We asked international students when they’ve felt the most international
‘I feel most international when I drink and actually know how to do it’
We’ve reached the end of Thanksgiving break – the time of year international students encounter with somewhat mixed feelings. Us “internationals” have three options when it comes to tackling the biggest American holiday of the year.
We could whip out $1000+ and buy a first class ticket back to the motherland for a holiday no one in our country celebrates or really cares about.
Or work on perfecting our puppy dog eyes and force an American family to adopt us for a week. Beware: this option requires you fully embrace all that is wonderful (and not so wonderful) about American Thanksgiving, turkey coma and all.
We could always stay at Yale the entire time, catch up on all of that neglected reading and survive off stolen dining hall food in a Ziploc bag from Thursday through Sunday when they close the dining halls. (Because surely everyone has somewhere better to eat on Thanksgiving Day than Berkeley, right?)
Thanksgiving is certainly right up there on the list of “the times I’ve felt most international at Yale” for all of us foreign students. The Tab asked a few of our beloved foreigners to see what really stood out to them on their arrival in the Land of the Free.
Aaron Jones, Canada
“I felt the most international in 2014 when the Winter Olympics happened and I was one of the only people who cared. Also, during elections when I can’t vote and when people wear a large amount of American flag gear that I can’t get hyped about.”
Jack Taperell, United Kingdom
“So the time I felt the most international/British was when I saw an American put the water in the cup, then the milk, then the teabag. I kept a stiff upper lip but inside my heart was breaking.”
Sonali Chauhan, India
“I feel most international when I drink and actually know how to do it.”
Lizzie Casey, United Kingdom
“Once I confused Al Gore and Al Capone, which made for some interesting conversations. Does that make me sound like an idiot?”
John Lee, South Korea
“When I need to convert Fahrenheit into Celsius to figure out what I need to wear for that day. And need to convert from dollars into wons in order to figure out how much things are actually costing.”
Venkatesh Jindal, India
“I felt most international looking at the size of American food portions.”
Phan Nguyen, Vietnam
“When holiday season comes. I will whip out my puppy eyes every time my friends talk about how excited they are to come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, hoping that they will invite me to come home with them. Rotting in a hotel by myself with take-out from China King while everyone else enjoys their turkey coma is not that great.”
Lukas Noritzsch, Spain
“Honestly, it begins every time I step foot on US soil. The first human interaction I have upon arriving in the US is with customs at the airport. First I hear: ‘Do you have a Visa?’ Next I get, ‘Why are you here (in the US)?’ and then I always get a pleasant reminder of the time I have left before I am allowed to leave.”
Yuki Hayashi, Singapore
“I feel the most international when I get confused by the summertime system when I calculate the time difference between here and back home.”
Ryan Manucha, Canada
“The time I felt most international was during international sporting events like the Olympics.”
Andres Vargas, Mexico
“I feel the most international when people talk about the TV shows that they watch in their childhood and make jokes about them. I am like, ‘what?!'”
Lia Weiner, Israel
“Any conversation about Justin Bieber.”