Dec. 4, 2013

Exchange student describes encounter with American tradition

By Michael Riley

Senior Chutilearn “Fai” Treechanasamoot, an international student from Thailand, spent her first Thanksgiving break with her friend, Jake Fincher.

Last January, Fincher spent time in Thailand studying water science, and through mutual friends, Fai and Fincher connected through Facebook and since have become friends.

Fai decided to attend UW-Whitewater.  She was interested in the business school, and also wanted to study in the U.S. for the experience of meeting new people and new culture.

Royal Purple: What do most international students do during break?

Fai: Well some of them do not celebrate Thanksgiving, but everyone likes the break from school.  One of my friends went to Madison, but my other friends spent time with their host families.  I know some people decided to travel over break, especially to Canada.

RP: Where do you go with Jake to spend the holiday?

Fai: We went to his home near Kenosha.  I met his family and spent the entire break with them.

RP: What was your first Thanksgiving like? 

Fai: I love food. There was so much food, and it was good to experience Thanksgiving in a family setting.  It felt nice and was a good break from school.  We left on Wednesday and got back on Sunday.  We went to the movies and spent a day in Chicago.  We went to Millennium Park and ate deep-dish pizza. I loved it.

RP: What were your favorite foods? 

Fai: Turkey. It is not typical in Thailand, and it was so good.  The green bean casserole and corn were also so good.  We had so much food that we didn’t eat; there were a lot of leftovers.  I even got to take some back to school with me.

RP: Did you partake in any Black Friday Shopping? 

Fai: We went to the outlets in Kenosha, and it was so overwhelming.  I didn’t really buy anything, and Jake wanted to leave after while because, like all guys, he doesn’t like shopping.

RP: What else did you do with Jake’s family? 

Fai: His mother taught me how to bake an apple pie.  In Thailand we do not usually bake; we fry things.  I also cooked for them, too.  I made a famous Thai dish called pad thai, and the only problem was they didn’t have chopsticks to eat our noodles with.

RP: How was it different than a holiday in Thailand?

Fai: I think we have the same basic family gathering set up.  We have a big festival called Songkran Water Festival in April where we have a huge water war.  People throw water at each other, and everyone has the entire week off.  It is a time where people go home, spend time with family and eat food.