This past week was Thanksgiving week in the States. Everyone at home was traveling home and preparing for their family’s Thanksgiving meals. My family and friends were coming together to be thankful for one another and celebrate the holiday season, and I was here in Rome. Honestly, I was a little sad to miss my dad’s turkey, cooking with my mom, and the big get together my boyfriend’s family has. And of course, Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Italy. But the Trinity College program wants us to feel as at home as possible. So here in Italy, we celebrated Thanksgiving.
We live in a convent here in Rome, so the nuns of the convent cooked us a Thanksgiving meal. The faculty and staff all came and invited their families and friends. There was more than 70 people in the dining hall; it was completely packed! There were many people who had not celebrated Thanksgiving before. I found it really amazing that all of us were able to share a night together, extremely thankful for our lives, this program, and each other. It felt like a family gathering, which was exactly what I needed being away from my own family gatherings.
I was asked to prepare a speech to give during the evening that involved my experience abroad as well as some words other students from the program had written. I think getting up after the first course and speaking to everyone about love, happiness, and the act of being thankful is what made my night so special. We all talked, laughed, and smiled together. It was truly special to spend Thanksgiving with a new group who I’ve grown to love and care for so much, and it was the perfect way to spend my Thanksgiving abroad.
I am forever grateful to the Rollins International Programs office for the opportunity to go abroad, but also to Trinity College for making this crazy, bustling, foreign place feel like home.
Here is my speech from Thanksgiving Dinner:
“We all have something to be thankful for. Every day, people say or do things, we see beautiful art, we see nature, we meet new people or experience new things that make us happy—things that we are thankful for. Today is for thinking about, talking about, and loving those things. Does anyone want to say something from their life that they’re thankful for? No? Okay I’ll go first.
I’m thankful for art, especially mosaics and paintings of trees. I’m thankful for my mom, my boyfriend, my friends. I’m grateful for the love people around me so graciously give to me every day. I’m thankful for birds and bikes and other people’s smiles. The list could go on forever. My point is, there is always something that brings smiles to our faces, something amazing that we love. So… does anyone have things they’re thankful for ?
Thank you so much for sharing. So now, I’ve gathered some notes of things that members of this program are thankful for. Most of them are about the friends we have made here, the amazing staff that makes this place feel like a second home, and also the nuns that take such great care of us.
Thank you so much to the staff and to Trinity for such an amazing experience here in Rome, we love you.”