The Graduate Institute of American Studies celebrated Thanksgiving last Wednesday with a traditional feast completed with a turkey, of course. All students on the program were invited and so were many international students at TKU. Dr. Huang Chieh-cheng, the Director of the Institute, explains that they would like to use this occasion to provide some sense of “home” to people who could not go home for a reunification, as, like our Moon Festival, he points out, Thanksgiving is a time for family gatherings. Homesickness can be of particular unbearable for our international students and foreign scholars on campus; hence, having a turkey dinner was the least he could do. Greta Mancilla from Guatemala, for example, was very grateful that someone such as Professor demonstrated such thoughtfulness to people like her.

At the dinner, the visiting professor at the institute, Professor Joseph Eaton from the U.S., said the grace for everyone who sat at the round table before the meal. Following that, he also explained the historical background of Thanksgiving, which could be traced back to the first European settlers in North America in the 17th Century, who had benefited from the great help extended by the natives, American Indians, in affairs such as growing crops and harvesting in early days. These European settlers decided to celebrate their first harvest, which fell in November, with their new friends to show their gratitude. Ever since then, the last Thursday of every November has become one of the most celebrated days in America among families.

Apart from the turkey, there were pizza, fruit, cakes and other delicatessens on offer. Delicious food, nice people, engaging conversation, and good ol’ rock & roll on the background—what else does one need for such an occasion? (~ Ying-hsueh Hu )