My first American Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING BREAK

 

Although Thanksgiving was almost a month ago now, I have been so busy since with finals and papers and so never got round to posting about my break; so I'm going to do it now because it was so wonderful and I want to have it documented on here! (Note: I'm only just getting around to posting this and I wrote this post 2 weeks ago, so thanksgiving was well over a month ago now!!!)
I was so fortunate to go stay with one of my flatmates and her family for Thanksgiving break. I have never met any people as welcoming as they were, and it was so lovely to spend a weekend with an American family. It was without a doubt one of my favourite weekends the whole semester, and I was so thankful! 

And if you follow this river, - the Hudson River - you'll end up in New York City! 

So even us Brits know that Thanksgiving is really all about the food, and it was so nice. The best meal I had in the 18 weeks I have been here! There were three choices of meat; roast turkey, roast ham and roast pork, stuffed potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweetcorn, turnips and string bean casserole. I have to admit I did miss my roasties, but it was so cool to try different foods and specialities that they have here! The pudding was incredible. So good I didn't even take a picture. They called it bread pudding (but nothing like our bread and butter pudding which is so gross) and it was spongey and very cinnamon-y with a caramelised top- Mum please bake this when I'm home!!! 

My favourite part was the string bean casserole- which really surprised me! This consisted of string beans, celery soup!, and crispy onions on top - all cooked together in the oven - all of which I do not like. But it was SO delicious that I had to go back for seconds. Just writing about it now is making me want another portion! Just goes to show that you have to try new foods!

Over the weekend we also went and explored New Paltz- a tiny little town with a few cool shops. We went and had brunch in the coolest bar/brewery/restaurant. I was told Pumpkin Pancakes were so nice, and although I didn't really like the sound of the pumpkin part, I tried them and again LOVED them! 

 Not where we went to eat, but another cute restaurant in New Paltz! 

We walked over the Hudson River into Poughkeepsie on a walkway which was once a train track, and the view was so nice. The weather was much warmer than it had been in Binghamton, and the sun was just setting so it was perfect. As an avid Friends fan, I got so excited that I got to see Poughkeepsie! 

Poughkeepsie 

One evening the girls took me to someones house which was decorated - to the full extreme - with Christmas lights. The whole lawn was covered in lights, and they had synced a radio station to it so that you drove through it with music in your car, and the lights changed with the beat. America could not be more extra if they tried, but I thought it was awesome! If you saw my Insta stories, you would have seen how crazy it was! 

 Blurry, but I liked it.

I had a fabulous first American Thanksgiving, and could not have felt more welcomed by my friends family! I spent the whole weekend laughing, and although I did absolutely no work- when I had tonnes to do at this point- I came back after the break feeling so refreshed. 

I wish we had a holiday like Thanksgiving, and not just for the days off! Although we should obviously be thankful every day of the year, it really made me think about what I was thankful for and it was such a nice feeling. Of course I was thankful for the amazing welcome I had been given, but my own family too, who without I probably wouldn't be in the US today. 

So although it was a good 3 weeks ago, H A P P Y    T H A N K S G I V I N G ! 

xo Elsie