remind me as an American of pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving. Every year at Thanksgiving it was a family tradition to eat pumpkin pie. Well, you can find pumpkin here, but it's not used to bake a pie. Turks usually think that idea sounds very odd! Turks cook pumpkin in a very different way: It is boiled, and then served in whole chunks, in a sticky syrup with chopped walnuts sprinkled over it. This is called “kabak tatlısı” (sweet pumpkin). I'll be having this for my Thanksgiving celebration. Ayva tatlısı (sweet quince) is similar, a fruit that I had never really had before coming to Turkey.
Thanksgiving will be celebrated by millions of Americans. Make your Thanksgiving special by just spending time with others and being thankful for what you have.
Here are a few fun lines for Thanksgiving from a card by www.jacquielawson.com that I received from a friend back home:
May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious.
May your pies take the prize,
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!
Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers!

CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON (Cihan/Today's Zaman)