Tag: Fun

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

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!

American Culture

Brace yourself, Halloween is around the corner!

Esther Tokognon

For many of you, this Halloween will be your first American holiday experience!

You might be wondering where the tradition came from. Halloween evolved from an ancient Irish holiday that marked the end of summer and the harvest season. When the Irish immigrated to America during the Great Famine in the 1800’s, they brought the holiday with them. They would go door-to-door asking for food and gifts and offer to pray for the dead. 

The modern-day definition of Halloween is very different than what it used to be. Now Halloween is celebrated each year on October 31st, and consists of fun activities and events including dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins and watching scary movies.

 It’s an opportunity for people to go out with their friends, meet their neighbors and interact with people. One of my favorite parts of Halloween is that there is no dress code; you can really let your creativity shine. It’s also a way to teach children about giving and receiving. Halloween is a great opportunity for people of all ages to come together, celebrate and have fun! 

The first Halloween experience of my life was during my Freshman year. Our dorm was transformed into a Haunted House, and each floor had its own spooky theme. It was the first time I truly came out of my comfort zone since I moved to America and started making friends.

Almost every school has some sort of Halloween event, you just need to find out where it is and start socializing. And don’t worry if you can’t find a costume. Most people wear costumes, but wearing your normal clothes are perfectly fine too. The key is to have fun and be safe!

 Here is a quick guide to understanding some of the traditions of Halloween:

  • Costumes: Your costume is the first thing to think about after being invited to a Halloween party. Search the web to get some ideas. Personally, I use Pinterest to brainstorm costume ideas. Halloween costumes can be scary, funny, or just plain silly. A lot of people like to dress up as their favorite celebrity.

Where to buy costumes?:  Make your own! Be creative! You can even just buy a cheap white sheet from Walmart, cut out holes for your eyes and go as a ghost! There are so many options. Amazon, Walmart, Party City, Spirit Halloween all carry costumes that are affordable and ready to wear.

  • Trick-or-Treating: Trick-or-Treating is a Halloween tradition where kids go around their neighborhoods, knock on their neighbors doors and yell “Trick or Treat!”. The kid holds out a bag and the neighbor is expected to put a piece of candy inside. If you live in an area with a lot of kids, it might be a good idea to buy a bag of candy (make sure it is pre-packaged). Fun-size candy bars are a common choice, which can be found at most stores like Walmart. Putting a sign out to let kids know that trick-or-treaters are welcome is recommended too!
  • Scary movies: Watching movies is fun, watching scary movies is even better (unless you’re like me and get scared easily)!. There are tons of horror movies that you can find on Netflix or Prime TV. If you don’t have those paid online streaming services, then Youtube is your best friend.
  • Haunted houses: When I lived on campus, my dormitory was transformed into a haunted house each year for Halloween. Haunted Houses are buildings or houses that people set up and allow visitors to walk through. They are filled with creepy decorations and people in costumes that jump out and try their hardest to scare you. Some Haunted Houses are scarier than others, but be careful if you’re easily scared! 
  • Pumpkin Carving: Pumpkin carving is probably the least scary, but still fun halloween tradition. I was never good at pumpkin carving until my coworker told me about some cool templates I could download off the internet. Just print them off, buy a pumpkin from the grocery store, scoop out all the stuff inside the pumpkin, place the template over the pumpkin, and cut out the shapes. Here’s a website that has some really cool pumpkin carving ideas, as well as resources and tips on how to do them. They also have some free patterns that you can download and use. https://www.bhg.com/halloween/pumpkin-carving/pumpkin-carving-ideas/

There are probably a lot of halloween themed events happening around you, search the web and go have fun!