By JENNA KANE, LINGCHAO MAO and CAROLINE CORNISH
On Tuesday, November 22nd, in New Mind at NCSU’s festively decorated office, UPP students feasted on classic dishes seen at most American Thanksgiving tables. This was food that most Chinese students had never tasted before: turkey, stuffing, sweet potato pie/casserole and cranberry relish dishes, iconic staples to the fabled meal. Other dishes including honey spiraled ham, corn souffle, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, yeast rolls, and gravy lined the makeshift serving tables. The whole office was warmly scented by the traditional Thanksgiving aromas of pumpkin spice and cinnamon apples. Bright autumn colors splashed festive cheer on the walls, and decorative paper-turkeys and autumn flowers littered the tables; students really drank in the authentic taste of Thanksgiving celebrations in the U.S.
Upon entering this warm atmosphere, interns handed students letters to themselves from the Shelton Challenge Leadership summer camp that they participated in three months ago. Along with the letters, they saw team pictures, and funny and exhausted young faces… Our students laughed and recalled with each other their first memorable experience in the United States.
Those whose eyes were blinded with hunger did not spend time contemplating their Shelton letters and ran straight to the food tables. Advisors became professional waitresses and served students’ plates overflowing with food, encouraging them to taste all that was available in this harvest bounty. Many of the students were delightfully surprised by the different foods. Interns discussed with them the differences between “dark meat” and “white meat”, but cranberry relish remained a great mystery on the table. While many students remained divided on which meat was superior (ham or turkey?), a popular favorite was the mashed potatoes. Surprisingly to the Americans, the pecan pie was almost untouched, reinforcing for our staff again that sweet-teeth are less common in China than the U.S.
“It’s the first time that I ate turkey and it’s very different than I expected. I always thought that they were smoked like Chinese barbecue”, said Hunter Huang; Aurora Ding thought, “the food was very traditional and American. My favourite food was the turkey although it is not very salty.”
“The food was great. I feel I can eat lots more. The environment was great, too, and it reminded me of Chinese New Year,” said Sam Jia.
While Thanksgiving is a food-centered holiday, there were a few other activities to help students get into the Thanksgiving spirit. Students were able to partake in a Thanksgiving photo booth where they could pose with pilgrim hats and assorted food cut-outs. There was also a Thankfulness tree where students filled out what they were thankful for on little autumn leaves.
A popular message was “Let me pass IEP please”, and “Kirsh, [a famously difficult teacher] please let me pass”. Some of other messages were more appreciative, “Thanks for this Life,” “Thanks for my parents,” and “Thanks to my advisor.”
“I like the cards students wrote,” said Starry Gao, “I think that is memorable.”
Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays of American culture and a rich traditional background remains behind it. The goals of this event was to provide students positive exposure to an iconic holiday tradition through taste, smell, sight and sound, while also engaging their hearts and minds by asking them to consider privilege and gratitude. Overall, it was a lovely, relaxing time where students, interns, and staff gathered together at the end of the year to celebrate family and unity, providing a profound sense of inclusion during the holidays.
Todd Weng shared, “I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving before, since it’s my first time. It’s quite unique for me and I had a variety of food I’ve never tasted before so I think it’s wonderful.”
Kaia also really enjoyed her Thanksgiving and said, “I love this event, and I love the foods. And the decorations on the tables surprised me so much, they looked so formal and beautiful, and that made me feel happy and warm. Thank you to all the staff.”