Turkey for me, turkey for you...unless you're a vegetarian

• Reading: Roman Sandgruber: Das 20. Jahrhundert


• Listening to: Elysian Fields: Bleed Your Cedar: Star


• German Word of the Day: die Lebensmittelvergiftung


• Translation: food poisoning


• Example: Hoffentlich werde ich die Mädels nicht vergiften./Hopefully I won't poison the girls.

It was 1pm. I took the turkey out of the fridge and promptly freaked out, placing a call to my mother.

"It will be fine, Kim." She hadn't even said hello. Mother's intuition or something.

"But it's so... gross. Like, it's... I have to reach inside, don't I?"

"Yes, but I promise it's not so bad. You can do it, Kim."

"But what if it's not done? Food poisoning, mom!"

She talked me down and I tried to stare down the turkey, but to no avail. Eventually I threw it in the sink and rinsed it for a good fifteen minutes.

Other items on the menu: macaroni and cheese (for the vegetarians), stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy (Julia tried to talk me out of the potatoes, but Christina, the other American, backed me up. I ask you, can Thanksgiving sans mashed potatoes even exist?), pumpkin roll (which I've been "testing" since it was finished) and Christina's chocolate-pumpkin cake. I keep trying to stress that this is NOTHING compared to the usual fare. We are, however, in Austria, so I suppose I'm luckily I'm even celebrating Thanksgiving at all.

I'm thankful for, among other things, my Gösser Bier. (But I wish I had some Murauer!)