Who am I to think I can go it alone? / We've been through some changes / Always seem to hold on / Forever my friend

Thanksgiving seems so long ago, but it's worth mentioning because of how fabulous the day turned out to be.  A week before, I took fabric (pagne/tissue) to the tailor in anticipation of being able to wear a new dress for the celebration.  This was an experience in and of itself because I had spent time writing up exactly what I wanted.  My inspiration was the Zac Posen dress Lauren Conrad is wearing on the cover of the October 2010 cover of Cosmpolitan magazine - only less risque (not as low-cut and definitely not as short)!  Hilarity was trying to explain these wishes, in French, to a male tailor who took my measurements in between eating a sandwich.  Despite this, the dress turned out pretty nice, and it happened to perfectly match the bracelet my first host sister had given me so I was able to accessorize - who would have guessed I could occasionally be more put together here than on an average day in the States?
A few of the trainees had been raising a turkey (dindon) behind the Peace Corps training center.  The morning of Thanksgiving, they killed/feathered/prepared/cooked it - a pretty impressive feat even if I didn't plan on eating any.  My host family also raises a turkey and I'm convinced that he knew what had happened to his comrade in feathers because when I returned home to make my dessert, he tried to attack me!  The large classroom was converted into a dining area complete with long tables so we could all eat together.  And what a FEAST we had despite limited supplies: mashed potatoes, bread, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, tamale pie, squash casserole, green beans with carrots, pasta salad, cranberry sauce, Skittles, sugary peanuts, corn on the cob, clementines, and my faux Key Lime pie.  Everyone was really generous with the care packages they had received from home.  It was wonderful to relax and enjoy everyone's company and, even though we're all away from our families, realize that we've become a new family.
The last few days of training were pretty low-key with a lot of downtime and final cultural celebrations.  I imagine very soon we'll look back to those days fondly for the time we were able to spend with friends before we embark on our individual assignments.