November was probably my favorite month during study abroad, as it had the most adventure. During this time, I began to miss my family more since Thanksgiving was coming up. This sentiment was shared by my roommates as well, one of them being a culinary student at JWU. She had decided to put together a “friendsgiving” menu, where all seven of us could contribute to the Thanksgiving menu. Throughout month leading up to it we all signed up on the page taped to the fridge.

During November, I had my trip to Dublin, Ireland for three days. On my first day I had a ring making class and even got to see some of the local shopping markets in Saggart, where I was staying. On the second day I was able to explore Dublin and visit the Guiness storehouse and then visit the Irish Whiskey museum. I really enjoyed learning about the history of whiskey and of Ireland in general. Before whiskey was whiskey it was so strong it would put people into comas for three days, but they didn’t know they were burying their dead until they saw coffins with scratch marks on them. Then they tied strings to the fingers of the dead that connected to bells above ground— however, because the wind in Ireland is so strong, bells rang all night so they consistently thought the dead were rising. This is how the three day wake came into place.

On my last day in Ireland I was lucky enough to visit the Cliffs of Moher. On this trip I made a very close friend who I still keep in touch with. Her name is Linda and she is French. After the tour, we toured the temple bar areas together and she taught me French enunciation.

Back in Florence, the Christmas markets started back up. And it was so fun to explore and to see all the amazing snacks and gifts not just from Italy but from all over the continent. In Florence I was able to see a film set as well! This was definitely the highlight of the week and I stayed for a long time and made conversation with the crew when they weren’t actively busy. I befriended a shop owner and was able to get a closer view to the set. The film is “Il Mostro” which is based in 1980s Florence and will be streaming on Netflix!

Lastly, I found an amazing place to study called Cinema One, where it’s a bookstore in an old theater! They play antique movies and you can shop or study there or even grab a snack like coffee or popcorn! Coming back to Thanksgiving, my roommates and I had an amazing Thanksgiving and no dish was missing. We had a turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, gravy, salad, rolls and everything else. We ate so much that we immediately all went to sleep. It was really nice.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Florence University of the Arts