Preparing for Thanksgiving in Colombia: Recipes Request

Last week I had the brilliant idea to joke about celebrating Thanksgiving here, at my coworker’s apartment. I was imagining something simple, just us and the cats watching a historically accurate rendition of American history:

Your people will have stickshifts.

Instead, the idea of celebrating Thanksgiving after work next Thursday has caught on and now there are five of us. Have I mentioned I don’t cook? My family has spent some Thanksgivings in restaurants. Most of my Thanksgiving knowledge is from the Pepper Ann episode where all the shelves are empty and people are fighting over the last yam. I don’t even really know what a yam is. The Thanksgivings I remember spending at home involve my sister playing Turkey Time until everyone has it stuck in their head for weeks. (Fair warning about clicking that link.)

I’m worried we’ll end up eating Charlie Brown style:

This blockhead cooked all this.

I suppose this is the day to make lists of ingredients and start buying…yams? Any and all recipes are requested, as is advice on cooking times. How do I know when I’ve found the right turkey? Do I have to make stuffing? Is apple cake as culturally appropriate as apple pie? Help!

Welcome Columbia University Public Health Blog Readers!

If you’re here from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health blog, I’m grateful for your interest. Here are a couple posts to get you caught up:

Maybe you’re wondering about me, where I’m from, what I’m doing, where, and why. Or maybe you just want to know about Colombia, the hospitable people, where to go, what to do. Perhaps you’re curious about non-work things, like dance class, food and food poisoning or if you should live close to your practica. Take a look around!

The truth is, I’ve been lackadaisical lately. My last post was in October…and it’s past the middle of November already. I’m not as negligent as a certain medical student I know, nor am I as regular as an esteemed graduate student adviser. I’m somewhere in between. I’ve been collecting data, analyzing data, preparing instruments for submission to the institutional review board (IRB). The usual excuses.

Nonetheless, I’d like to write with more regularity and this little, unexpected spotlight makes me want to write more. What would you like to read about? I have a post in the works about Zipaquira, the local transportation system, and about the logistics of research. I’m happy to field questions or focus on a particular aspect of public health, living abroad, or evaluation research. Questions and suggestions are welcome in the comments!