From a young age, my parents did an excellent job in stressing the importance of family--what they should mean, and how the bond between them is stronger and more unconditional than any bond you'll have with another person. I'm confident in saying I have an unwavering support system amongst my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents and this is one of the most comforting feelings I have. I'm a family person, what can I say?
With that being said, I have gone long durations of time without seeing some member of my relatives. My cousins and I are growing up, so we have obligations in various parts of the state (or country) and it can be difficult to get the whole gang together for summer pool parties nowadays. However, being on study abroad during the holiday season only heightens your feeling of detachment from the most important people in your life. This was my first Thanksgiving away from home and my family and it was more difficult to deal with than I realized it would be.
If it wasn't hard enough to go without mom's cooking for four months, try being away for the one day where you're expected to eat as much as your stomach can hold and then some. Of course, this includes homemade cooking and possibly a couple family recipes somewhere amongst the dishes. And of course, I can't cook a Thanksgiving meal by myself, nor should I because what's the point then?
It was even more interesting to experience the evening when a couple of my American friends and I went out to a restaurant and all the waiters and bartenders were wearing Christmas sweaters, because Europe jumps straight into the Christmas spirit a couple weeks after Halloween. Definitely a surreal situation.
What Thanksgiving abroad taught me though was the undeniable feeling of gratitude I have for a lot of different things in my life, for reasons I hadn't ever considered on this day before. One of them of course, is my family. While they were always in my list of gratitude during Thanksgiving, it was a heightened feeling this year because I realized I had taken all of our previous family Thanksgiving dinners for granted. Ironic, I know. Being away from them on such a family-oriented day was just weird, because I knew I was supposed to be somewhere else that day. But I physically couldn't do that.
Thanksgiving this year also solidified my gratitude for my study abroad experience as a whole. While I cannot properly express the level of ups and downs one can experience abroad, I can express the idea of constant growth through different challenges and adventures throughout the program. While living in a different country and being able to travel sounds flawless, it can be stressful, draining and sometimes a little scary. But it's these events paired with some of my new favorite memories that truly make the experience come full circle. While I was sad to be away from family on Thanksgiving, it was cool to self-reflect on the time I had spent abroad and what I hope to do before it's time to return to the States.
I also realized how truly grateful I am for the friendships I have made and the ones I have strengthened since arriving here. I got to spend my Thanksgiving dinner with someone I met upon arriving, and someone I had only spoken to a couple times at my home institution before study abroad. And yet I consider them part of my "Scottish Family" or my "Study Abroad Family." I need good people around me during a day I consider to be very important to me, and they made all the difference. Without them I'm not sure how I would have coped.
