Celebrating My First Thanksgiving in the Philippines

And how I learned turkeys are scarce on this island paradise

The Author and his wife’s first Thanksgiving meal.

Just the other day, my wife and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving holiday together.

Since I’m an American living abroad, I wanted to uphold one of America’s favorite traditions—the Day of Giving Thanks for Our Blessings (i.e. Thanksgiving).

As well, since my wife and I have a lot to be thankful for this year, I knew Thanksgiving would be a great way to give thanks for all the blessings we received this year.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I remembered the holiday was soon approaching, so I began researching where to buy a turkey.

Before I started my research, I didn’t think it’d be hard to find a turkey.

But I was dead wrong.

None of the open-air markets, butchers or grocery stores sell turkey.

Since all the above mentioned businesses sell chicken — another major poultry staple — I honestly thought I’d find at least one decent sized turkey somewhere. But as I scoured the shops, I couldn’t find a single one.

So my focus turned online to Google to see what I could find out about buying a turkey in the Philippines.