International students invited to Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is fast Thursday and many VCU students are traveling home to be with loved ones. Some international students, whose homes are thousands of miles away, have been invited to share the holiday with American families.
“We currently have about 35 families who have opened their homes to share this important holiday with students,” Pamela Haney, director of International Student and Scholar Services, stated in an e-mail.
Thanksgiving is fast Thursday and many VCU students are traveling home to be with loved ones. Some international students, whose homes are thousands of miles away, have been invited to share the holiday with American families.
“We currently have about 35 families who have opened their homes to share this important holiday with students,” Pamela Haney, director of International Student and Scholar Services, stated in an e-mail. “It is very important for international students to be in a home when their own homes are thousands of miles away.”
Most international students come to the United States to pursue an education and leave their foundations of family and friends at home.
Ahmed Dini, a radiation sciences and pre-medicine major from Somalia, has celebrated Thanksgiving with a host family in Charlottesville.
“It was really great,” Dini said. “They remind me of my family back home.”
Dini said he felt special because his host family provided him with Halal food, or food that is permissible under Islamic law.
“I had special food only for me,” Dini said. “It was really nice … (a) very good experience.”
Kristin M. Swenson, a religious studies professor, says Thanksgiving has traditionally been a time to gather with family and friends.
“Remember that its origins lie in the happy gathering of very different peoples, native and foreign, American Indians and English settlers,” Swenson stated in an e-mail. “So to include international students in one’s Thanksgiving celebration is truly in the spirit of the holiday’s origins.”
Swenson said sharing the holiday with American students is a good way for international students to get a better understanding of America.
“It’s important for international students to learn about this most ecumenical of American holidays and hopefully in the process, for all involved to make new friends,” Swenson stated.
For more information about sharing Thanksgiving with an international student, contact Pamela Haney at (804) 828-8471 or visit the Office of International Education at 916 W. Franklin Street.
News Co-Editor Catherine MacDonald contributed to this report.
