Substituting Thanksgiving Dinner

For the second consecutive year, I have been in Malaysia for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately this means no traditional Thanksgiving dinner and no family present to celebrate with. Last year, it was just a normal workday followed by a normal Chinese buffet dinner eaten by myself. This year, a few factors enabled the possibility of things being a bit different. Now, I have an American roommate Ryan (Japanese-American from the San Francisco Area), now I drive, and now I know what to expect. So in an effort to replace the family time, football, and traditional Thanksgiving food, we set out to a nearby mall with several Western restaurants. Surprisingly enough, I've found that several 5-star hotels in town offered Thanksgiving dinner meals, however they were entirely too expensive. So the Western selection of Bubba Gump Shrimp, Kenny Rogers' Roasters, TGIFridays, Popeyes', Manhattan Fish Market, A&W, etc was about the best I could do. Much to my surprise, turkey is not halal (like the Muslim version of kosher, meaning certain foods and drinks can not be consumed, and food must be killed and prepared in certain ways), so finding turkey was going to be next to impossible. So me and Ryan discussed sides we enjoyed the most on Thanksgiving. He had mashed potatoes on his mind. My favorite Thanksgiving side? Macaroni & cheese. So, TGI Fridays ultimately won out. It's nowhere near a complete Thanksgiving meal or environment, but it's better than nothing. Also, better than last year, when absolutely nothing even remotely Thanksgiving-lesque took place at all. It was disappointing and it started the only period of homesickness I've really dealt with. Although this year's holiday was still unfulfilling, it was better. It will still be wonderful next month when the family aspect of the holiday season is returned. I can't wait...