"For Those Who Don't Celebrate Thanksgiving" by Marianne Smallwood

During this holiday season, I find myself thinking about Americans who do not celebrate holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.  One night after classes, I found myself in the dining hall with a few friends and one of my professors came by.  She asked if it would be alright for her to sit with us and, of course, I said yes.  My professor, Rowena He is originally from China.  She is a Tiananmen Massacre survivor.  Professor He left China at about the same age I am now.  She went to live in Canada and pursue her career teaching about the Massacre on June 4, 1989.  As a result, she became an enemy of China and could never return, without fear of imprisonment by the Chinese government. Eventually, she came to work at Harvard College and recently was hired at Saint Michael's College to teach East Asian History.  As we sat and ate the dining hall's version of "Thanksgiving Dinner" and my friends discussed their plans for break, Professor He explained how strange it was to try to be included in this American holiday which all of her classes insisted she participate in, despite the fact that the rest of her family remained in China.

My ELL partner expressed similar frustrations with her peers.  B told me during my previous tutoring visit that she felt like an outsider to this tradition.  "In Ghana no one celebrates Thanksgiving", she said.  Furthermore, she said candidly, "I like to have break, but it is just like any other day to me and my family.  I hate when people look to me like I should be sad when I am not."  At that moment I realized that I may have done the same thing during dinner with Professor He.

Ultimately, what I have learned here is that the holidays and events which may be significant to me are not always significant to others and that is not necessarily a bad thing.  In the future, I need to be more careful with how I relate to others in a cross-cultural setting especially as I continue in Education.

Below is an interesting article I found from the Huffington Post.  It is written by an author who has had similar experiences in the United States as B and Professor He and may shed some light on a new perspective regarding cultural competency.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marianne-smallwood/for-those-who-dont-celebrate-thanksgiving_b_8648310.html