Because the Thanksgiving vacation approaches, many college students are getting ready to return residence and have a good time with their households. By way of the highs and lows of the vacation season, college students additionally face a lot of challenges with know-how when making an attempt to speak with household.
Esmerelda Maya’s Hispanic Thanksgiving
Esmerelda Maya, a Hispanic senior sociology main, began celebrating the vacation about three or 4 years in the past.
Maya mentioned her Thanksgiving custom is a fusion of American and Hispanic flavors. She mentioned her household incorporates basic American dishes like ham and potatoes and likewise weaves in parts of Mexican delicacies.
Maya mentioned she spends the vacation in her hometown of Columbus, Nebraska, joined by fast relations. Her prolonged household can not journey to her as a result of they reside out of state.
The transition to varsity launched Maya to a broader culinary palette, increasing past her acquainted Mexican delicacies. Embracing American meals grew to become a big a part of her Thanksgiving expertise, she mentioned, with Maya even making an attempt her hand at cooking conventional American dishes throughout the vacation season.
Discussing the function of know-how, Maya mentioned it performs a pivotal function in coordinating Thanksgiving plans. From scheduling meetups to sharing work and faculty schedules, platforms like Fb function a digital hub for the household. Maya confessed to the occasional mishap, like pondering she’s recording a second on digital camera, solely to search out an empty video later.
Maya mentioned navigating the calls for of academia throughout Thanksgiving break might be tense, particularly with Black Friday offers and work commitments. Maya shared her technique of prioritizing teachers but additionally acknowledged the understanding of her household, who acknowledges the challenges of balancing research and celebrations.
Maya mentioned her household’s cultural background shapes their Thanksgiving celebration. The household embraces each American and Mexican parts, including a spicy twist to the meals. Whereas not explicitly incorporating cultural decorations, they convey their identification to the desk by flavors and traditions.
To handle the stress, Maya mentioned she focuses on finishing educational duties forward of time and indulges in stress-relieving actions, like understanding and cooking. These rituals allow her to totally benefit from the vacation season together with her household.
Expertise enhances household connections throughout Thanksgiving, permitting Maya to share moments with prolonged relations by Fb. Video games, notably Mexican bingo, add a playful contact to the celebration, she mentioned.
A glimpse into Asia’s Thanksgiving
Asia Tran, a freshman pre-radiation sciences main juggling work at Chick-fil-A and the college’s Herbie’s Markets, shared her household’s Thanksgiving routine, a mix of conventional American and private touches. The Tran household gathers collectively and engages in a mixture of breakfast and basic Thanksgiving dishes, Tran mentioned. Board video games, notably the aggressive cube sport Farkle, have change into a staple, including a contact of pleasure to the festivities.
Within the Tran family, Thanksgiving is an opportune time for the older technology to navigate the world of know-how. Tran’s grandparents, comparatively new to smartphones, search help throughout these gatherings, turning the vacation into an off-the-cuff tech tutorial, she mentioned. A humorous mishap involving Tran’s grandpa’s first smartphone added a memorable contact to their Thanksgiving celebrations.
For Tran, her most cherished moments contain serving to her grandparents carry meals, the anticipation of scrumptious scents filling the air and the spirited Farkle video games that observe. Thanksgiving holds a particular place in her coronary heart, particularly after the difficult occasions of COVID-19 and a return to a way of normalcy, she mentioned.
Tran’s Vietnamese-American background provides a novel taste to the celebration, she mentioned. Whereas her dad, initially from Vietnam, did not historically have a good time Thanksgiving, her American stepmother launched the vacation to their household. The Tran household retains the Thanksgiving menu predominantly American, reflecting the vacation’s origins however with a contact of private custom.
Whereas acknowledging the potential stress related to the vacation season, Tran mentioned her proximity to her household’s residence in Lincoln, Nebraska, eases the journey burden. Her strategy to managing stress entails prioritizing the thrill of reuniting with family members and fascinating in acquainted, joyous traditions.
Mixing traditions and know-how: A Thanksgiving perspective with Kayla
Kayla Carlson, a UNL graduate, opened up about her household dynamics and the evolution of Thanksgiving traditions. Rising up in a predominantly White household with a contact of Hispanic heritage, Carlson mentioned her household’s Thanksgiving is a standard affair, specializing in turkey, mashed potatoes and high quality household time.
When requested in regards to the feelings related to the vacation season, Carlson’s response is straightforward but resonates with pleasure. The anticipation of seeing household and indulging in scrumptious meals creates an environment of pleasure, she mentioned. Relating to dealing with stress throughout the vacation season, Carlson adopts a realistic strategy — get issues achieved and keep away from pointless stress.
Carlson mirrored on her cultural background, emphasizing the simplicity of her household’s Thanksgiving celebrations. Whereas there is a nod to Hispanic heritage from one aspect of the household, the main target stays on conventional Thanksgiving parts, devoid of particular cultural or spiritual rituals.
Carlson mentioned that household gossip is a part of their vacation expertise, with one cousin stirring drama that turns into a subject of dialog. Her household gatherings are described as informal — only a laid-back lunch at Grandma’s.
Addressing the impression of know-how on their Thanksgiving celebrations, Carlson mentioned it enhances communication. Carlson’s household sends invites digitally, and messages of affection and remembrance bridge the hole for these unable to attend. The seamless integration of know-how permits the household to remain linked and inclusive whereas upholding cherished traditions, in keeping with Carlson.
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