Thanksgiving in Bologna

SAIS Bologna celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday last week with a dinner for some 200 students, family members, faculty, staff and children at the Bologna Center.

Below, Briana Thompson, a U.S. national from the state of Massachusetts, shares her thoughts on what it meant to her to spend Thanksgiving here in Italy.

Thanks to the Student Government Association for organizing the feast, to those who prepared the food and to Julie Aaserud of Norway for supplying the photographs for this post.


I have spent almost every Thanksgiving Day in or near Plymouth, Massachusetts -- the site of the original meal between the Pilgrims and Native Americans. From a very young age, I learned all about the struggles of the settlers in this new land and their new friends, and went on countless field trips to see Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower and Plymouth Plantation.

Briana Thompson at the
SAIS Bologna Thanksgiving dinner

The lessons were simple and emphasized sharing, friendship, appreciating different cultures and of course being thankful for what you have. However, when I was younger it was very easy to simply associate Thanksgiving with football, turkey and a long weekend off from school.

Luckily, as I’ve matured, the holiday has become more meaningful. On the one hand, Thanksgiving (Eve, in particular) means reconnecting with hometown friends, regardless of the time and distance that you’ve been apart. I have come to appreciate just how special these people are, and I defer to a quote from the television show "The Wonder Years" to explain: “After all, if growing up is war, then those friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect. The ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder in a time when nothing is certain, when all life lay ahead, and every road led home.”

On the other hand, the fundamental aspect of Thanksgiving -- giving thanks for the blessings in one’s life -- has become increasingly important as I’ve gotten older. It is for this reason that spending Thanksgiving here in Bologna was not entirely different.

I will readily admit that I missed my family fighting over drumsticks, monopolizing the gravy, perpetually relegating my adult cousins and me to the kids' table, cuddling up on the couch in various states of delirium from food comas, etc. But I am so grateful that I have them and my friends to miss.

At the same time, sharing a meal with 200 plus SAIS students, faculty and staff this past Saturday was really an attestation to the unique family we’ve become here, and I’m incredibly thankful for that. For me, the spirit of the holiday was present more so this year than ever before as the emphasis was placed on all those lessons I learned as a kid (sharing, friendship, appreciating different cultures, being thankful) and less on football and stuffing my face.

I can’t say I’ll be adding pasta to my Thanksgiving Dinner menu from now on, but the post-meal dance party might just become a tradition.

The Gathering

Matthew Melchiorre

Polina Bogomolova

Geoffrey Levin

Rositsa Georgieva
and
Lachezar Manasiev

Petra Vujakovic
and
Nicholas Borroz

Julie Aaserud
and
Jemilatu Abdulai

Nelson Graves

Halloween pix

It's midterms at SAIS Bologna. That means some stressed-out students. A good time for some levity.

Below you'll see some pictures of SAIS Bologna students at this year's Halloween party. Next week members of the community will sit down together for a Thanksgiving meal, organized by the Student Government Association. Halloween and Thanksgiving are quite different, but they are both occasions to get together and have some fun.

Staci Raab won first prize for her costume depicting the Arab Spring. Hats, or rather keffiyeh, off to Staci.

(I definitely showed my age when I asked Amina, "Who is Steve Hurkel?" No laughing, now.)

"Arab Spring"
by
Staci Raab

"The Two Towers"
by
Katherine Parnell and Graham Norwood

"Prof. John Harper"
by
Geoffrey Levin

"Rosie the Riveter"
by
Shelley Ranii

"Steve Hurkel"
by
Dominique Mack

Nelson Graves

More winning photographs

Below are more victorious photos from the Bologna Center competition. Yesterday, we featured a photograph of Morocco by Nicolò Lanciotti, repeated below, which was the overall winner and winner of the Travel Category. Here are the names of the other winners and the categories:


Best in People Category - tie between Eric Leikin and Justin Clark (Morocco)
Best in Bologna Category - Aurélien Billot (Strada Maggiore)
Best in Italy Category - tie between Aurélien Billot and Euri Lee (Venice)


As our readers can see, there is a lot to photograph and film in and around Bologna.


Many thanks to Courtney McCarty, the Student Government Association and the participants.

by Nicolò Lanciotti

by Eric Leikin

by Justin Clark

by Aurélien Billot

by Aurélien Billot

by Euri Lee

Tomorrow and Thursday: a video glimpse of Bologna

Nelson Graves

The glue that keeps students together

Today our guest writer is Elan Bar, president of the Student Government Administration.  The SGA has five members who are elected by the student body at the beginning of the academic year. The Association has an important role to play: it organizes student clubs and activities, and serves as a link to the faculty and the administration. Although the SGA's members change every year, its essence remains the same -- it gives voice to student views and concerns, and is the glue that keeps the student body together.
Amina Abdiuahab

The Student Government Administration is the elected representative body of each year's class. The SGA reflects the class’s dynamics and personality, and becomes an amalgamation of 200 students.

This year, we have made it our priority to foster initiative among students. We have tried to create an environment in which students seek opportunities for personal enrichment. In our opinion, that enrichment is invaluable to the class in two specific ways:

• It creates a diverse and intellectually stimulating environment in which different individuals pursue different areas of interest. This has allowed for more intimate discussions and more heated debates.
• It encourages students to explore the unique opportunities made available to them within Italy and Europe.

The SGA at last week's Student General Meeting

This year we have had a student organize a career trip to Vienna, while another one took charge of our annual trip to Sarajevo. One of our classmates went to a remote locale in the Dolomites to learn about Somali pirates, while another attended the NATO summit in Lisbon. We have three students who are organizing a trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in connection with a course being offered at SAIS BC this semester.

It would be inexcusable to discuss student initiative and not mention our illustrious Austrians. Each year they organize nearly 200 of us (most of whom cannot Sprechen Sie Deutsch), get us up to Vienna, organize sleeping arrangements and plan a night (and early morning) of sophisticated black-tie frivolity at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. This year’s group was no exception -- they were outstanding.

Three of the five SGA members
From right Elan, Tish and John

We feel that student initiative does not need to be only academic in nature. We want students to share their passions, hobbies and esoteric knowledge with the class. These events often take on a more leisurely form. Among other activities, we have had Scotch and wine tastings, yoga classes, cooking courses and trips to vineyards and ski areas organized by our classmates. Just last weekend, 50 of us sat down to dinner together in Venice for Carnevale.

The SGA, in the end, serves two fundamental purposes. First, we try to provide stability. We want students to feel that their needs are being addressed and their desires listened to. Second, we try to enrich the experience of our classmates here in Bologna by encouraging their ideas and supporting their pursuits. 

Elan Bar