Wharton freshman Jennifer Qiu, College freshman Karen Zhang and Wharton freshman Jia Wei Teo explain what they did over Thanksgiving break instead of taking their long flights home.
Credit: Lucia Huo , , ,For many Penn students, Thanksgiving break means going back home to reunite with family, catch up on sleep and feast on turkey. But for many international students, the four-day break isn’t long enough for them to fly back home.
Here’s what three international Penn students did over Thanksgiving break, from sharing an air mattress in New York to tagging along to a friend’s Thanksgiving dinner.
Jennifer Qiu
Wharton freshman Jennifer Qiu hails from Hong Kong, which is 15 hours away by flight.
Went to: New York City
Stayed at: A friend’s house in Long Island
Ate on Thanksgiving: Turkey, but with traditional Chinese dishes like rice and noodles
Did: Shopped on Black Friday, visited SoHo, Central Park, watched movies and sang karaoke. But she was alone Wednesday night in her New College House suite.
Highlight of Thanksgiving Break: Spending time with friend and friend’s family — it was nice to feel at home.
Karen Zhang
Karen is a freshman studying Visual Studies in the College. She was born in Houston, but her immediate family lives in Shanghai, China. Instead of flying over to her grandmother’s house in Houston, she chose an alternative plan.
Went to: New York City
Stayed at: Friend’s dorm room in NYU
Ate on Thanksgiving: Hot Pot for brunch and Korean BBQ for dinner
Did: Reunited with high school friends, watched Moana and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them...again, ate lots of food at nice restaurants and went shopping. She met Qiu coincidentally in Soho!
Highlight of Thanksgiving Break: Hot pot — about nine to ten high school friends were there, so it was a nice reunion.
Jia Wei Teo
Wharton freshman Jia Wei Teo is from Malaysia and is pursuing a concentration in Actuarial Science.
Went to: Philadelphia
Stayed at: Friend’s house
Ate on Thanksgiving: classic Chinese-American fusion — turkey and Chinese food at friend’s house.
Did: Went to a Harry Potter-themed birthday party Wednesday night and had Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s house. But she was alone in her New College House dorm Friday night.
Highlight of Thanksgiving Break: The Harry Potter-themed birthday party
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