23 November — Today is Thanksgiving. Or, since this is being
posted on Friday, Thanksgiving was yesterday. Today is Black Friday
(which I have recently learned they do have here). This is the first
year I haven’t been with my family for Thanksgiving, and I was worried
because it is my favorite holiday. Yes, I recognize that Thanksgiving is
a problematic holiday with a complicated history, and the Pilgrims were
not great. But I also recognize how much in my life I have to be
thankful for (which I know is very, very, cheesy). I am grateful that my
mom only uses warm hued light bulbs, so my house looks like its glowing
from the street. I am grateful for all the ways you can eat a potato.
And I am grateful for all of the opportunities I have had because of how
hard my family has worked.
This year, I spent my Thanksgiving day sitting in class. Instead of celebrating with family I was learning about 19th-century colonialism and how pretentious Andre Breton was. I thought I would be upset by the lack of holiday, but instead I realized the thing I am most grateful for this year is being here, in London. The classes I am taking are interesting, and I am being taught perspectives on subjects that I probably never would have heard otherwise. Yes, there are things about the school I do not love. There are also things about London I have learned I don’t love. But I also recognize what a special opportunity studying abroad is.
Freshman year was, for the most part, really difficult for me, so I spent all of my sophomore year working harder on school than I ever had to be able to qualify to go on this trip. I knew living in a completely new place would be a formative experience for me. I have met the most wonderful people here, been to places I never thought I could go on my own, and have gotten really good at taking public transportation. It took me longer to settle down here than I expected, but now that I feel (somewhat) familiar with the city I have really grown to enjoy it. I go to Rinkoffs in Whitechapel at least once a week, walk around the parks in Bethnal Green, and even have found decent Thai food.
We have less than a month left in the semester, and I wish it had not taken me so long to feel settled. But that is completely outweighed by how much I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks here. When we got back from our trip to Glenelg I had felt like I had changed. I didn’t know, and still don’t really know in what way, but I felt like a changed person. And I can feel it happening again. I know I was right when I said this would be a formative experience, for which I truly am grateful.
This year, I spent my Thanksgiving day sitting in class. Instead of celebrating with family I was learning about 19th-century colonialism and how pretentious Andre Breton was. I thought I would be upset by the lack of holiday, but instead I realized the thing I am most grateful for this year is being here, in London. The classes I am taking are interesting, and I am being taught perspectives on subjects that I probably never would have heard otherwise. Yes, there are things about the school I do not love. There are also things about London I have learned I don’t love. But I also recognize what a special opportunity studying abroad is.
Freshman year was, for the most part, really difficult for me, so I spent all of my sophomore year working harder on school than I ever had to be able to qualify to go on this trip. I knew living in a completely new place would be a formative experience for me. I have met the most wonderful people here, been to places I never thought I could go on my own, and have gotten really good at taking public transportation. It took me longer to settle down here than I expected, but now that I feel (somewhat) familiar with the city I have really grown to enjoy it. I go to Rinkoffs in Whitechapel at least once a week, walk around the parks in Bethnal Green, and even have found decent Thai food.
We have less than a month left in the semester, and I wish it had not taken me so long to feel settled. But that is completely outweighed by how much I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks here. When we got back from our trip to Glenelg I had felt like I had changed. I didn’t know, and still don’t really know in what way, but I felt like a changed person. And I can feel it happening again. I know I was right when I said this would be a formative experience, for which I truly am grateful.
—Claire Tauber