As they do every fourth Thursday in November, students at ULM, along with other people in the US, will celebrate Thanksgiving, one of the biggest holidays traditionally celebrated in the USA.
People traditionally celebrate with their families with a nice, big dinner. One of them is Joshua Howard, a senior general studies major from Lafayette. Howard said Thanksgiving is a huge and meaning full holiday for him, so he will use it spend some quality time with his family.
“Since I was young, my parents taught me to always spend big holidays, like Thanksgiving, with the family. Now, I also have a daughter, and I can’t wait to see her and spend some time with her and other family members,” Howard said.
While many students have already made their planes, some of them still don’t know what they’re going to do for Thanksgiving. One of the reasons could be a bad financial situation.
Joseph Gilyard, a senior general studies major from Port Barre, said he wants to go home, but he still doesn’t know whether he will or not.
“I think I’ve never missed any Thanksgiving Day so far, but since I am taking a trip to Japan this winter, I am not sure whether I want to spend money and go home, or stay here, see what’s happening on campus, and save the money I need,” Gilyard said.
Some students’ only problem is the distance between the University and their homes. Nabin Timilsina, a sophomore biology major from Kathmandu, Nepal, said they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in his home country, but it’s always good for him to experience new cultures and traditions. Timilsina also said he and his friend from Arizona, who is not able to go home for Thanksgiving because of time and money issues, were invited by their US friends to spend Thanksgiving with her family.
“My friend and I will have a dinner with a family from Monroe. For me, that is going to be just a new experience, but for my friend, it’s going to be a compensation of his family that has been with him every Thanksgiving,” Timilsina said.
Those students who will stay on campus and still haven’t decided where to go, the Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM) will organize the Thanksgiving dinner at noon Thursday. Traditional Thanksgiving food will be served.
