This turkey did NOT come with a pop-up thermometer

Its never easy to describe how different life is over here to you guys. Other volunteers talk about becoming desensitized to the crazy stuff we go through daily. Its true, and it can be difficult to relate to the normalcy of life back home.

Luckily, those familiar things like holidays bring back all the hominess and traditions and snap this crazy world back into focus.

So, here is my first Thanksgiving in Africa Adventure...

First, there was no thought of turkey for dinner. They are large, muscely, expensive, and rare, so that was out. The solution: 4 large fish sold from a man's bike handlebars, one duck that a random villager appeared with, and one chicken.

The chicken was SMF and I's responsibility. So how do you get a Thanksgiving chicken in Africa?? Here's my step-by-step guide.

1. Pick a direction and start walking

2. Tell anyone you see you are looking for a chicken, in Chichewa, of course, which roughly translates to "Tikufuna nkhukhu. Mukuziwa ali kuti?"

3. Eventually villagers will start pouring out of their houses to follow and watch the action.

4. The man who earlier had a school of fish tied to his bike will approach, gesticulate wildly, and indicate that he has a chicken to sell for double the price you are willing to pay.

5. You follow him to his house a kilometer away.

6. He makes you take your shoes off, sit on his mat, meet his entire extended family.

7. He will bring you a bowl with no less than 12 mangoes to eat and knife that looks like a piece of shrapnel from WWII.

8. You will hack at the mango while you watch most of the extended family chase a chicken around and around the yard and into the house.

9. They will tie its legs and start waving it in your face.

10. You patiently explain that you want a "lady" not a "gentleman" chicken while pointing at your chest area to get the point across.

11. More chicken chasing and mango mutilation

12. Argue over price until finally pulling out all your money to prove that's all you have.

13. Walk away proudly with the chicken and 11 mangoes tucked underarm

14. Chop off chicken head (I had nothing to do with steps 14-19)

15. Throw in boiling water

16. Pluck

17. Disembowel

18. Season

19. Cook

20. Enjoy!!

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here's to a lifetime of exciting memories and wonderful friends and family to share them with!