Dennis Chang isn't excited about having a juicy slow-baked Thanksgiving turkey next week.

"A turkey needs to be fried to taste good," said Chang, a senior from Tai Tung, Taiwan, majoring in visual arts. "It also needs to be fresh. It should still be walking around when it's picked out at the store."

Chang is one of 1,900 foreign students who will experience this American holiday called Thanksgiving.

One Provo apartment, known to friends as the "international apartment," is made up of four guys from four different countries. Each roommate had different thoughts on the holiday.

Chang said he remembered the elders in Taiwan attempting to treat his ward to a Thanksgiving feast.

"But nobody wanted to eat it," he said.

The Taiwanise people generally don't bake their food. Most don't even have an oven. Chang said he would rather have a barbequed duck picked out while it's still alive than just a plain baked Turkey.

But Chang recognizes that Thanksgiving is about more than just turkey.

"Thanksgiving reminds people to be grateful not only to the Indians, but also to people around them; and if they are religious, to God and their church," he said.

His roommate, Jorge Saltos, 22, a sophomore from Guayaquil, Equador majoring in food science, will be experiencing his first Thanksgiving in America this year.

A form of pilgrim himself, Saltos came to the United States to get a better secular and spiritual education.

Saltos said he was first exposed to Thanksgiving when he attended an American elementary school in Equador.

"This time reminds me of my years as a child," he said. "Our American teachers would have a picnic with us outside on Thanksgiving."

The third roommate, Andres Becerra, 22, a Provo College student from Pasto, Columbia, has only been in the United States for a little over a year.

He said his only knowledge of Thanksgiving comes from his experience at a get-together at his aunt's house in Sandy last Thanksgiving.

"Thanksgiving is a big celebration where everyone comes together and shares food and makes friends," he said. "I think it's celebrated for the pilgrims."

Mark Driggs, 22, a sophomore from Oakton, Va., majoring in statistics said living with three international students gives him more opportunities to learn about other cultures and traditions than to teach about his own.

"It's an awesome, unique experience because I've learned so much from each culture and nationality," he said.

All four men will spend the holiday with local family members or friends.

"It won't be like the traditional dinner in terms of saying a big prayer and expressing thanks around the table," said Chang, who will probably eat with his sister and her Asian friends. "Most of the people there won't be Christians."



Copyright Brigham Young University 22 Nov 2002