Week 14: A Week of Rest, Food, and Fun: Thanksgiving Break Highlights
“The best memories are made around the table.” – Unknown
By: Hong Bing Tang December 2nd, 2024
11/25/2024 to 12/01/2024
Introduction:
Greetings all! With only two days of classes this week, it was quite a light week. Of course, the best thing was being able to go home for the first time since August and eat the amazing food that my parents cooked. Additionally, being able to spend quality time with friends and family was much appreciated before wrapping up the semester. Let’s get into this week!
2 day week:
Since the week was shortened there was no homework due. Additionally two of my classes we had presentations so there was really much that I did this week for school. However the week after thanksgiving I have two exams so we did review for those exams these two days. It kinda does suck having exams right after break however since those two exams were not during exam week it would lower my course work and studying for exam week which is way better than to have to potentially study for 5 exams.
Home!
I headed home in the early evening on Wednesday. Like usual Carson took me home with him and we stopped at MSU along the way to pick up Kaisen. After we got home, both Kaisen and feasted and ate a ton of the food. Even though I cook food at my apartment, it was really nice to be able to get a home cooked meal. Additionally, it is always great to be home and see family and hang out with everyone since I rarely get to see them during the school year. I ended off the day by watching the Ford vs Ferrari movie which was an awesome movie about racing.
Thanksgiving:
The holiday of eating. This thanksgiving our family was having a small gathering with a couple family friends. Normally for our thanksgiving we have a mix of traditional thanksgiving food along with an Asian menu. This year was no different. My dad made the turkey and my sister made the mash potatoes along with the gravy. Additionally my dad also made some tea eggs, curry, and shrimp. This year I made the a dessert called Egg tarts with the help of my dad. Surprisingly they were pretty easy to make. Then our family friends brought some sushi as well. I have yet to upgraded to the adults table and so of us “kids” which we all are in college now sat at the dedicated “kids” table and had some really good conversation about college. It was super good to catch up with Kaisen and see how his first year had gone. Additionally of course it was also great to see my sister, her boyfriend, and my brother. Overall the food was really but unfortunately the turkey was too salty. Maybe next year dad.
Snow!
When I woke up on Friday, it had snowed last night! That was surprising since I had checked the weather that night and it was not forecasted to snow. Anyways I headed out to run with Adam and took the back roads to try to practice driving in the snow and the roads were very icy. I guess the salt trucks had not come around, but I was able to make it to Waldon. I then ran 7 miles with Adam and was able to catch up with him. The ground was quite slick which was sad since I love running in the snow, but it was not good snow to run on sadly. It continued to snow throughout the day and into the night and was still snowing when I woke up on Saturday. So, I was able to do another run in the snow! And yes, it was the good type of snow to run on when I was on the sidewalks, but unfortunately the dirt roads were icy, and I fell during the run, but luckily it was not too bad. I look forward to the next couple of weeks when it starts getting pretty with the snow!
Sleepover:
On Friday night Danny invited Owen, Ethan, Troy, and I over to spend the night and have a board game night. We played a variety of games but started off by playing chameleon. Apparently last time we played it incorrectly but this time if the chameleon got caught, they had the opportunity to guess what the topic was. After that game we played Sushi Go but Ethan had an expansion pack so there were different cards which changed the strategy from the OG game. I was able to get the dub. After we played a game where we had six seconds to draw a topic and then try to get people to guess the correct prompt. I was quite bad at guessing the drawing but after we played codenames which was hard but ultimately Mallory and Owen and I were able to tie the game on the tiebreaker. After that Owen had to leave but the rest of us talked for a while before we made a quick Meijer run to grab some popcorn and smores stuff. We cooked the smores on the gas stove before we watched some Tropic thunder which I fell asleep for.
Family Sushi Dinner:
On Saturday night for our last dinner at home, we had a sushi night. Xuan and Evan came home and so it was almost everyone other than Hong Xiang who was working unfortunately. There was so much food, and I ate a ton of variety. But the best part was since I was home, I was able to make natto sushi which I could not make at college since I did not have the natto beans. In case you did not know, Natto is fermented soybeans which has a very distinct taste that not many people or Americans would like due to tasting very different, but it is very good or at least, I think. I stuffed myself and was really happy that I was able to have one good family dinner with everyone!
Conclusion:
As Thanksgiving break ends, I’m grateful for the time spent with friends and family, the good food, and the moments of relaxation. It’s a reminder of the importance of taking a break and appreciating the little things, like a home-cooked meal or a fun night with friends. Now, it’s back to studying for those exams, but I’m recharged and ready for the challenges ahead!
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