Celebrating Thanksgiving… Study Abroad Style

Thanksgiving might be the quintessential American holiday. Many of us have grown up with the smells of turkey, mashed potatoes, and fresh pies baking on this day of thanks. If you’re currently abroad, or are planning on studying abroad during the Fall semester, you might find yourself feeling nostalgic for home on Thanksgiving Day and wishing that you could wake up to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade, watch some football, and fill yourself full of hearty foods until it’s time to take a nap.

Getting to Know Historical Grahamstown, South Africa

International students in front of the Drostdy Arch.

Grahamstown is situated in the heart of Frontier Country; with the arrival of the 1820 settlers it became an important military post for the English. Traces of this history can still be found today. La Trattoria, the Italian restaurant that is fully booked every Tuesday in anticipation of its weekly 2 for 1 pasta special, is located in one of the oldest buildings in town. The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George, where a friend and I have attended Sunday services, is decorated with plaques celebrating the exploits of colonialists; racial and ethnic offensive language has been permanently covered by strips of marble. High Street was designed to be wide enough for horse-drawn wagons to turn around in.