My First American Thanksgiving

Hey everyone – Megan here!

Campus is winding down in spirit of the holiday season, and my fellow Lutes are saying their goodbyes before they head home for the week. Thanksgiving is only two days away, and it’s the holiday we usually look forward to the most during fall semester. Not only do most students get to reunite with their families, but Thanksgiving also means a lot of good food and shopping opportunities during the days after. Our International readers might not be too familiar with the concept of Thanksgiving or what exactly Americans are celebrating, so some explanation might be helpful.  

Thanksgiving is a holiday in the United States and Canada that is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of November. It’s in remembrance of when Pilgrims came to the United States in the 1621, and the Native Americans living there helped the Pilgrims plant crops by offering seeds and plants to help them survive. The fall harvest was a good one, so the Pilgrims hosted a feast to thank the Native Americans. This feast is known as the “First Thanksgiving”, and today Americans usually celebrate the holiday in family gatherings to express thankfulness.

The distance from Seattle to Pittsburgh - quite a long way!

Last year, Thanksgiving break ended up being my favorite memory of my first semester at PLU. Because my family lives in Norway, I couldn’t travel all that way just for a few days. Luckily, I was familiar with Thanksgiving prior to moving here, so I planned a trip to visit a good friend of mine, Gianna, in Pittsburgh  for the holiday. We met at a summer camp in Virginia a couple years ago and have kept in touch since then, but my trip to see her was the first time we’d seen each other in a year and a half! Pittsburg is on the other side of the country, so the trip ended up being a whole day’s worth of traveling. I left on Wednesday afternoon, and didn’t actually arrive in Pittsburgh until early Thursday morning!! (Which included long layovers and a 3-hour time difference, but still.) My philosophy professor had also assigned a 400-page book to be finished by the first day back, so I spent the majority of my travel drowning in literary analysis.

Me (left) and Gianna on our way to Thanksgiving dinner!

Once I landed, I met up with Gianna and it was such a nice reunion. She’s the kind of friend I’m not able to talk to all the time, but when we meet up it’s like nothing has changed. Her family took me in and made me feel at home right away, and I knew that I was in for a good weekend. The actual Thanksgiving dinner was held at Gianna’s aunts house, so we got to enjoy a lovely meal with her (super fun Italian) family and their dog. It was a blast! Thanksgiving food is also my favorite meal in the whole world, so the food alone was worth the trip. 

<3 Gianna's family dog <3

The Pittsburgh Skyline - beautiful both during the day and at night.

The rest of the weekend Gianna and I spent doing some shopping, touring Pittsburgh and going ice-skating. Overall, it just felt really nice to be welcomed into someone’s home and to take part in their traditions. Especially as an international student that was really special to me. I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday season last year, and I was even able to finish my long and not-so-exciting philosophy reading on the trip home!

Ice-skating around the Christmas tree!

From one of our walks around Pittsburgh - the weather was beautiful the whole time, which is usually not the case, apparently. 

For incoming international Lutes, and even for our current international students, I know that a lot of us are nervous about Thanksgiving break. Campus facilities close down for the majority of the weekend, so a lot of times we feel pressured to find someone to spend the holiday with. Although I would highly recommend finding a friend you can go home with over break, it is also important to keep in mind that it’s not realistic for everyone. PLU understands this as well, so they host Thanksgiving dinner on campus for students who don’t want to or can’t travel home. Friends of mine stayed on campus last year and had a blast – so don’t feel like you have to visit someone in order to have an “American Thanksgiving”. All in all, this holiday is all about showing love and gratitude to the people around you, which is possible to achieve no matter where you spend it.