This
is my first time staying in Portland for Thanksgiving break. For the last two
years, I’ve gone home to California for the holiday to be with my family, but this
year, I just didn’t really feel like it. Instead, I went over to my friends’
house. They live about a fifteen minute walk from campus, and they all absolutely
love to cook.
We
had turkey, cranberry sauce, pork, mashed potatoes, gravy, mac n’ cheese, sweet
potatoes with whipped cream, squash and leek and carrot soup, rolls, biscuits,
bourbon molasses pecan pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, truffles, and more.
Everything was delicious!
I
feel so lucky to have spent the holiday with these wonderful people! So much love in that room.
After
our feast, we watched Penguins of Madagascar, which has to be one of the
strangest and most wonderful movies of all time. There were so many celebrity
puns.
“Nicholas!
Cage them!”
“Charlize!
They’re on their way!”
“Elijah!
Would you –”
Also
the entire plot felt like it had been created by doing one of those storytelling games where
someone says "Once upon a time, there was a [random noun]" and then the
next person cuts in with the first thing they can think of and things just get
incredibly crazy.
“So,
the penguins get to the bank –”
“-and
they see a vending machine! And inside the vending machine they find –”
“AN
OCTOPUS! And he takes them to –”
“VENICE!”
It
was fantastic. I’m not sure how they got Benedict Cumberbatch to voice a
character in that movie but I’m really glad they did.
Now,
I’m back on campus, and things are pretty quiet. The dining halls are not open
over break, but I’m all stocked up on groceries. Plus, I heard that there is
another Thanksgiving dinner going on tonight. It’s specifically for
international students (since none of them can go home for just a four-day break), but any student can
come. So there’s no shortage of food. Besides eating, I’m catching up on sleep,
continuing rehearsal for my acting scene, writing a paper, working on my
resume, and watching a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s a tricky balance
between getting as much done as possible and actually having a vacation.
Hope
you all had good Thanksgivings as well. If you have any questions about life on
campus, email me at jessicakostka@lclark.edu.
Jess