Everyone finds ways to celebrate Turkey Day
By Hannah Boulton
International students have several options when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving. Many join their host families, their own families or their friends for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Some take the week-long break as a chance to travel. Others stay home and enjoy time off from classes.
Barbara Williams, International Club adviser and administrative assistant for International Education, said Thanksgiving is not a particularly meaningful holiday for most international students.
“Thanksgiving is a traditionally American holiday. It doesn’t really mean anything to international students,” she said. “What they see it as is a five day break from classes.”
She said several international students used Thanksgiving break as a chance to take road trips and see more of the United States.
Williams said the International Club doesn’t offer Thanksgiving activities to students, but it does host a Fall potluck dinner and dance party. The potluck dinner gives international students a chance to share foods from their home countries. This year’s dinner and dance party will be at 7 p.m., Nov. 18 in COM 319.
In addition to attending the potluck, some international students attend Thanksgiving dinners in community members’ homes. Williams said the International Club was recently contacted by some community members, including former and current faculty, who want to have international students over to their homes on Thanksgiving Day.
“I think it’s a really generous offer for these people to welcome students into their home for the holiday, but … we don’t normally have a lot of students participate in that,” she said.
Erick Mbembati, student and International Club president, won’t be celebrating with faculty. Although Mbembati is from Tanzania, several of his family members live in the United States. He said he usually celebrates Thanksgiving with his uncle, aunt and other extended family, but this year he is traveling to Florida with a friend’s family.
Mbembati said most international students live with host families, their immediate families or their extended families.
“The majority of them, they will be with their family, friends or host parents [for Thanksgiving],” he said.
Ho Hoi Chun, student, Hong Kong, said he plans to spend Thanksgiving with his host family. This year marks Chun’s third Thanksgiving in the United States. He said he’s celebrated Thanksgiving with different host families for the past three years.
Erik Guenther, student, Germany, said he might also spend Thanksgiving with his host family. Guenther said he has several options for how to spend the holiday, including cooking German food at a faculty member’s house or taking a trip to Dallas, Texas.
While Chun and Guenther will spend Thanksgiving with their host families, other students plan to celebrate with family members who live in the United States. Jillian Evans, student, Bahamas; Andrew Grainger, student, Australia; and Atif Malik, student, Pakistan, all said they are having Thanksgiving dinner with their families.
Abdul “Bud” Rahman Kaylai, student, Syria, said he has the chance to spend Thanksgiving with a family member but would rather relax at home. Kaylai’s aunt invited him on a cruise but he declined the invitation.
“I have never had Thanksgiving, and I think I’ll spend Thanksgiving in my apartment,” he said.
Kaylai, Malik, Grainger, Evans and Mbembati all said they plan to attend the International Club potluck dinner and dance party on Nov. 18. However, Kaylai said he won’t be cooking a traditional Arabic dish to share.
“I think I’ll get, like, Pizza Hut … It’s easier,” he said. “It’s very hard to cook Arabic food.”
International Club meets from 3 p.m.-4 p.m. every other Wednesday in COM 319. For more information on International Club, call extension 4756 or stop by COM 220.
Contact Hannah Boulton, copy editor, at hboulton@jccc.edu.