Oh Thanksgiving, you are non existent in this distant land I chose to rest my head and it’s a little strange. As you all know Thanksgiving is strictly an American holiday (the whole origin of Thanksgiving makes no sense to me but that’s for another time) so here in London it was just an ordinary day. There were a few places here acknowledging Thanksgiving and we even stopped by a restaurant a couple weeks ago that was offering a Thanksgiving menu which I found extremely odd, but overall it does not exist here. I honestly thought I would have more FOMO being without family on this day but I guess I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving in a while anyway so it didn’t feel that weird.
But what really made up for it is that my friend from childhood is here and I was able to meet up with her and her grad school friends to have our own little Thanksgiving dinner. Eleven of us sat around a large table in the back of an Italian restaurant in South London and we drank wine, laughed, and ate really good Italian food. Surprisingly it really kind of felt like Thanksgiving. At the end of the day, the holiday has turned into people enjoying other peoples company, being thankful for what they have, and eating delicious food, and I did all of that.
Afterwards, we headed to my friends place and played Cards for Humanity which is wild inappropriate and also my new favorite game! At the end of the day it felt nice to know that I’m not completely alone out here. I’m not going to lie, the homesickness keeps creeping in and out but I’m still happy with my decision and enjoying each day I get to spend here.
On a slightly different note, North Shore Animal League America is offering free pet adoptions for the weekend! I had to share because this is the most meaningful Black Friday “Deal” I’ve encountered. So if you’ve been thinking about adopting. Now would be the time! Follow this link to find a participating shelter near you!
xx
