It meant engaging in the Andean custom of offering the first drops of any festive beverage to Pachamama, and using that moment mindfully to thank her (“Mother Earth”) for her gifts, and for all that we had in our lives to appreciate the awesome living landscape that surrounded us, and the deep, living culture in which we lived, and to be inspired by it all. In our lives, it meant being of service to those around us (even if never as much as our conscience would have us do). “Putting thanks into action?” What might that mean? To us, it meant more than simply giving thanks for a good meal, it meant preparing and sharing that meal.

In explaining the holiday, I had translated Thanksgiving literally, as “el día de dar gracias,” or “the day to give thanks.” I learned later that it is more traditionally referred to in Spanish as “el día de acción de gracias,” or “the day of putting thanks into action.” About two months later, Enrique began dropping hints, asking “when is that holiday? How long ‘til it comes again?” He’d never seen or tasted anything like it. The gravy, in particular, had been a revelation. No fuss ensued, though, and maybe Amanda even agreed, as we gorged on apple and pecan pies a la mode.

Net result: Enrique said it was the best meal of his life, in spite of my frantic signals not to continue in that vein while sitting next to his wife, Amanda, who had been making his meals for 21 years. We finished it off with pecan and apple pies, and served the whole glorious mess to our extended host family, along with 3 liters of Peruvian wine that cost us a bit more than US $3 a bottle. Todava se sirven alimentos que se consumieron en aquella primera comida: pavo asado, salsa de arndanos rojos, batatas y el pastel de calabaza. Los tallos de trigo y de maz a menudo se utilizan como decoraciones. We baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, made turkey and stuffing, prepared salad, green beans, and a cranberry relish improvised from craisins, chopped whole orange, and cooked up with some wine. Muchas de las tradiciones del Da de Accin de Gracias se originan en esa celebracin de la cosecha que tuvo lugar en 1621. After testing the connections to make sure we wouldn’t detonate West Central Chivay when we lit the burners, we set about assembling an epic feast.Īnother nearby Peace Corps volunteer, Chris Heather, came up from his home in Maca to celebrate with us. Enrique, our host “dad,” had fished an old gas range out of a dump – er, his “storage area” – and installed it on the rooftop where we lived. My wife, Jean, and I bought a frozen turkey in Arequipa, hauled it back to Chivay on the bus, and got it thawed just in time to start cooking. We made our first Thanksgiving into an opportunity to “live out” our Peace Corps Second Goal, that of representing the U.S. I spent two Thanksgivings living with our host family in Chivay, Perú.

Dia de accion de gracias