Thanksgiving in Bolivia

Thanksgiving is a U.S. holiday so Bolivians don't celebrate it. But I do! There is so much to be thankful for, how could I not? There is a fairly large American community here in Bolivia and most families celebrate in a big way even though we have to make some strange compromises. It's important for expatriates to continue their family traditions!

It's spring time here and HOT (nearly 100 degrees!) so that's sort of different. Also some of the traditional foods are hard to get - like cranberries. The price of pecans is through the roof, although they're produced here, and my candied yams always have pink marshmallows (can't find white ones, don't know why), but I celebrate giving thanks FULL OUT and I always share it with my Bolivian friends.

Sign up to receive my monthly newsletter BELLA NEWS to find out how I celebrated here in Bolivia. (This year I'll be sending out my November newsletter after Thanksgiving because I thought it might be fun to show you how I spent Thanksgiving with three Americans I just met through this site!) That's right! Website visitors (like you) who wrote in through the site about how they are currently living in Bolivia and before we knew it we were planning Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is catching on in Bolivia too. A few days ago a friend appeared at my house to tell me her entire company (about 70 employees, all Bolivians) had decided they have a lot to be thankful for in 2009 despite the crisis and are planning to celebrate Thanksgiving as Americans do. She wanted the history, recipes, and all the details to be sure they do it right, although they plan to adapt it to their own reasons for giving thanks! This is so inspiring! So no matter what country you're from, no matter what your history is, there's always something to be thankful for. Take a moment, set aside some planned time, and make a list of things you can give thanks for. It's truly uplifting!

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