Cardinal Points

Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: FUSE

Risa Suzuki and Jeong-Jin Lee experience their first Thanksgiving while volunteering. Many international students are reminded of their holiday traditions back home.

While most students at Plattsburgh State spent their Thanksgiving back home with family and friends, two students remained in Plattsburgh to experience the holiday for the first time - at the Salvation Army.

Freshmen Risa Suzuki of Japan and Jeong-Jin Lee of South Korea spent their first Thanksgiving helping serve at the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving dinner at the Plattsburgh Elks Lodge.

"It was good to have a chance to volunteer and experience American culture," Lee said.

While the majority of students packed up for the weeklong vacation, many of roughly 400 international students at PSUC remained on campus, too far from home to return on a holiday not celebrated in their culture.

Lee, who calls South Korea home, follows the Luna calendar for traditional holidays. Koreans celebrates two major holidays: Full Moon Day and New Years Day. Full Moon Day, a holiday in which families return to their ancestor's graves to pray, is celebrated during harvest season. It is the symbol of a new year for everyone.

"In Korean society, once you pass (Full Moon Day), you turn one year older. I'm like 21 in Korea, but 20 here," Lee explained.

New Year's Day is a time for families to come together - no matter how long it takes. With everyone traveling home for the holiday, Lee's usual three-hour trip to her grandmother's house can take up to twenty hours.

"Highways turn into parking lots, and if you want to take the train, you have to book it a year in advance. It's craziness," she said with a laugh.

Lee, who will be staying in Plattsburgh during the winter break this year and missing out on the "craziness" back home, hopes to have the opportunity to contribute to the community again during the holiday season.

Christmas, a holiday celebrated in Korea only through attending church, is not as prominent as in American society.

Suzuki, whose home is in Tokyo, Japan, explains that some gifts are exchanged, and that while towns decorate for the occasion, people don't typically put up Christmas trees.

"In my family, we celebrate (Christmas) through feast," she said.

On New Year's, the main holiday in Japan, people typically go to the shrine to pray for another good year.

Japan also celebrates what is referred to as Golden Week, the first week in May during which schools and major companies shut down for vacation.

Lee and Suzuki, both grateful to have experienced the American tradition of Thanksgiving, are still adjusting to the new atmosphere of upstate New York.

Lee, who is from Seoul, a city of about 25 million, found the lack of close convenience stores puzzling.

"In Korea, each block has a 24-hour convenient store, but it's really hard to find that here," she said.

On the other hand, she admits, "Everything's so quiet. I can be more close to nature."

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