While many University students left early last week to return home, not everyone can say they actually left Charlottesville’s city limits this Thanksgiving break. For a variety of reasons, some chose to say; the distance home was too far, job shifts had to be maintained and a home football game beckoned to loyal spectators. Such a decision didn’t prevent the following students, however, from seeking comfort in their own ways.
Celeste Ansley
Fourth-year College student from Maryland
Why she stayed in Charlottesville: I was here over break because I work as a tour guide at Monticello. The choice was either working a series of days around Thanksgiving or Christmas time.
How she celebrated Thanksgiving: Since I couldn’t go home for break, my mom decided to drive down from Baltimore and help make Thanksgiving dinner. Two of my friends were also in town, so they came over, brought some food and we all had dinner together at my apartment.
Why it was her favorite Thanksgiving: It wasn’t filled with the stress of travel. The rest of my family lives in Texas, which is not worth the trip this time of year, so it is usually just me and my parents.
Ebob Besong
Second-year College student from England
Why she stayed in Charlottesville: My family is currently in Uganda, and it made no sense to fly all the way there for a total of four days. I’m going soon enough anyway.
What she thought of Thanksgiving before celebrating it: I had family in the United States and they would always call during Thanksgiving, so I knew it existed and I understood that it was a holiday. I did not understand the history and importance behind it until I actually moved to the U.S.
What she thought about Thanksgiving after experiencing it: I think it’s almost a rite of passage when you move here. It’s such a fundamental part of American history and culture, so once I had my first Thanksgiving and truly appreciated it, I felt like I had become even more integrated into American society.
Riley Hazard
First-year College student from Oregon
What he stayed in Charlottesville: Financially, it didn’t make much sense [to go home], because I’ll be going home in two weeks anyway. It’s an awful flight. It’s six hours and it takes up a whole day.
What he did over break: I’m on the rowing team and there are a couple of guys on the team in Charlottesville. We were going to work and a few of them invited me over to their houses to hang out.
His favorite dish: My favorite [dish] on Thanksgiving is definitely pumpkin pie. I had pumpkin cheesecake, which was even better.
Amanda Laskey
Fourth-year Commerce student from New Jersey
Why she stayed in Charlottesville: My family is spread out all over — my parents are in Philadelphia and my sister is in Ohio. I also work at Splendora’s on the Downtown Mall and wanted to be able to work over break. Finally, I wanted to go to the final football game of my U.Va. career.
How she celebrated: This Thanksgiving I celebrated Thanksgivukkah— combining the celebrations of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving. My sister and I made an entire Thanksgiving meal with a Jewish twist.
Favorite dish: My favorite Thanksgiving dish is homemade cranberry sauce, and I was able to once again enjoy it this year.
Brittany Ratcliffe
Second-year College student from New Jersey
Why she stayed in Charlottesville: Our game [for women’s soccer] was on Friday, so it was much more convenient to stay in Charlottesville and celebrate Thanksgiving here rather than spending a lot of travel time going home.
What she normally does on Thanksgiving: My mom, dad and I spend most of the day hanging out and eventually have Thanksgiving dinner. Then we usually go to my aunt’s house in Philadelphia and spend time with our extended family there.
What she did this Thanksgiving: The day before Thanksgiving was our off day, so we had a huge team dinner with all the Thanksgiving food you could imagine. We had turkey, stuffing, cranberries, biscuits, potatoes and vegetables. Then, on the actual Thanksgiving Day, we had practice in the afternoon. Some of our team had family in town, so they ate dinner with their family members while the rest of us had meals with our friends and the rest of our teammates.
Maya Sadagopal
Third-year Commerce student from Minnesota
Why she stayed in Charlottesville: I was just home for fall break, so I didn’t think it was worth it to buy a plane ticket home. I knew I’d be really busy the week before break and would want to relax and catch up on sleep, so I decided to stay here.
What she did for Thanksgiving: My friend Zoe is from Charlottesville and she invited me to join her family.
What she did with the rest of her break: I ran the Earlysville Turkey Trot on Thursday, watched the Women’s Soccer team win the NCAA quarterfinals on Friday and [went] to the U.Va.-Tech game on Saturday.
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