A four-day weekend and a home-cooked holiday feast is beckoning many University members to flock homeward Thursday. But for many international students, home is out of reach, and Thanksgiving is a foreign concept. Some of these students, however, still celebrate the holiday as a way to try something new.
The Office of International Programs organizes a Thanksgiving exchange where international students can join a local family for their celebration and holiday dinner. International student adviser Abe Schafermeyer said many foreign students welcome this opportunity to experience an authentic American holiday and have signed up for the exchange.
Two such students from Indonesia, Tjhin Siska Natalia and Meilani Lazuardi, said they enjoy being able to celebrate the customs and traditions of another country, but they miss being able to visit their families. Summer break is the only time the two can go home to see their loved ones. However, Lazuardi said being separated from her family during the holiday season doesn’t make her sad. As a Christian, she said she feels more able to enjoy the holiday season in America than in Indonesia.
“I like Christmas here better than in my country because most people are of the Muslim faith in our country,” Lazuardi said.
Natalia added that as a former student in Singapore, she’s used to being away from her family.
“Usually, in our home, the only time we get together is Christmas or New Year,” Natalia said.
Natalia and Lazuardi said they take more interest in American holidays than many of their peers. Natalia added that most international students don’t take the opportunity to get involved and celebrate Thanksgiving.
“I think they don’t really care about the meaning of Thanksgiving; it’s just nice to have a four-day weekend,” Natalia said. “I know most of them go on trips, hang out at someone’s house, or watch movies. … And of course they’ll go to the after-Thanksgiving sale.”
Because the two students aren’t worried about being brought down by severe feelings of homesickness, they’re focused on getting as much enjoyment out of Thanksgiving as possible. For them, the holiday and the traditions that surround it are still fresh and mysterious, so they don’t take anything for granted. Natalia and Lazuardi said eating a turkey dinner is the thing they are most looking forward to experiencing.
“It was amazing — so big, when I saw it in the supermarket,” Natalia said excitedly.
Florian Goosmann, a University student from Bonn, Germany, said he’s also in awe of the traditional holiday meal. The international student said he and his host family are going to spend Thanksgiving at the coast and have made plans to rent a couple of cabins.
Gabriela Serrano, a sociology major from El Salvador and another participant in the OIP Thanksgiving exchange program, said most of her international friends don’t indulge in celebrating the American holiday. However, she said foreign students are wasting an important cultural opportunity by only viewing the four-day weekend as a chance to get out of the city or hang out with friends.
“I think, being an international student, it’s good to try to absorb and know the traditions and customs of where you’re at,” Serrano said.