Turkey-flavored ramen noodles
Though Thanksgiving means family for most students, Sylvia and Kat Newman have learned that for them, it means working at Wal-Mart and spending the day or two before with friends.
The sisters haven’t been home for Thanksgiving since moving to Utah from Lancaster, Calif. For Kat, a senior in photography, it’s been five years, and for Sylvia, a sophomore in family, consumer and human development, it’s been three. The sisters say it’s too hard to get work off and travel home, so like several other USU students, the Newmans are forced to stay in Logan because of lack of transportation, money or means to spend the day with their families.
“On Thanksgiving, I go to work and let other people have the day off,” said Kat, who said she and Sylvia make a dinner the day or two before the holiday and celebrate with roommates and friends. “It’s not that hard anymore. I’m just kind of used to it.”
Every year, Sylvia stuffs and cooks the turkey and uses family recipes for everything else.
“We do the whole deal,” Sylvia said. “We have turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and rolls. And the good thing about it is we don’t have to make the things we don’t like.”
Sylvia said the hardest part about not going home for Thanksgiving is not seeing her grandparents and other relatives but added that it makes going home for Christmas even better.
Blake Terry, a senior majoring in liberal arts, said he misses his mom’s pumpkin pie when he can go home to Anchorage, Alaska, for the holiday. However, he has always been able to spend Thanksgiving with family in the area like his grandma and brother.
He said that if people don’t have a place to go, they can turn to friends or neighbors and hopefully have a good dinner.
Kat said she tried eating Thanksgiving with friends before and it wasn’t a comfortable experience because she was with someone else’s family and likes making her own dinner with Sylvia better.
“It depends on the person. I know a lot of people who wouldn’t mind spending Thanksgiving with other families, but if they don’t, they can make their own,” she said.
Chris Spencer, a sophomore majoring in engineering, said students who can’t go home can find friends and he also encourages people to invite others for dinner who can’t make it with their families.
Spencer said he will be spending his Thanksgiving in Provo with his brother’s family and his sister because their parents moved to England in April. He’ll be taking desserts and the seven of them will make dinner for themselves. The main difference will be not having 30 to 40 relatives there.
For students that feel they don’t have anywhere to go, there’s always Angie’s Restaurant on Main Street that will be giving free Thanksgiving dinners to anyone from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day. Manager Adam Lowther said turkey, stuffing and dressing will be served and that in the past the restaurant has been pretty busy.
Whatever students do, Terry said being with people is the most important thing.
“Make sure to get with someone and eat until you can’t eat anything more,” he said.
-mnewbold@cc.usu.edu