Almost Thanksgiving...

I get to go home in two days! I can’t even tell you all how excited I am to get back to California for Thanksgiving Break, hug my parents and my little brother and my dog, and eat plenty of mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean bake with crispy onions, and pumpkin pie – my three favorite Thanksgiving recipes.

Unfortunately, I can’t afford to lose track of where I am now. I still have to finish a poetry essay on “Ozymandias,” start an essay on Euripedes’ Bacchae with respect to Freud’s ideas on aggression, and do a few things like laundry and packing. I haven’t been home since I got here in August – what do I even pack? It’s only four days there, but I can’t remember what clothes I left at home so I’m not sure what I should bring. It feels like I’m getting ready to go on vacation, which is a weird feeling because it may be a vacation from school, but I’m just going home. Not to some exotic locale.


My weekend in a nutshell...


So, this is me taking a break from essay writing to update you all on life at Lewis and Clark. Everything is proceeding as usual – classes, studying, etc., etc., etc. I think everyone is a little crazy waiting for break to start. It’s definitely not just me. I know a lot of people are staying on campus over the break. Sully, my roommate, is, and so are all of the international students that live in my dorm. A bunch of them are going to my friend India’s family’s house for Thanksgiving dinner because her parents live in Portland about a half hour from campus. Earlier this semester when they were planning the festivities, I was sort of jealous that I wasn’t going to be able to celebrate with them, but now I feel really lucky to be able to come home for a while. 

This weekend, I went downtown for a stress-relieving session with Sully. We did some Christmas shopping for our families at the Saturday Market, which is about a fifteen or twenty minute walk from the bus stop. I had such a great time with her looking at all the art booths and vendors, and I got some great gifts for the people in my life. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you all what I got for them since my family reads my blog! J After we were done shopping, we walked to Portland State University and ate at Pizzicato. We split a cheese, basil, and tomato pizza and each had a bottle of root beer. It was wonderful to have hot food after a day of being in the sunny but freezing cold weather. The weather has been very clear lately, but no clouds means no insulation, so it’s been quite chilly. I wear gloves for my walk to class in the early morning.

Hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! As always, you can reach me at jessicakostka@lclark.edu. I’ll tell you all about my break next week.

Jess