{"473781":{"#nid":"473781","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Hearty Helping of Hospitality for Thanksgiving","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor many of Georgia Tech\u2019s international students, Thanksgiving is a holiday tradition unknown and unfamiliar. It\u2019s also a relatively short break, so many Yellow Jackets who hail from other countries do not have the opportunity to return home for the holiday.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s where some pioneering Georgia Tech Student Government Association leaders launched a program that bridges cultural divides and puts hospitality front and center. It\u2019s called Home for Holidays. Families of students and staff open up their homes for international guests to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor business administration student Julia Falvey, it was a way of returning the favor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe studied abroad, and had to spend holidays away from her family \u0026shy;\u2013 experiencing the homesickness.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNo one should spend Thanksgiving alone,\u201d she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFalvey and her family welcomed Marius Oei from Germany and Juliane Grimee from Luxembourg into their home for the traditional spread.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe main course was a first for both of the guests. \u201cThey were surprised that turkey tasted so good,\u201d Falvey said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the end of the meal, Falvey says her guests were sharing stories of their own family traditions for other holidays.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe best part was sharing the meal together,\u201d Falvey says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKathy Silver, a research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, began the tradition of inviting international students into her home as a non-traditional college student with two children in high school.\u0026nbsp; Last year was her first with her own children graduating from college and moving away from home.\u0026nbsp; She jumped at the opportunity to continue the tradition with Georgia Tech\u2019s new Home for the Holidays program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMeeting new friends is the best part and the sharing of food serves as a universal language,\u201d Silver explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe opened up Ting Qiu and Ling Li, two graduate researchers from China. Silver invited them to bring their families as well. Martin Nell, a student from Germany, also joined their table.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESilver says opening her home is just as rewarding for her.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNeither my husband nor I live near our families, so we\u2019ve always stayed local,\u201d Silver explained. \u201cThis experience is always fun for my family.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech students and faculty welcome international guests into their homes for Thanksgiving"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn its second year, Georgia Tech SGA\u0027s Home for the Holidays makes sure that dozens of students from around the world have somewhere to spend the holiday.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In its second year, Georgia Tech SGA\u0027s Home for the Holidays makes sure that dozens of students from around the world have somewhere to spend the holiday."}],"uid":"28058","created_gmt":"2015-11-27 23:27:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:08","author":"Steven Norris","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-11-27T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-11-27T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"473761":{"id":"473761","type":"image","title":"Home for the Holidays","body":null,"created":"1449257190","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:26:30","changed":"1475895223","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:43","alt":"Home for the Holidays","file":{"fid":"99172","name":"falvey_homeholidays2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/falvey_homeholidays2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/falvey_homeholidays2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":70098,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/falvey_homeholidays2_0.jpg?itok=y7fUGRh3"}},"473771":{"id":"473771","type":"image","title":"Home for the Holidays","body":null,"created":"1449257190","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:26:30","changed":"1475895223","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:43","alt":"Home for the Holidays","file":{"fid":"99173","name":"table2_thanksgiving2015-1_0.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/table2_thanksgiving2015-1_0_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/table2_thanksgiving2015-1_0_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2737528,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/table2_thanksgiving2015-1_0_0.png?itok=u_8UUGMD"}},"473791":{"id":"473791","type":"image","title":"Home for the Holidays","body":null,"created":"1449257190","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:26:30","changed":"1475895223","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:43","alt":"Home for the Holidays","file":{"fid":"99174","name":"table1_thanksgiving2015_0.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/table1_thanksgiving2015_0_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/table1_thanksgiving2015_0_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1359655,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/table1_thanksgiving2015_0_0.png?itok=UeFaENbl"}}},"media_ids":["473761","473771","473791"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"246","name":"Georgia Institute of Technology"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"1762","name":"home for holidays"},{"id":"4374","name":"international students"},{"id":"2282","name":"Thanksgiving"},{"id":"3989","name":"turkey"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESteven Norris\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESocial Media Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["snorris@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}