For international students studying at UW–Madison, it can mean the world to celebrate Thanksgiving with an American family.
That’s where Madison Friends of International Students (MFIS) comes in. The group pairs students from other countries with Madison families to celebrate the traditional holiday.
This fall, Cathy’80 and Michael Baer ’80 are planning to host international students for Thanksgiving for their sixth year. In addition to serving up a big bird and all the fixings, the Baers go all out with icebreakers and games of turkey bingo and Thanksgiving trivia — with UW socks, mugs, and other Badger tchotchkes as prizes. Cathy says the students are very appreciative. “They take pictures of the turkey, and they really get a kick out of experiencing an American Thanksgiving tradition. Some have asked for recipes so they can make the [dishes] when they return to their home countries.”
The Baers have hosted students from countries including Germany, China, Thailand, Ghana, Norway, and India. “And many of them reach out to us every year at Thanksgiving to tell us how spending Thanksgiving with us was one of their most cherished memories about coming to UW–Madison,” Cathy says.
Jonas Borge, a student from Denmark, sent a note to MFIS saying, “We just wanted to say thank you for making it possible for us to be with an amazing family on Thanksgiving. Being away from home can be challenging, especially on a [holiday] when everyone else is with their families, so being shown that kind of hospitality really means a lot.”
Xin Zhang of China wrote, “We not only had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner together, but also, we had a nice walk in the Monona area, and they drove us to see the Christmas lights. We were quite touched by their kindness.”
Last year, 28 families hosted 96 students from 16 countries. See mfismadison.org for more testimonials and volunteer opportunities.
