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VOA教育报道2023--International Students in US Experience American Holidays

时间:2023-12-06 04:51来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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International Students in US Experience American Holidays

Researchers report that more than one million foreign students attended college or university in the United States last year. The data comes from the government-supported study called Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.

Nearly one-third of those students were studying in the U.S. for the first time.

Just as they are getting comfortable with their classes, classmates, professors and speaking English full-time1, school stops for three major American holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

What do students do when their routine2 gets interrupted? VOA Learning3 English recently spoke4 with a number of international students to find out.

Thanksgiving

Most universities take a short break so students can celebrate Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November.

American students leave school for four or five days to spend time with their families. But international students do not often have the money to travel home during breaks, so they find themselves on an empty campus5.

Lucky ones, however, get to experience the holidays with Americans. Aimee Sanata is from the Dominican Republic. She is studying at the English Language Center at Old Dominion6 University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Sanata celebrated7 the holiday with her boyfriend's family. Before the break, she watched some videos on YouTube to learn about the history of the holiday.

"The videos are created for children, so there they explain everything clearly so that anybody can understand it," she said.

First taste of turkey

Many international students say they are excited to celebrate an American Thanksgiving because they have never tasted turkey. Turkeys are large birds mostly raised on farms. Some can weigh more than 10 kilograms. They can take three to five hours to cook.

Sarah Mannix is one of the English instructors8 at Old Dominion University. She knows it can be difficult for students to find something to do during school breaks. So Mannix invited a number of her students to celebrate Thanksgiving with her.

"They were all really excited when we took the turkey out of the oven9 because they had never seen cooked turkey before," she said. "Overall10, I think they enjoyed it."

In fact, one student has been in the U.S. for six years, but had never tried Thanksgiving turkey before this year.

Victoria Stepanyants grew up in Russia and the Mediterranean11 island of Cyprus. She studied at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and is now in medical school in Cleveland, Ohio. So she has a lot of experience with the school holiday breaks.

She often spent Thanksgiving with other international students and friends. They did not usually prepare traditional foods. But this year was different.

"That was actually the first time that I've been to Thanksgiving, where the food was, like, ‘Thanksgiving food,'" Stepanyants said. "It was the food I expected to see based on the way the media covers American Thanksgiving."

International students are not just at universities. Sofia Montanari is from Bologna, Italy and is in high school in the Midwestern state of Missouri. She said she knows sharing meals are a good way to connect with new people. So she brought food from Italy to the Thanksgiving she spent with an American family.

"I really like (the idea) that they show me some of their culture and I show some of mine back," she said.

One part of the Thanksgiving culture she enjoyed was the idea of giving thanks. People often talk about what they are thankful for before the Thanksgiving meal.

"It's always good to be thankful for what you have," she said.

Long breaks, dark and cold days

After Thanksgiving, students get back to school to attend classes and take exams, but about three weeks later, another break starts. Most schools close from mid-December until the last week of January.

That long period was hard, at first, for Stepanyants. Cyprus has a warmer climate. She said the island has over 300 sunny days per year. Her experience in the U.S. was very different.

"As soon as it hit October, November," she said, "the sunlight is gone. It gets colder. I think it's automatically13 depressing14 for anyone who is not used to it."

For international students, she said, it is important to maintain15 a regular schedule and spend time with people.

International students should speak up if they are concerned about being lonely during school breaks. For Stepanyants, such discussions16 came naturally as she got to know other international students. At that point, they would make plans to spend time together during the breaks.

When she lived in Baltimore, she would take day trips with other international students to nearby cities such as Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sometimes, Stepanyants said, the breaks can be boring. But if students talk about their concerns they can make plans.

"If you have other international student friends, it's good to just bring it up because they end up in a similar situation then actually, like, the long breaks can be a lot of fun."

At Miami University in Oxford17, Ohio, the campus is closed during the last week of December. But international students are permitted to stay in their rooms during the winter break.

Dan Sinetar is a part of the staff that works18 to help international students feel at ease19. He said people who live close to the university can take part in a program to make tasty "holiday treats" for international students.

Students who are staying at the university during the break can also take short winter term classes.

Stepanyants said, students should be sure to talk with someone at their university's international student office about activities for the holidays such as Christmas and New Year's during the long breaks.

"For example, at my school, they would sometimes do whole celebrations that international students could come to and just like have events over the long breaks for people to not feel super isolated20, which was nice."

