Turkeys are being prepared, tables are being set and families are on their way. While these rituals may seem like second nature to many Americans, Thanksgiving is an enigma to some international University students.
For these international students, the brief Thanksgiving break is nothing more than time off school. For others, it’s a chance to get acquainted with American culture.
Senior biochemistry major Lisa Tsai is a Taiwanese student who will be celebrating her second Thanksgiving in the United States. She spent her first “turkey day” last year at a friend’s house and had the “traditional” American Thanksgiving dinner.
“My first Thanksgiving didn’t affect me too much, actually,” Tsai said. She said she wasn’t in the Thanksgiving spirit because she doesn’t quite understand the holiday.
“I don’t know so much about Thanksgiving,” Tsai said. “I have only heard a few stories about how the holiday was created, but it doesn’t mean that much to me.”
The holiday that closest resembles the American feast, Tsai said, is the Chinese New Year, which is typically held at the end of June.
“The end of the year is the time be grateful for the things you got from the last year,” Tsai said.
This year, Tsai said although she doesn’t understand the holiday, she’s thinking about celebrating Thanksgiving with some friends. She said she hopes she can eat some turkey this year.
“Some friends and I were thinking about cooking Thanksgiving together, just the international students,” Tsai said.
Tsai also hopes to take some day trips and to just relax with friends. Regardless of how she celebrates, Tsai said she is thankful for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“It’s a good break before finals start,” Tsai said.
Law student Zeid Altonyat will be experiencing his first Thanksgiving in the United States.
“I’m going to be with my host family,” Altonyat said, “and they say we’re going to have a big dinner.”
Altonyat, a Saudi Arabian exchange student, said if any holiday in his culture comes close to Thanksgiving, it is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“We have a lot of feasts during that,” Altonyat said.
Part of sophomore Yusuke Hagiwara’s Thanksgiving feast might be some crab legs. The biology major said he plans to go to Florence to go crabbing.
Hagiwara, who comes from Japan, hasn’t had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner yet.
“Last year, I just stayed and did nothing,” Hagiwara said.
But he said he may eat some turkey this year.
Like Tsai, Hagiwara said he is a bit confused about the meaning of Thanksgiving.
“From the name, it seems we have to thank something,” Hagiwara said. “That’s all I know.”
Graduate student Kyoungh Kang said he knows what Thanksgiving means, because in his home country of South Korea, they also celebrate Thanksgiving.
Kang said the “Korean version” is very much like the American holiday. The feast, called “Chusok,” is a time for families to get together and be thankful, Kang said. Instead of turkey, Kang said Koreans eat rice cakes called “ttok” and various seasonal foods such as persimmon and pears.
“We pay respect to our ancestors as well,” Kang said. He said part of the Chusok feast entails a ceremony of bowing to pay homage to family members who have passed on.
As for the American holiday, Kang said he was reasonably pleased.
“I really like the atmosphere of Thanksgiving,” Kang said. “But I didn’t like the turkey.”
Graduate student and Spanish teacher Vanesa Garcia, like other international students, said she doesn’t completely understand Thanksgiving.
“To be honest, I don’t quite understand what you’re celebrating,” Garcia said.
Garcia said she was confused about the history of the holiday and how pilgrims treated Native Americans near the time of the first Thanksgiving.
Garcia, who comes from Spain, believes that Christmas is the biggest feast of the year in her country. She said there’s nothing like the Thanksgiving holiday, but when it comes to food — Christmas is the holiday that leaves people stuffed.
“We have a very big feast the 24th (of December) at night,” Garcia said. “Then the lunch on (Christmas) is huge, too.”
Turkey is a food that Garcia said she can handle only once a year.
“No turkey at Christmas,” Garcia said. “We usually have chicken or fish and seafood, with typical food from Spain.”