Because I usually post before shots, I will post an after shot this year:

While the first year, dinner was a cozy affair, and last year it was a party affair, this year fell somewhere in between. I had been looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving ever since we moved to our current place in February because it was supposed to be easier to make dinner than ever: I still didn’t get a proper oven, but I did get another conventional oven (leftover from the previous tenant), which is a lot roomier than the one I had. With two ovens, I no longer had to bake/roast things in multiple, multiple rounds. Also, my boyfriend ended up doing a lot of the chopping and cooking, so I became a head chef.

One of the more unusual aspects of China, which often goes unnoticed, isn’t the variety of cultures you can easily find here (in Beijing, at least). Instead, it’s the different people who unwittingly get pulled into foreign traditions. In terms of Thanksgiving, I ordered a roasted turkey with all the trimmings from a French butcher staffed with Chinese people. So, basically, a Chinese person using French instructions made my Thanksgiving turkey. Are there any examples in the U.S. where “real Americans” do something* for another culture’s holiday?

* Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo and/or Hanukkah does not count.