A Traditional Thanksgiving...Not.

Holidays are a time to be spent with friends and family...or 200 of your closest Japanese tourists and a handful of traveling companions from Australia, Germany, and Canada.  Such was my Thanksgiving Day in Cusco, Peru.  Dont miss the video at the end. 

I decided to start breaking traditions early and went to my favorite bakery in town, Meli Melo, to order a cake since my moms homemade pumpkin pie wasnt really an option.  My Spanish conversation skills made it great through the discussion about the size of the cake (medium), number of people eating it (8), and the color (orange and brown).  Then I wrote out "Happy Thanksgiving" on a napkin for him to copy (remember this is not a worldwide holiday like Christmas).  I was about to leave the store when I realized I had not picked the flavor of the cake.  When I asked him about this, he told me, "Es muy rica.  Naranja y mocha."  Apparently when you pick a color that also determines the flavor.  I asked if mocha was like coffee.  No.  Like chocolate?  No.  But es muy rica.  So I gave up, crossed my fingers for the best, and paid for the cake.

Next step, dining companions.  I have met one fellow American in Cusco.  On last weeks pub quiz, he guessed every country song was from Brokeback Mountain.  Needless to say, a Plan B was in order.  Luckily, I have met lots of other nationalities that were more than happy to celebrate a holiday they barely understood the point of.  Especially when they heard there was cake.

My host family recommended a restaurant in Plaza Recojo, El Truco.  I made this the official location for my Peruvian Thanksgiving, sight unseen.  The venue did not disappoint.  The restaurant is actually a museum built in a building styled like a medieval castle.  I felt like I should have been wearing a crown.  Long wooden tables were covered with golden tableclothes and white china.  High vaulted stone ceilings rose above walls covered in Cusqueñan art, including a replica of the famed portrait of Jesus and the Twelve Disciples dining on cuy, a classic Peruvian dish of roasted guinea pig.  My thoughts?  If it was good enough for Jesus to eat at table with his friends, then it was good enough for me.  Plus, turkey is so overrated.  And normal.

The most important detail of any Thanksgiving dinner, aside from begging God to spare you unnecessary family drama, is of course the food.  And the entertainment, if the Macys Parade and the football games ranks high on your list.

My Thanksgiving Menu
Cuy, a.k.a. the guinea pig you probably had as a class pet
Alpaca Steak
Bread*
French Fries* (everything here comes with French Fries)
Chile Relleno
Mixed Vegetables
Potatos*
Rice*
Quinoa*
Cake*, that was indeed orange cake in coordination with the color of icing
Cusqueña beer*

*side note-in Peru, a meal is not a meal unless it comes with 12 kinds of carbs 

Alpaca Steak with Quinoa, French Fries, and Mixed Vegetables

Guinea Pig with Stuffed Chilis and Potatoes

 


































 As for the entertainment, there was a show.  Which worked out great for my holiday, as well as for the busloads of Japanese tourists that joined us for dinner.  I find it strangely appropriate that if I cant be with my family for this particular holiday, I at least managed to spend it with a tour group.  Our table even got "adopted" by an elderly Japanese man.  Anyways, the entertainment.  There are no words.  Except that Macys aint got nothing on El Truco.  A band with flutes and drums.  Exotic dancers.  And a gigantic gorilla that more closely resembled a character out of the childrens story, Where the Wild Things Are.  Pictures really dont do it justice, so Im inserting a video.  By the way, this Spanish keyboard doesnt like apostrophes.  If youre wondering why my grammer is slacking.  Youre probably not, but its driving me crazy.

And here is the video that you should all watch and wonder why your Thanksgiving didnt include a dancing gorilla...