The holiday season has officially begun, as most students returned home for Thanksgiving break in November – some students, however, who were unable to travel home, remained on a quiet campus over the break, from Nov. 26 to Nov. 30.
Campus residents were able to stay in their dorms over the break if needed, according to international student advisor Melissa DeJesus.
Some dining halls opened with limited hours over the break, primarily offering meals in Butterfield and Mainfare Dining Halls. A Thanksgiving lunch was offered in Butterfield on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including turkey, mashed potatoes and more, according to an announcement from University of Rhode Island Dining Services.
Not all students who remained on campus were happy with the options provided by Dining Services. Third-year student Jett Caron said the meals provided left much to be desired.
“It was only for a small portion of the day, so I was hungry most of the time,” Caron said.
First-year student Gracelyn Watkins said she had a peaceful break on campus, enjoying the quiet and getting to know her dorm’s custodian in Tucker Hall.
The limited meal offerings also left her with few options at times, according to Watkins.
“I didn’t have any money to go off campus and I had limited food stored up for dinner from when the dining hall was open,” Watkins said. “I missed a couple of the meals because of how poor the dining hall hours were, as well as they had extremely limited options. At times it felt like I was eating leftovers.”
Some community members provided students with off-campus dinner alternatives on Thanksgiving day.
St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church offered an additional Thanksgiving lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to an event announcement by URInvolved. International students were invited to join the church for lunch via email if in need of a place to go, according to DeJesus.
International student advisor Val Trainor hosted non-travelling students at her home for Thanksgiving dinner with her family. This is the ninth consecutive year the Trainor family has hosted students, according to Trainor.
“Every year we host probably about eight or nine or so international students,” Trainor said. “It’s just such a great experience because a lot of these students only really know what they’ve seen on American movies in terms of Thanksgiving.”
Every year, her family invites students to join them for appetizers, dinner and dessert, according to Trainor. The students then participate in a card game of conversation starters called Delve Deck and then help decorate the family’s Christmas tree.
Students from Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iraq and Russia participated this year, according to Trainor. The students voted on which of two kinds of mac and cheese were better and wrote down some recipes to take home.
Trainor said the tradition is rewarding and eye-opening to her family.
“The lives of these students, you know, they come from such different places,” Trainor said. “Sometimes our lives here can be a little insular. Just to hear about what life is like, and how holidays are celebrated in Europe and in the Middle East, I think is really important for our kids.”
