Turkey, homesickness, and gratitude: Thanksgiving as an international student
Published: 7 January 2026
Alice, an MSc Political Communication student from the USA, shares what it was like spending her first Thanksgiving abroad and how she learned to make the most of the experience while coping with homesickness.
Author: Alice Adler-Lombardi, MSc Political Communication student
Hi, I’m Alice, from the United States, and I’m an international student at the University of Glasgow’s School of Social and Political Sciences. Like most American students at University of Glasgow, I spent my Thanksgiving away from home. Before moving to Glasgow, I was worried about spending Thanksgiving alone without my family. However, prospective American students can put these fears to rest, as I was not only able to celebrate Thanksgiving once but twice in Scotland.
My first party was on Thanksgiving Day and was hosted by a friend from my programme. Since Glasgow is a friendly city and the people in my programme are warm and welcoming, I was able to make friends quickly and easily. For instance, I befriended one of my classmates, a fellow American, and she invited me to a night of merry feasting and gregarious chatting. This wasn’t an American only event. The guests were a mix of Americans, Scots, and several other nationalities We even had a guest that had never celebrated Thanksgiving before. While he was originally taken aback by pumpkin pie, after his first bite, he was hooked.
Along with pumpkin pie, we had other traditional foods like the obligatory turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and stuffing. Besides the traditional foods, we had a delicious salmon pie, that I am still thinking about, and a surprisingly delicious vegan mac and cheese. All in all, I had a wonderful time that alleviated my homesickness. I didn’t miss my family too much!
A proper Thanksgiving dinner in Scotland.
My second Thanksgiving was on the Sunday of the same week, November 30th, giving me time to properly digest my previous feast and have an empty stomach ready to chow down. Differing from the usual tradition, this party was not a dinner but a lunch. Instead of being held outside in Plymouth, Massachusetts by the English pilgrims and Native Americans, as the Thanksgiving myth posits, this event took place in a flat in Edinburgh with my French friend and her multicultural crew of doctorate students. To get to the flat, I walked through the famed Christmas market and passed by the stately, yet majestic, Gothic buildings that populate the city.
A view of Edinburgh Christmas Market under the sunlight.
We also ate the classic Thanksgiving staples there. Although, there were some added twists: instead of the typical sparkling cider, we downed our food with mulled wine, and our pecan pie was not cut into slices but prepared in bite-sized tarts. Like the salmon pie from the other party, the pecan pie bites cross my mind frequently. I laughed and bonded with the other guests during the meal. My family would have been jealous.
After eating more than I could handle, my French friend and I went to the cinema to watch Wicked: For Good. This worked as a way to celebrate Thanksgiving because I am truly thankful for Sexiest Man Alive Jonathan Bailey in suspenders and Cynthia Eviro and Ariana Grande’s vocals.
Celebrating two Thanksgivings abroad in Scotland are opportunities that I will never forget. I was able to feel at home on the other side of pond. If these experiences are any indication, there is absolutely no need for future American students to worry about missing Thanksgiving revelries in Scotland!
First published: 7 January 2026
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