Christmas in July...

(do you see the boiling beer escaping through the neck?)

...seems more likely than a quality Thanksgiving in Korea, but today the stars and stripes prevailed. Weeks of planning and scheming all came to a head today as a few of us Americans tried to put on a Thanksgiving feast - and we could not have been much more successful.

Last year the dinner was cooked in a birdcage. This year we took a major step forward and cooked it in a Weber grill - using the bird cage wrapped in foil as a lid. With the help of hickory wood chips and Jack Stack all-purpose rub, a bird was beer-canned and smoked to a degree that most Koreans cannot even fathom. The smells that filled the hallways of my building were enough to give me a semi.

Our dinner consisted of the beer-can turkey, Stove Top stuffing, cranberry jelly, some incredible garlic mashed potatoes, salad, pumpkin pie coated in Cool Whip and a wide array of red wines. Each bite was better than the next, and it was all made very Asian as I consumed each bite with chopsticks...



If you thought it was hard to pick up cranberry jelly with a fork, just try chopsticks. I've been living in Asia for well over a year and feel pretty confident with my chopstick skills, but the cranberries gave me a run for my money.

It is hard for me to explain the feeling of contentment that I felt once the meal was finished. Combining the flavors of turkey, stuffing, potatoes and cranberries in my mouth all at once made my head swim with pleasure. But as soon as all was said and done, I had this feeling of being totally comfortable with my lot in life - a feeling I have not had for awhile in Korea. All is right in Kyle's world and if the Hawks can find a way to beat the slave owners tomorrow, life will be perfect.

I am about to fall into bed in a meat coma so I can wake up early to listen to the game at Arrowhead, but I want to leave you with one last picture of a carnivore in action...



Much love from Seoul