In the midst of midterms and projects, Thanksgiving break comes as a cherished relief for many UW–Madison students.
Photo Credit: Sara Karraker
For an international student, the most important part of Thanksgiving is probably the break from school or the chance to catch up on homework, which sadly defeats the holiday’s purpose. I am from India and before coming here had never really heard of Thanksgiving. I certainly have never experienced it. Many international students attempt to delve into the holiday and they do not regret it; it is a memorable time, something they can talk about back home, and something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. Some students travel and explore America geographically, and others spend Thanksgiving with local families and friends.
Given the diversity of people at UW–Madison, celebrating holidays together is one of the best ways to get to know each other. Sushmit, a third year student from India, always has a thanksgiving dinner with his lab mate. It is in the form of a pot-luck picnic with a typical Thanksgiving feast of turkey and roasted potatoes. Though international students may be surprised, there is much more to American food than burgers and fries. Sushmit slyly reveals that since there is a Canadian in their group, and Americans and Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on different days they end up celebrating it twice a year. Canadians harvest their crops earlier due to the colder climate, so they celebrate the holiday almost a whole month earlier. Sushmit enjoys double the celebration and, moreover, double the food!
Every year Judy Tang, Director of the International Friendship Centre, hosts a huge Thanksgiving dinner the Sunday before the actual day which is geared towards international students. The food is donated by churches and local people and includes eight turkeys and at least 60 pounds of mashed potatoes! Tang attempts to create a “family feeling” between the students and attendees so the international students can see what this day is supposed to be like. The best part of this day is the warmth and love and togetherness seen everywhere, and even the international students begin to feel at home with the locals. According to Tang, “the stores are closed and everyone stays home. Moreover this is the one time when everybody visits their family and a lot of this feeling radiates to international students – just knowing and talking and all these conversations and people waiting anxiously to go to their parents or grandparents – they make you think of your family and friends, here and in your country and the big IFC family comprising of international students and volunteers and everyone involved in making it happen – all of this builds up to the feeling of inclusiveness.” Many colleges in the U.S have a program that assigns a host family to international students. They are your pseudo-mom and dad with whom with you celebrate the holidays. This arrangement allows international students to have memorable experiences and an insight to the cultural values of America. Every country has some unique traditions and when you visit a new country, if you do not explore them, it is equivalent to not going there at all.
Rahul, who is spending his sixth year in the U.S, had a great chance to experience all of this with his host family. Rahul says of his experience, “They call you every week and are always there for you to guide you and help you with any issue. They are very open and accepting and make your stay here worth it.” He believes that only the international students who have met and interacted with local people will become familiar with the culture. Having spent Thanksgiving with his host family, Rahul is of the view that Madison lacks this concept and that people here are missing something. Thanksgiving is the one time when the whole family comes together. The feeling of togetherness is so strong on this day that Rahul’s host parents even drove from Texas
to North Dakota to pick up their son as he didn’t have any other way to get home for the holiday.
Photo Credit: Sara Karraker
Lilly Cao, a senior in Industrial Engineering, has also had a similar experience and can remember clearly how much the ‘amount of food’ and the ‘size of the turkey’ struck her! Coming from Italy, she believes that the biggest difference between social gatherings here and back home is the lack of alcohol. “In Italy, champagne or some other form of alcohol is always present”, she says. She adds that unlike Italy, “In the US it’s a big deal to have the family get together, as they are all so independent – kids leave there parents and work in other places and thanksgiving is the one time when everyone comes together to celebrate and enjoy and have fun as a family.”
Another aspect of Thanksgiving is Black Friday, an adventurous, exciting and somewhat hectic day according to Rahul and Lilly. Rahul in his first year here went to the store with some friends at midnight and was stunned at the manic rush that ensued! So the next year, he prepared: he left at 8 PM fully equipped with food, water, and a sleeping bag, “We came back at eight the next morning and it was a lot of fun,” he says. Lilly went to Black Friday sales with her host mom who loves the sales that day. “We discussed our strategy on the Thanksgiving Day – we planned which store to go to first, as they open at different times, and how much time we had in each of them as some of the stuff, the costly ones, are limited and we wanted to get the worth of it. We had an early dinner and slept early so that we could wake up at four in the morning,” she says. On the flipside, there are people who find the whole “strategising and waking up early” thing ridiculous. Sushmit refuses to wake up at such an absurd time and says that amazon.com still exists!
It is the responsibility of international students to embrace the culture and traditions that we are a part of now. It is important for international students to mix with people and, moreso, to celebrate with them. Judy recalls the time when she visited Thailand and witnessed the King’s birthday, “There was such a huge crowd cheering for the king and enjoying and celebrating and they had so much energy and I can’t tell you how much fun I had getting involved with them.”
There is a Thanksgiving opportunity here at UW-Madison and all it takes is for you to come out of your shell and see what is happening around you. Participate, get involved and have fun because Thanksgiving is a great time of the year to get a flavor of this amazing country.