Aussie Abroad #11 - Thanksgiving Recap

As an Australian, Thanksgiving to me is an excuse to eat a tonne of food with no guilt and spend time with my adoptive family. Obviously, the holiday is so much deeper than that, but having never celebrated it before 2019, it’s taken me some time to learn about it. It’s a day whee people express gratitude for everything the have, and this holiday is one commemorating a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims back in the 1600s. It is always held on the fourth Thursday of November, which means we usually get the entire week off school prior to Thanksgiving to spend with our families.

My Thanksgiving looks a little different, as my family is not with me. Thank you, Monmouth University, for giving me an amazing freshman roommate whose family took me in as one of their own. I have spent every Thanksgiving with them and it is our tradition for me to join them. Let me run you through the Thanksgiving Holiday itself.

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Usually, Mia (my freshman roommate) and I will sleep in until about 9:00am, ready to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on TV. I have heard about this back home, it is an insane parade with giant floats and balloons that run down the streets of New York City. My favourite, of course, is the SpongeBob float.

After the parade, food preparation begins. The entire day is spent food prepping; peeling potatoes and vegetables, cooking the turkey and ham and making Yorkshire puddings (a British staple!). With six people on deck, the food preparation usually goes well and its never stressful.

This year was a lowkey Thanksgiving, with just Mia’s family an I. In the couple years before, they have always invited their friends and family to join them, but this year was nice to spend time with just the Suttons. Even though it was just us, around 3:00pm we all got dressed up to stay in.

5:30pm, dinner was served. My plate consisted of mashed potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, ham and turkey, and gravy of course (no vegetables, sorry mum and dad). This is the one time of year where calories don’t count and you MUST eat more than you can handle. We go around the table and say what we are thankful for. Of course, there was dessert after the big feed. We had apple pie and ice cream, and then sat back and played cards Against Humanity and watched a movie to finish the night.

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Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday. It’s been so interesting learning American traditions and getting involved in them. I think this is one tradition I will miss the most when I graduate, but hopefully next year will not be the last time I celebrate with Mia and her family – I’m hoping to be able to bring my parents across one year so we can all celebrate together!