Quite a thankful Thanksgiving Down Under

I really need to work on the timing of my posts, but regardless of the tardiness, I hope y'all have had a restful Thanksgiving Holiday! I've said before that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but I feel that way even more after being able to share it with my Kiwi family & friends. Dinner was especially fun because I was able to have a fellow American and Wilmingtonian to dinner. Before I left for NZ, I found out that Allen, who went to Ashley HS with me, would be living in NZ with one of his brothers, Matt. The two have been cruising around NZ and neighboring islands for the last 3 months or so, but Allen ended up leaving for home last month. I had mentioned awhile ago that I would be doing a dinner for the holiday, so Matt came down to Dunedin for a traditional turkey meal. It was quite hilarious trading Kiwi-isms that we've adopted and defending Thanksgiving staples like sweet potato casserole (yes with marshmallows) and green bean casserole against the aghast Kiwis.

The festivities started on Thursday the 25th, which we Americans would recognize as Thanksgiving Day, when I met up with Matt for tours of the Cadbury Factory and Speights, aka Pride of the South, Brewery to engage in some serious gluttony. The Cadbury tour was neat, though I didn't see much production. They gave us a TON of candy, including a giant chocolate egg covered in gold foil. We also got to see liquid chocolate spill down a fountain and learned about the process of extracting cocoa and making chocolate. I had no idea that cocoa butter, ie the lotion stuff, is derived during the process of making chocolate. White chocolate is cocoa butter, milk, and sugar, I think. Kinda weird to think that lotion and chocolate have something in common.

Matt & I with our Golden Eggs & mandatory hairnets

Lunch happened to be a sampling of an "American-style Hotdog" which was actually really, really good. Not a Trolley Stop Carolina Dog, but it was pretty darn good. I may be creeping over to that side of town again just to have another.

Doing a horrible job of working the taps at Speights

Speights was very fun, as our guide was quite animated, with a cheeky sense of humor. Again, we learned alot about the history, production, and facilities within the brewery. The highlight was the tasting session, where we got to mingle within the tour group, which was full of characters. The gift shop had these ridiculous cozies that was a glove made of neoprene, stamped with the Speights logo, and attached to a traditional beer cozy. Not a bad idea for those cold tailgates, huh?


Our Kiwi Thanksgiving was on Sunday, at the McConnon's abode with all of the usuals. The dinner took on even more holidays, as G's birthday is coming up (BTW she is LEAVING NZ this week to go back to TX---I may have a panic attack), and not everyone will be around for Christmas. Monique and Al purchased a true NZ turkey and served it wrapped with prosciutto. We also had a ham, complete with cherries (so picturesque, Martha Stewart would have called it her own), roasted parsnips and young carrots, and a stuffing with dried fruit and pork mince. Mon graciously prepared all of the above, while I contributed a pared down, half fresh version of green bean casserole (Matt did the fried onion rings) and the roasted vege. Surprisingly, everyone loved the "bean salad," which made me relieved as I was nervous none of them would touch it. Mon also made a pumpkin pie from scratch, which went fantastically with the Malt Ice cream from Speights (another contribution by the Americans). The mood was especially festive thanks to the red, white, and blue ribbons Helen brought to American-ize the party. The Napa Valley wine, contributed by Sam, didn't hurt either, haha.

The dinner table minus Al & Mon

I truly had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I definitely couldn't have survived down here this long without support from my parents and friends in NZ/Aus and back home. The emails and late night Skypes during crisis moments have made the tough times bearable. I find myself feeling somewhat speechless at how much generosity has been shown to me, some girl from NC who happened to sit next to one fantastic woman on one heck of a long plane ride. I really feel part of their network and family, and have grown quite attached to them all. It will be difficult to see Glenda leave (I still am in a bit of denial that this is really happening) but I know that the friendships I have made through her will remain. Glenda, the McConnon's, Sandy, Luci & DJ, Helen & Sam, and all of their friends, extended family, acquaintances, whomever they have introduced me to over the last month or so, have helped me have a successful start down here. Now the rest is up to me!

Freaking out over the mini Pavs, haha