Thanksgiving for other cultures in Cleveland

CLEVELAND - What does Thanksgiving mean to someone who is not native to the United States?

Students at the Polaris Career Center, who have relocated to the Cleveland area from countries around the world, each prepared a customary dish from their home country and shared it with their fellow students.

It must be strange living in a new country and not speaking its native language. but language students at Polaris Career Center are doing something about their situation by learning the English language.

These students have left their families far behind and also some of their culture. For 14 years, the career center has made this transition a little easier by hosting the students potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Dishes that are prepared by the international students are shared with each other, along with stories of their own families and customs. Laughter and memories of  their own customs were shared between the students and staff.

At the end of the dinner, you could sense that the  memories of their new American Thanksgiving would be shared with their loved ones in countries so far away.

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection for all that we hold dear in our lives. For these students, Thursday was that love that surrounded them with their new Thanksgiving tradition.