On Wednesday, November 23rd, we had our annual Thanksgiving Party at Arlington Hills. There were over 90 learners that attended, plus about 20 volunteers, teachers, and special guests. Somehow we managed to feed them all!
The men from Andrea's class took over the making of mashed potatoes with Teacher Kirsti supervising. They peeled 15 pounds of potatoes in all, but there were no leftovers at the end of the meal!
Teacher Jessica's students helped decorate for the event. They used turkey decorations that Rachel's Childrens English School students created the day before. Both the children and the tukeys were adorable!
Some of the women from Teacher Andrea's class helped Mrs. Wiehe hang up coats in the Alley Shoppe while we were setting up for the party. Every learner was able to take home two winter coats at the end of the party, as well as hats, boots, scarfs and mittens for themselves and their families. We are so lucky to be able to partner with the Alley Shoppe to help keep our learners warm.
Teacher Jessica's class preformed "Oh Susanna" for the school. It was very popular!
Teacher Andrea's class preformed "Down by the Riverside" They were really nervous because they were doing it from memory, but they did a wonderful job and sounded beautiful, so they shouldn't have worried.
Everyone at the party wrote their name and something that they were thankful for, and glued it on the "Tree of Thanks". The Arlington Hills Lutheran Church is displaying the tree in their lobby during the holiday season.
Teacher Marya, who was the only teacher with turkey-cooking experience under her belt, was in charge of the turkeys. They turned out delicious, and more importantly, no one came down with food poisoning! A HUGE thanks to Annelisa, Gail, Cathy, and Diane who chipped in to help us buy the turkeys.
Aung Moe Kyaw, Tey Ley, and Than Thin show off their turkey-carving skills.
Kirsti and Emily graciously finished up the final potato preparations.
Finally! After all of that work, it was time to eat. Many learners brought food to share, so we had the traditional Minnesota holiday foods of turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, along with papaya salad, rice, taquitas, rice noodle dishes, and curry. Jim even baked apple pies that he served warm with ice cream. It was a delicious day.
