Thanksgiving far from home

My Thanksgiving meal consisted of a suprema al napolitana (breaded chicken breast covered with argentina's favorite vegetable: ham) and a side of mashed potatoes. It was as close as i could get to the turkey and stuffing i was craving.

But after my less-than-thanksgivingy meal, I was determined to at least get part of thanksgiving right: the stuffing. So to satisfy my craving and my family's demand for some "american food" i went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients.

An hour later i stepped outside into the 85 degree heat, my celery stalks peeking out of my bags ready to make stuffing from scratch. A long shot from the box that normally produces my family's thanksgiving staple.

4 hours later, the stuffing was done and not that bad considering it was a first attempt and it sat for an hour waiting to be eaten by the endlessly late argentines. And the responses, well they were amusing.

Gustavo poked it, literally stuck his nose in the air as if it smelled bad and then dosed it with soy sauce. Angeles ate it with exaggerated smiles and yummy noises. Maite ate half of it like she does all her food and then got distracted and started telling me a story about her friend paulina. Inaki, making sure i was watching, ate it all and gave me a big smile as swallowed the last bite. And teo asked for seconds, bless her heart.

Me, I ate it but barely tasted it. Its flavor was like something vaguely familiar but yet almost unrecognizable.

And then i started to get home sick because i remembered, that it didn't taste the same because it was missing the other sides: the spuds mom makes out of a box and pretends are from real potatoes, Aunt Peg's spicy spinach, grandma's apple crisp and all of aunt laura's appetizers.

But more than that it was missing mom, aunt peg, grandma, aunt laura and the rest of the family. Food just tastes different, better, when you know people you love made it, and when you are there to eat it with them.

It is my first Thanksgiving away from home and I sincerely hope my last because there is no where like hogar for thanksgiving.