By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, I couldn’t care less about pilgrims. I wouldn’t mind if the break were to celebrate the opening of the nation’s biggest teddy bear factory, or if the foods eaten were broccoli and sprouts, I am just so ready for a pause.

            I love Middlebury, no question about that (in fact, some would say my being a Senior Fellow, tutor, President and Treasurer of a Student organization and on the Equestrian Team all in the semester nudges ‘love’ toward ‘obsession’).  But I also love the snatches of freedom we get in between intensive work periods, like that of Thanksgiving break. They are so necessary for myriad reasons—getting out of Midd makes you realize how much you miss it, how much you love being surrounded by friends, how odd when you haven’t had at least one serious theoretical conversation with a professor, and how you’re ready to dive back into that research project that you were happy to forget for a few leisurely days.

            I also love Thanksgiving in particular because I find it incredibly quirky. Not having grown up with in the United States, I find a holiday based around odd pairings of food (cranberries and turkey? where else?) and the settling of obscure coastal towns incredibly quaint. I will this year be having my first ‘official’ Thanksgiving feast at a friend’s house in Massachusetts. I have requested of her the real experience, and she assures me that there will be stuffing and American football galore. No matter whether I enjoy the food or not, and I don’t see what can go wrong with pumpkin and spices within a pie crust, the gathering of family around a table will be lovely for someone who gets to see their own parents only a few times a year.

            So to everyone off to their separate homes to sit on the coach, plate of food in hand, and talk and relax for the entirety of this long weekend—enjoy. I will be right there with you.