Month: November 2018

American Culture

Black Friday

Esther Tokognon

I’m sure you have already heard of this totally CRAZY, yet super AWESOME American holiday – Black Friday! But for those of you who haven’t, Black Friday is observed every year the day after Thanksgiving – a national holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. Click here to read my article on the history and present-day significance of Thanksgiving.

Black Friday marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season as it it the day after the last major holiday. Over the years, Black Friday has become very popular and is loved by consumers as many stores run deals and promotions to attract them. Last year, U.S. retailers earned over $7.9 billion that day, an increase of approximately 18% from the previous year

So why should you care about this holiday and how to get the best Black Friday deals?

As a student with a small budget, you need all the discounts you can get. In order to ensure that you are getting the best deals, I suggest you first decide on the item(s) you really would like to buy in advance then check what store has them. It’s important that you do your research, and compare prices before deciding to buy something.

Use pricegrabber – an online price comparison shopping tool to compare product prices. . Check the price progression over a certain period of time to ensure that you are truly getting a good deal. Some retailers increase the price of an article before Black Friday, then drop it back to its initial price on Black Friday. I have experienced this myself. However this doesn’t mean that there aren’t true Black Friday deals. The average Black Friday discount has been around 45% in recent years. Another reason why you should care about this holiday is that it’s become an American tradition that everyone should experience at least once.

Where to find Black Friday deals?

Almost every big store will have some sort of Black Friday deal. Use this website to check out the Black Friday deals available from local and online retailers. You can also directly go to the stores’ websites to view their holiday deals. I personally find Amazon and Kohl’s to have some of the best deals. Most Black Friday items will be available to purchase online and in-store. If you decide to shop in-store, be prepared for the chaos!

Have fun shopping!

American Culture

Thanksgiving

Esther Tokognon

If you have just moved to the United States, you probably haven’t had the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving. The United States along with other countries such as Canada, Liberia, and some of the Caribbean islands celebrate this holiday,but on different dates. The United States celebrates Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. 

The history of Thanksgiving

Traditionally, Thanksgiving was a day where people got to celebrate the harvest and blessings of the previous year. The very first Thanksgiving celebration dates from October 1621 after the Pilgrims first successful harvest season at the Plymouth Plantation. At that time, this celebration lasted 3 days. However, it wasn’t until the American Civil War in 1863 that Thanksgiving became a national Holiday dedicated to giving thanks and praising God. 

Some Thanksgiving traditions are still present. Certain foods that were traditionally prepared during that time, especially turkey, is still very popular. This is why you will hear people refer to this holiday as Turkey Day. Based on my experience in the United States, Thanksgiving is the country’s most “family focused” holiday.  Having a family is a blessing and having everyone together on that day is even a bigger blessing. This is why Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest travel holidays of the year with over 50 million people traveling around the country to celebrate with loved ones. 

The fact that Thanksgiving is such a family centered holiday is very hard for international students and those who are away from their families and cannot fly back home to celebrate. I was alone on most Thanksgiving Days but didn’t feel sad because this wasn’t a holiday that we celebrated in Benin. It could be a different experience for you! Especially if you are from one of those countries that celebrate this holiday. This article has awesome tips on how to prevent homesickness during the holidays. Although I didn’t always celebrate Thanksgiving, there were years where I was blessed to join people and celebrate with them.  

Here is what to expect at a Thanksgiving Dinner based on my experience: 

Be ready to be stuffed

Be ready to eat a LOT. Most Thanksgiving meals will include: Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet corn, fall vegetables, pies, cranberry sauce, cornbread and green bean casserole (my favorite). Depending on what part of the country you reside in, certain items from this list may vary, but shouldn’t differ too much.  

Be ready for great table conversation

When family and friends gather, great conversations flow! Be ready to participate. This often is the occasion for the people you are celebrating with to get to know you better and for you to get to know them as well. Any questions you have about the food or about Thanksgiving traditions will be great ways to join in the conversation, don’t be shy! 

Food coma will most likely hit you

After all the eating and fun conversation comes the part where you feel very sleepy. This happened to me after every Thanksgiving meal. One time it was so bad that I asked the host if I could nap and she nicely offer me the guest room. I probably ate too much!

Feel Blessed

I always felt very blessed to have been spending the holiday with people. Don’t forget to thank them. However you can still enjoy the holiday even if you didn’t receive any dinner invite. Most universities host a Thanksgiving dinner for international students. Some schools will do it at the school cafeteria and others will do it in a different location. In case your school isn’t hosting a dinner, you could plan with other international students. If you put money together, you can order a thanksgiving meal from your local grocery store.  

If you aren’t feeling so festive, it’s totally ok, just enjoy the extra days off. 

American Culture

Tips to Prevent Homesickness during the Holidays

Esther Tokognon

You’re a long way from home. The holidays are coming up. Flights are too expensive for you to go back home. It’s totally normal to feel homesick. My first holiday away from home felt the same. It was the hardest part of living abroad. However, as the years went by and I’ve adjusted more to this country, I’ve developed some strategies to cope with my homesickness. Below are some tips that helped me over the years that I think might help. Follow these tips to prevent homesickness during the holidays.

Adopt a positive attitude

If you are here reading about how to cope with homesickness during the holidays, it means that you want to feel better and actually enjoy the holidays. Congrats, you are one step closer to making this a great holiday! Having a positive attitude starts by accepting your current reality; the fact that you are far away from home and you will miss several family events. Although no one tells us, this is what we signed-up for when we decided to move to a different country. You can also build a positive attitude by thinking about your goals and the reasons why you decided to study in America. Adopting a positive attitude is essential.

Celebrate with your host family

If you have host family, spend the holidays with them whether it’s Thanksgiving or other American holidays. One of the main benefit of having a host family is to help you adjust in the country and experience something different. They want you to feel at home. Accepting that you now have a new family is very important. Spending the holidays with a host family is a great way to learn more about American culture and new traditions. If you currently do not have a host family and would like to have one, reach out to your International Student Advisor.

Surround yourself with people

If you do not have a host family and do not want to be alone during the holidays, find people with whom you can celebrate these festivities. These could be friends and their families, significant others, roommates, neighbors, co-workers, people you know from church…etc. It’s also perfectly understandable to want to surround yourself with people with similar culture as you. If you find yourself in this situation, then coming together to celebrate by cooking traditional meals and performing traditional holiday rituals might be a good option.

Make time to talk with your own family

Technology makes reaching out to people very easy. Use either Skype, Whatsapp or any video call tool that is available in your home country to video chat with your family. I recommend you call them first before starting any festivities with your friends or host family as I found that I didn’t enjoy the celebrations until I talked to my family. I automatically felt better after talking to them, as I was no longer asking myself what they were up to. Get that out of the way first, then have fun.

Find ways to stay busy

Whether it’s traveling to places you have never being before or trying to master a hobby that you just picked up, finding ways to keep yourself busy will distract you from being sad. I have happily spent several holidays by myself without feeling all the sadness and loneliness that use to come with it.

Follow these tips to prevent homesickness and enjoy the holidays!