Far From Home, International Students Make Thanksgiving Their Own
When his college, the Stevens Institute of Technology, told him that host families were inviting international students to their homes for Thanksgiving, Dheemanth Sriram signed up for the program twice. And twice, he didn’t wake up.
“I just woke up late two years in a row and I missed it, so 2020 is the real first time I celebrate,” he said.
View from the apartment where the group spent thanksgiving, Crown Heights NY.
Despite the recommendations from the C.D.C. to minimize trips and social interactions, 50 million Americans traveled to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family, according to Statista. But for international students away from home and well aware of the increase in Covid-19 cases, the celebrations looked quite different.
Originally from India, Sriram found himself home alone after his two roommates left New Jersey for the holidays. Because five of his international peers were in the same position, they decided to spend this American celebration together and in their own way.
And if Thanksgiving meant to learn about American culture, the date wasn’t of major importance to the group. Pierre Tholoniat, 23, a graduate student at Columbia University native from France, said that celebrating the day after was just as joyful.
“For us, the celebration is more about being with our friends than about the event in itself,” he said.
So, on Friday the students gathered in Brooklyn to shop all the ingredients necessary to cook a turkey, some mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
Passionate about cooking and excited to learn new recipes, Soyoung Oh, a graduate student at Baruch College saw the day as “a good excuse to meet with friends,” and to cook a larger amount of food than she would otherwise.
“It’s hard to find a reason to cook 21 pounds of turkey, it’s very occasional,” said Oh.
Originally from South Korea, the 23-year-old had only celebrated the American holiday once before, but this year after facing the possibility of deportation, the celebration held a different meaning for the international student.
“If I were not to celebrate I would feel like I’m just a visitor and that I wouldn’t really care about what’s going on in the US,” she said.
While the group had the chance to meet in person, for CUNY students who feared the virus, some campuses offered them options not to spend the holiday alone.
The Student Government Association (SGA) at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) opened a virtual week of thanks on their website to allow everyone to express their gratitude during a challenging academic year.
Events were also organized. On November 24, the SGA welcomed students to participate in online activities, discussions and meditation through a workshop called, “The Power of Giving Thanks.”
At Brooklyn College, student volunteers were encouraged to give back to the community.
During an event, in collaboration with the organization Tanger Hillel, various campus clubs organized a coat drive where 23 students gave their time and collected more than 70 coats. The items were then donated to a homeless shelter.
In the same week, around 60 students packed Thanksgiving meals for New Yorkers in need. The food was then delivered with the help of local delivery companies as well as Uber eats.
For the friends who celebrated together, the plan was to avoid deliveries and cook everything in its entirety.
Not knowing how to separate the different parts of the turkey, the cooking experience quickly turned into a learning session through YouTube tutorials. But cooking typical Thanksgiving dishes rather than mixing their own roots around fusion meals came from the desire to honor American culture.
“If I have the most American things like turkey and mac and cheese I would slightly feel like I’m part of the culture,” said Oh.
Dariush Namazi, learns how to remove the turkey’s spine on his phone.
Once the battle of preparation was over, came the battle of the oven. While the first hour of cooking didn’t cause any problems, halfway through getting a golden and crispy skin, a wine leak from the turkey’s marinade caramelized in the oven and set the fire alarm off.
“Cooking a turkey isn’t easy,” said Oh, after she installed two fans in the kitchen area to clear the gray smoke.
Soyoung Oh and Dariush Namazi clean the oven, after a leak set the fire alarm off.
Spending this holiday together was also a reminder for the friends that despite not being able to see their family they were thankful for their health in the midst of a pandemic that affected millions around the globe.
Sriram said the Indian government recently declared it was no longer able to help its citizens contain the spread of the virus and that people would have to take their own safety measures.
“I’m really thankful none of my family members or friends are infected. One of the worst pandemic is happening and we are staying safe, so I’m very happy about that,” he said.
And even though Covid-19 was the main topic both at the table and on zoom, for Dariush Namazi it was important not to let the crisis impact his experience in the USA.“It’s not because of covid that we have to ruin all these moments, I will keep celebrating those special occasions,” he said.
After a few hours and much effort, the friends gather at the table around the turkey.