For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, hope you had a great Thanksgiving week! Wondering how IEDPers — a super eclectic bunch! — spent Thanksgiving? For some of us, it was the very first Thanksgiving we celebrated in our life! For some others, it was the first Thanksgiving away from home. Every year, the IEDP students work together for a few weeks prior to the Thanksgiving week to organize various events to bring the cohort together. We had a week filled with events and get-together for sure! And the first event we had was…

Friendsgiving Brunch

Anum and Risa kindly hosted the cohort at their apartment for a Friendsgiving brunch which took place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Friendsgiving has been a regular for IEDP even before it became a trend amongst the millennials in the past couple years. Because there are students who will be traveling to their homes on the actual Thanksgiving weekend, the IEDPers make sure to organize a get-together the weekend before so we can celebrate the holiday with more cohort mates as possible!

And then the actual Thanksgiving happened.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Can you believe that Ale prepared all these foods? (FYI: No pressure whatsoever for those out there wondering if this is the level of cooking one needs to get at to be in IEDP!! We were just REALLY fortunate this year to have a talented, savvy cook like Ale) For those who are staying in town for the holiday, we got together at Ale’s place and had a feast, played games and watched movies together. Also, you were welcome to bring your friends to the dinner: our door is open to friends of IEDPers as well.

That’s already two huge feasts but the IEDPers were only getting started with these, as the merry week has been followed by…

Trailing at New Hope

Friday after Thanksgiving, some of the IEDPers drove to New Hope, PA, which is located about an hour away from Philly. If you’ve been feeling antsy living in the city and craving nature, this was your cup of tea. Even if you are not the most outdoors-y person, New Hope is a picturesque town with quintessential New England sceneries so it really is worth a visit. Cute local vendors, cafés and restaurants can be found at the beginning of the trail, which makes the town an even more wonderful experience!

Our joyful weekend filled with food, friendship and laughter does not end here (surprisingly!). Dr. GK has invited the students who are in Philly for the weekend to her place for a brunch on Saturday.

Saturday Brunch at Dr. GK’s House

Dr. GK, a professor at IEDP that one is likely to interact with the most once you come to the program, has a beautiful house in West Philly. From the word on the street and the occasional desserts she brought to our classes, we all knew that Dr. GK is a gifted cook and a baker. And our expectations were never let down…

With the forecast of rain and cold weather on Saturday, the IEDPers could not go on the exploration of South Philly but the brunch really nicely concluded the eventful Thanksgiving week that the IEDPers had. One is never left with boredom and nothing to do at IEDP. In fact, you might find yourself with too many great options to choose for! With all the food, friends, nature and great times we had together, it was very difficult not to feel thankful after this week!