| | Happy Thanksgiving!!!
This week is the second and final week of mid-terms and then it's time for Thanksgiving Break!!! I was reminiscing about my Thanksgiving breaks over the years at Smith. Since I am from Arizona, I never went home for Thanksgiving because I figured Thanksgiving is too close to Winter Break and let's face it, a college kid needs all the extra funds they can get. Each year has been so different and I am very thankful for the friends and family who have taken me in.
My first year, I went home with a Smith alumna to her parent's home in Upstate New York. The first night we got there, her husband fell through the roof of the house, spreading attic insulation dust all over the foyer. That was also the break when the alumna told her parents she was pregnant with her first child. What memories! I will never forget the image of her husband's legs dangling from the ceiling, her father's red face, and her mother's apple and pumpkin pies!
My sophomore year I spent the break in Connecticut with my cousin, her husband, and kids. I remember playing basketball and doing a lot of studying for organic chemistry. I tried my best to contribute to the festivities by baking a pie in the Baldwin kitchen before I left but it turned out tasting like cardboard.
Last year, I went with my good friend Jacqui Sager '08 to her uncle�s home in New York City. I had an incredible time learning to play paddleball, learning the preppy lifestyle, and I learned the dos and don'ts of Black Friday shopping up a storm in the City! It was also the first time I have ever been decked out in dress, heels, and make-up for Thanksgiving lunch.
This year, the other JYA/SYA Florence students and I will have a Thanksgiving dinner at, our director, Serena's house. I will be making some kind of American dessert to take over - hopefully better than the pie of Thanksgiving '06. I think pumpkin pie is too predictable and I don�t think the ingredients exist over here.
The Thanksgiving weekend fun will continue when a friend and I head up north to San Remo, Italy and then Nice, France to visit some friends of mine. In true Italian fashion, there is a schopero, strike, on Friday that will apparently be affecting the trains, as well. It is sure to be an adventure!
Speaking of adventures, learning the Italian culture never gets old and opens new doors all the time. I recently was reconnected with a friend who graduated last year, Lillian Lingham, who was JYA Florence 06-07. She is living here in Florence at the moment and has been kind enough to take me out and introduce me to her boyfriend and their friends. It has been non-stop fun since! With the guidance of another experienced Smithie, I have discovered hidden art around the city, more cute and eccentric shops, and the best places to dance the night away - at the University parties!
I hope everyone is enjoying life as much as I am and has fun and relaxing plans for the holiday. I wonder where we will all be for Thanksgiving next year?
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