Having a Happy Thanksgiving
Going home or not, students seek out ways to spend Thanksgiving break with others
By VERONICA TORREJON
Contributing Writer
Even though she
will not go home over Thanksgiving break, freshman Lindsay Rutter has a lot
to be thankful for: a cozy apartment filled with friendly familiar faces,
good food from Guam and plenty of stories to tell.
Rutter, who is a
theater major, came to USC from Guam. Her plans include a Thanksgiving
feast of her own, cooked with a little help from some high school friends
and her sister who will visit from other California schools.
"I'm not really
sad I'm gonna miss my family, but I'm excited to see familiar faces from
Guam," Rutter said.
For many
out-of-state and international students, the cost of flying home combined
with the small vacation time provides major reasons not to head home for
the break.
"It would take
me one whole day to get home and one day to come back. I would only have
one and a half days with my family," Rutter said.
Many students,
however, do return home for Thanksgiving break. While some students expect
to return home and pick up where they left off, while others are prepared
for some changes. For such freshmen like Olga Sokolova, a biology major,
Thanksgiving break is the first time she will be home since the college
saga began in August. Sokolova, whose hometown is Houston, Texas, is
looking forward to seeing her dog most of all. She is also excited to see
her friends and family.
Dana Ranill, a
sophomore majoring in comparative literature, will also return home over
Thanksgiving break for the first time since school started. She said she
expects things at home to have changed a bit.
"I will only see
the friends that I was really close to when I left I basically go back to
see my family," Ranill said.
Ranill is also
excited to see the snow back home. She is looking forward to her house, her
bed, being able to relax and snowboarding out in the cold weather.
"(California
weather) gets monotonous, it doesn't feel like the holidays without snow,"
Ranill said.
Unlike Ranill,
Sokolova does not expect any significant changes. Ranill knows that when
she returns her mother will expect her to be more independent and do more
for herself like her own laundry. Sokolova, on the other hand, has never
had a curfew and doesn't expect her parents to treat her any differently.
Sophmore Mayra
Navarro, a business major, expects more independence and freedom when she
goes home to Sylmar, Calif. for the break.
"(My parents)
have to give me more freedom, I have lived on my own now and I'm not really
under their authority anymore," Navarro said.
Navarro also
knows she will have less responsibility when she returns home and she is
hoping for special treatment like breakfast in bed and her laundry done for
her.
"(My parents)
want to give me an incentive to come back I'm looking forward to being
pampered," she said.
Some students
who plan to go home for Winter break don't feel the need to return for
Thanksgiv-ing. Kristin Ramage, a freshman majoring in psychology, said she
didn't think she would want to go home for Thanksgiving since she plans to
return for Christmas, but now admits to being a little sad that she won't
return to Seattle for the upcoming holiday.
Junior music
performance major Ben Joella, who will spend Thanks-giving with his
girlfriend and her mother, would also have liked to go home to Pennsylvania
for the break. Joella, who hasn't been home since May, cites cost as one
reason for not returning home.
"It would have
been fun to go home and see the snow, but I'm going home in three weeks
anyway," he said.
Yet whether they
are going home or celebrating with friends, most students are eagerly
awaiting the vacation time.
"I miss my
family so much I'm counting the days," Navarro said.
Copyright 2000 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 141, No. 58 (Monday, November 20, 2000), beginning on page 7 and ending on page 9.