Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. In elementary classrooms across the country, the history of Thanksgiving is being taught around this time in November.
Outside of the U.S. however, the holiday is about as well-known as France’s Bastille Day or Japan’s Shōwa Day here back in the states. This means many who come stateside during this time of year may experience some culture shock at the sight of feasts and decorations.
Fortune Nwokejiobi is one of the many international students who experience the cultural holiday with a different perspective. Nwokejiobi studies Computer Science at UW and is originally from Nigeria. Thanksgiving is something Nwokejiobi has only heard of before.
“I’ve never celebrated it,” Nwokejiobi said. “I think it’s a nice holiday that gets the family together to just be grateful and mostly what I hear about it is the foods served at thanksgiving.”
This being one of Nwokejiobi’s first semesters at UW, it is not entirely surprising what little experiences she has had with Thanksgiving so far.
One student from a different background who has come to know and love the holiday is Adlynn Jamaludin.
Jamaludin is a citizen of Malaysia, as well as the President of the International Students Association (ISA) at UW.
She has gotten to know the Thanksgiving tradition during her time in Wyoming through both her personal life, and through her involvement in the ISA.
“During my first semester here, in fall 2018, I was invited to a ‘Friendsgiving’ party,” Jamaludin said. “It was really nice and I met a lot of new friends that I’m still friends with today.”
Some of Jamaludin’s work has also included Thanksgiving-inspired festivities.
“Last week, the Education Abroad office and the ‘Global Buddies’ program held an international Thanksgiving celebration,” Jamaludin said. “Everyone brought their own version of a classic Thanksgiving dish.”
“My friend Catherine and I made ‘Pajeon’ Korean scallion pancakes,” Jamaludin continued. “Both of us went to South Korea to study abroad and Pajeon, also known as Chuseok, is one of the dishes that is usually served during Koreans’ Thanksgiving.”
Although neither Catherine nor Jamaludin are Korean, the dish had enough meaning to be worthy of inclusion in their international Thanksgiving.
“Since we became friends because of our study abroad experience, it’s something that we share,” Jamaludin said. “It was really fun making that with her and sharing that with everyone at the party.”
Although UW campus may be geographically smack dab in the heart of the United States and therefore one of the most culturally homogeneous places in the nation, the many variations of Thanksgiving traditions that can be found across the city of Laramie serve as proof that we are truly a thriving international community.