Visitors from home and trips to see family

Students at Montanari's school are not permitted to stay on the campus during Christmas break. They have to make other plans. Last year, her parents came to visit the U.S. for two weeks. They visited New York and Washington, D.C. together. They also spent some time in the town where Sofia attends school.

The rest of the break Sofia spent with a host family.

Stepanyants, the medical student, has a younger sister who is attending college in the U.S. In recent years, they have been able to see each other during breaks, which makes them both feel better and less lonely.

Other students do make it back home. Sanata is traveling to the Dominican Republic for Christmas break because her brother is getting married. She is thankful because she misses her family so much. She said she also misses speaking Spanish.

For students who cannot get home, they try to stay connected to family. New Year's is the most important winter holiday for Stepanyants. When she could not get home, she would have meals with her family by video call after cooking traditional foods.

"It's a very huge meal that you cook all day. And presents happen on New Year's too. Then, there are fireworks," she said.

Words in This Story

routine –n. something that happens regularly or daily

interrupt –v. to stop something from happening

campus –n. the location of school or university buildings and residences21 for students

traditional –adj. a way of doing things that has taken place for many years

automatic12 –adj. something that happens without deliberate22 thought

depressing –adj. a condition of unhappiness

lonely –adj. the feeling of being alone or without other humans

boring –adj. a dull feeling or lack of excitment

isolated –adj. the condition of being alone or far away from others

host –n. a person who welcomes others to an event or puts on an activity


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 full-time SsBz42     
adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
参考例句:
  • A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
  • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
2 routine ssoyf     
n.例行公事,惯例;adj.例行的,常规的
参考例句:
  • It is everyday routine.这是每天的例行公事。
  • She found the hospital routine slightly dull.她感到医院的工作有点枯燥乏味。
3 learning wpSzFe     
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
参考例句:
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
4 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
5 campus iTOyj     
n.大学校园,学校校园;大学 
参考例句:
  • They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
  • The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。
6 dominion FmQy1     
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图
参考例句:
  • Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
  • In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里,当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。
7 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
8 instructors 5ea75ff41aa7350c0e6ef0bd07031aa4     
指导者,教师( instructor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
  • He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份,被邀请到主席台上。
9 oven iJuxQ     
n.烤炉;烤箱
参考例句:
  • You put food inside an oven to cook it.你把食物放进烤箱里热一下。
  • She baked bread in an oven.她用烤炉烤面包。
10 overall vJQxS     
n.工作服,工装裤;全面的,全体的
参考例句:
  • The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
  • How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱?
11 Mediterranean ezuzT     
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
  • Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
12 automatic 0P5yy     
adj.自动的;不经思考的,习惯性的;当然的
参考例句:
  • Breathing is an automatic function of the body.呼吸是身体的一种无意识的功能。
  • Modern trains have automatic doors.现代火车装有自动门。
13 automatically xPjyx     
adv.不加思索地,无意识地,自动地
参考例句:
  • The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
  • She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。
14 depressing wuJzpo     
a.令人沮丧的;令人忧愁的
参考例句:
  • Laundromat is really depressing. 自助洗衣店真闷。
  • The retrospect was depressing. 回想起来令人沮丧。
15 maintain d8hzP     
vt.支撑;赡养,抚养;维持,保有
参考例句:
  • He has to maintain a large family on a small salary.他不得不依靠很少的工资养活一家人。
  • We must do our best to maintain sales at their usual rate.我们要尽力使销售额保持在平日的水平上。
16 discussions 48ee344d9a540894650ce4af27e169dd     
n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 );商讨;详述;论述
参考例句:
  • Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
  • Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。
17 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
18 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
19 ease wruxN     
n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松
参考例句:
  • His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
  • You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。
20 isolated bqmzTd     
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句:
  • His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
  • Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
21 residences bcc78f7cf4519aa3fc75d13c0e174b86     
住处( residence的名词复数 ); 住宅; 公馆; 居住
参考例句:
  • They deprived a large number of the overseas Chinese of their means of livelihood and drove them out of their residences in dire poverty. 他们剥夺了大批华侨劳动人民的生活资料,然后将他们扫地出门。
  • She travels constantly, moving among her several residences around the world. 她经常旅行,穿梭于她在世界各地的多处住所。
22 deliberate 1mdzn     
adj.故意的,深思熟虑的;v.仔细考虑
参考例句:
  • You should deliberate over the question before you respond to it.回答问题之前你应该慎重考虑。
  • His actions were clearly the result of deliberate calculation.他的行动显然是精心策划过的。
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