My First Thanksgiving experience

The city of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities hosted a variety of festive fall events during Thanksgiving season. From the annual holiday parade and Turkey Trot to the Winter Flower Show and Light Garden at the Phipps Conservatory [1], you will never worry about finding something to do in Pittsburgh.

Before Thanksgiving, we went to the biggest party in downtown Pittsburgh, which is called “Light Up Night.” It’s the downtown Pittsburgh kick-off which brings everyone together for some holiday cheer, and it seems to be hosted every year. “Light up Night” features a variety of famous artists on four stages as well as the Annual Tree Lighting and Santa’s Arrival at the Oxford Centre [1]. Also, it was the activity that symbolizes my start of Thanksgiving celebration.

 

 

I spent my first Thanksgiving with my professors’ family in Pittsburgh. His wife, Sue, is Chinese. We are doing research for him, and it is coincidental that he wants someone to practice Chinese with his sons. Since we didn’t go back to China, we were invited to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family. I was so excited about celebrating Thanksgiving with local people, even though the weather in Pittsburgh was quite chilly and wet during that week.

Since Sue planned on making pumpkin pie, we went to a local Pittsburgh-area farm where we picked our Thanksgiving pumpkins ourselves. It’s a fun group activity as well as the best option to stock the Thanksgiving table. We also brought back some fresh corn for making our salads. Besides, there were still the pre-made pies sold. If you don’t know how to cook or how to make pumpkin pie, you can just buy some directly.

 

 

When we were planning our meal, I got to know that there is a dish called Haluski. Sue told me Haluski is made from egg noodles and pan-fried cabbage and is a Pittsburgh traditional dish. Haluski is popular in Western Pennsylvania and nearby states but is a particular favorite in Pittsburgh [2]. For people new to the area like me or visiting for the holidays, Thanksgiving is not complete without it. If you don’t know how to make it, you can consider dining out or ordering a catered meal from one of the restaurants or grocery stores in the area. You may be lucky enough to find those great restaurants serving this locally-made, authentic Haluski. However, we still can’t forget our Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie!

 

 

The best part of the day is the hustle and bustle of the kitchen as everyone works together to cook this festive meal. I love to have festive holiday music playing to get energized and excited. We communicated with each other in Chinese and English. No one worried about our language barrier. The most interesting thing was that I tried to use English every time and my foreign friends usually began our conversation with the Chinese, and the conversation was really fun.

 

Reference:

[1] https://www.tripsavvy.com/pittsburgh-thanksgiving-guide-2708486

[2] https://http://www.tripsavvy.com/how-to-make-haluski-4071064