Every November the festive atmosphere of Thanksgiving fills the campus. It is a time when every American student looks forward to a warm family reunion during the semester before the intense final weeks take over students’ life. To provide a home in Vassar for students who are staying on campus during Thanksgiving, our phenomenal director of the Office of International Services Andrew Meade and his family, including his incredible wife Lila and two daughters Kristen and Lily (and one dog and two cats), host a Thanksgiving feast every year for all the International students, whose home are far across lands and seas, and also Americans who are not going back home.
At the end of 2017, I went on the journey to explore this event that looks warm and curious to me.
It was a refreshing and sunny day on Thanksgiving. Andrew with his van waited early at the main circle to pick up us, the early bird team who are helping with the preparation. After a 30-minute drive from the lively campus into the tranquil neighborhood with cool and fresh air and golden trees reaching to the sky, we arrived. Lila, energetic and passionate as she is, along with their two daughters Kristen and Lily, and several international students and alumni of the early early bird team, who stayed over to prepare, greeted us with the warmest welcome. Lila the dog, sensing the cheerful atmosphere, also ran around everybody like a flash.
After touring around the cute house, we went to work wholeheartedly in the amazing music playlist of Lila and the effervescent sunlight coming through the leaves and window frames. Some people were in charge of the meal, some were in charge of snacks and desserts, and some were setting up. I admit that I was somewhat jealous of the cooking team for they could see and experience the whole process of the birth of a traditional Thanksgiving feast first hand, and secretly “steal” some food to eat during the making. But as a stupid little fake boardgame lover, I was also quite proud to be in the setup team, which meant that we got to see the countless boxes of board games in front of us, arrange the gaming area as we like it to be, and take a foosball break during work when our boss Kristen was not around.
The rest of the students came in the afternoon and the entire house suddenly was filled up with laughter and conversations. There are reunions of old friends and siblings, and introductions of new friends. With snacks, games, conversations and music, people’s connection expanded out infinitely in this limited space.
Time flew without us noticing and soon was the dinner time. The dinner lasted long, for almost eight people have to take turns to get food. But the fact that games were going on all the time when people were not ready to get food, the sufficient amount of food, and the great taste, made the dinner quite a satisfactory experience.
However, despite all the great food, cool people and fun games, the most memorable part was when Andrew and Lila called everyone into the living room and to talk about what they are grateful for. From family, friends, teachers, to oneself, people’s answers varied, which allowed me to see the amazing beauty of the diversity around the world. Meanwhile, everyone’s answer were similar, which were all full of love, kindness and strength. This space, which made everyone willing to be vulnerable to share their softness and precious, also connected all these travelers and adventurers far away from home and made them stronger than ever. In Andrew and Lila’s speech, I can feel their unbiased love to every part of the globe and their kindness to the world. They created the space where everyone can feel the world beyond individuals, and can also feel home.
