Wonderings and Wanderings : Sharing Thanksgiving Traditions

   This Thanksgiving turned out to be very interesting as I brought my Japanese friend Rui home with me to experience the American holiday with a "typical" American family. I believe that since the international students are here to learn from experiences, they should get as many different cultural experiences as possible. It was also a really cool way for me to get to know Rui better and learn about her culture as well.
   The experience was definitely worth it, and I am really happy I got to share my family's traditions with her. We did everything from make hand turkeys and make apple pie from scratch to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and have a home-cooked family Thanksgiving dinner. She also got to meet some of my family members and friends at home, and I think that enriched the experience even more. I was able to teach her about American culture as well as teach her some common phrases. We were both saying "Hey man" and "thanks man" by the end of the weekend. My friends taught her about Taco Bell and American fast food restaurants in general. I was also able to learn some words in Japanese and about her family and school in Japan as well as about some of the different customs.
   I only described about a fifth of the whole experience, but I think every student should try to get to know the international students on campus. It enriches their experience as well as improves their English, and the native speaking students can get a taste of another culture and learn about different customs and traditions. It's a really interesting experience, and you can end up making a friend for life. This was my favorite Thanksgiving yet.