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Thanksgiving Break from an international glance

By Tuesday evening, the school was emptied out, indicating Thanksgiving Day break but I could not feel anything because the emptying process happened when I was using my last bit of energy before break to finish assignments.

On Wednesday morning I could count on one finger how many people I saw on my way to class, I eventually realized that it was Thanksgiving break. And just like others, I needed a good break too. About a month ago, my friend Ioannis from Greece (the country) and I planned to stay in New York City for Thanksgiving break. So we left on Wednesday afternoon. We stayed at a hostel near Columbus Circle in Manhattan.

The city was so packed with people and vibrancy of cultures, businesses and Time Square. There sure was not a curfew for anyone just as Alicia Keys sang in “Empire State of Mind Part II.” One thing that I was most excited about was the food. I do not think school food is bad but it is just that most college students do not eat slowly due to workloads during school days. On Thanksgiving Day, Ioannis and I were invited to dinner at our sister hall mate Kim’s house in New Jersey. It was very joyful to be surrounded by nice people and nice meal.

As a foreigner, I always find Thanksgiving Day interesting. It is not because of Black Friday Shopping even though I always enjoy staying up all night to find great clothes and other stuff in huge sales. It is the notion of “thanksgiving.” (In Korea we have Chu-seok, which is commonly celebrated as harvest festival in other East Asian countries.) I think I have learned to say thank you to most of people I know since my first Thanksgiving in 2007 back in California. Or at least I promised myself to be grateful on this day. So I posted “I am very grateful for everything in my life” on Facebook.

And one thing I also learned from this break was how much I am thankful for — My school– The University of Rochester.  No matter how much I was stressed mid semester or how much I do not like the weather at times or the  Chinese & Mexican food at the commons. The people, classes and beautiful campus by the river (plus the motto “Meliora”) signify why I call this place “home”. Moreover, this is more home to me since my parents in Korea threw away my bed, so this Christmas I have to sleep on the couch or on the floor. I mean, I have a bed in my dorm room though.

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