NOTE FroM THE EDITORS

Here is our special Thanksgiving collection from BLC students!

Our student newsletter is a space to practice English, share personal experiences, and connect with our BLC community. We honor every submission as it is, to build confidence and celebrate every voice.

Thank you for reading with kindness.

Trang & Aleks – Newsletter Editors

Thanksgiving with friends

Written by Rahim from Iran

We went to California for Thanksgiving. We visited Santa Monica. We had turkey for Thanksgiving meal. We had a lot of fun holidays.

HAPPY Thanksgiving

Written by Zaichun from China

This year's thanksgiving, our family spent many happy hours in the beautiful Seattle.

It is a happy festival and also a festival of gratitude. Here, I want to thank my teacher Cally. She gave me the courage to learn English.

Thank you very much.

Thanksgiving!

Written by Gualai from Afghanistan

Many people celebrate this day with Family Food And happiness

Holiday story

Written by Taghizadeh from Iran

All holidays are great and bring good memories for us .But i love thanksgiving because we can share my happiness with others and we can see my familiy again.

Thanksgiving in California

Written by Zari from Iran

We went to California for Thanksgiving. We went to one of our friend's homes in Malibu and a beach house on the ocean. My friend made a big Thanksgiving. Everyone had turkey for Thanksgiving and enjoyed seeing each other.

Thanksgiving

Written by Esmeralda from Columbia

I celebrated Thanksgiving whit mi family and some friends at my daughter Catalina’s house. This was a sharing meeting, where we all brought something for the dinner, and we had the traditional food, with turkey, stuffing mashed potatoes , pumpkin pie, and , all this with Chilenean salad, Colombian empanadas and Venezuela arepas. Then before we ate, we gave thanks to God for the family, friends, healt, and all the beautiful things in live, and, enjoy a delicious food.

A Time filled with Gratitude and Hope

Written by Soyoung from Korea

My holiday tradition is celebrating Thanksgiving Day with my family. For us, the day starts with cooking together. We prepare both American and Korean dishes, like mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, japchae, and Kimchi. The food on our table is special because it represents both our past and out new life in America.

After eating, each person shares one thing they were thankful for this year. After sharing what we were thankful for, we talk about our hopes for the next year. Everyone says one thing they wish for themselves and for our family. These conversations help us feel closer, and they remind us of what is truly important. We feel thankful, peaceful, and hopeful. Thanksgiving helps us remember what truly matters and brings our family closer together.

Thanksgiving Food

Written by N.M from Afghanistan

1. Corn

2. Turkey

3. Gravy

4. Pumpkin pie

5. Mashed potatoes

6. Stuffing

7. Sweet potatoes

8. Cranberry sauce

9. Apple pie

10. Green beans

GATHERING

Written by Caleb from Guatemala

On Thanksgiving Day, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I like to cook traditional dishes from my country with the help of my wife and take time to give thanks to God for life and the food He provides. My friends and I also enjoy music, and we spend time playing songs and singing. It's a very special day that we all enjoy.

Thanksgiving of love

Written by Chesaraphorn from Portland

I love thanksgiving day because this year me and friends we go to Seattle for celebrate together with family. We cooked a lot of food. We have turkey Pork Beef chicken vegetable fruits and drinks. we played games. Singsong and dance together. Everybody so happy. Thank you so much god bless you.

A holiday story

Written by Mahdi from Iran

Many days are special days in the world. These special days named holidays.

A number holidays in the world are universal.

One of these holidays is Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving day is one of special holiday in the United Sates. Most of American people enjoy Thanksgiving day and is very important to them and is a public holiday.

Thanksgiving celebration is held all over America. My family have invited many of our family’s friends for Thanksgiving together recently.

Holidays are one of the greatest happening in life, so all people have different occasions, ceremonies and interests.

Thanksgiving

Written by SB from Afghanistan

Every Thanksgiving, my family and I spend the day together with our friends. They are very kind and outgoing. In the morning, we cook a big meal. The food smells very good because of the turkey, rice, and fresh bread. My children help set the table, and they feel excited because the day is special for all of us.

Before we eat, we sit together and say one thing we are thankful for. I usually say I am thankful for my family and our health. My children say they are thankful for food, toys, and their parents.

We all smile and enjoy.

After we finish eating, we relax and watch a movie.

Thanksgiving is special to me because it helps me remember to be grateful for the simple things in life.

My Family’s New Beginning under the Harvest Moon Abroad

Written by Juhwan from South Korea

My family, including my wife, my young daughter, and I moved to the US last August. It’s been almost four months since we moved here, and we’ve been worried about adapting to the totally new environment.

A few days ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving Day in the US for the first time. Many people usually get their parents, children, and siblings together on that day, and they have a very happy time with many special foods including turkey. In South Korea, we don’t have Thanksgiving Day, but we have a very similar holiday called “Chuseok” (Korean Thanksgiving or Harvest festival), in which all family members, from grandparents to grandchildren, get together. This year, Chuseok fell on the day of the first full moon on October 6th.

We don’t have any parents or siblings here – it’s just my immediate family: my wife, my daughter, and me. Therefore, we felt lonely on the day of the first full moon. At that time, Pam, a teacher in my BLC Lv.5 class, gave us a homework assignment: taking a photo of the harvest moon. When I saw the bright Super Moon, I was very grateful that my family could spend these happy times together. So, at that time, I wrote a poem based on my feeling.

It’s been two months since my family moved here.

We remember all the happy times we shared.

We saw the harvest moon together.

We will be thankful for what we will gather.

It is strange and lonely to live far from my country, and we have many worries about settling in this strange environment. However, we can overcome these worries and loneliness with the expectation of the new world that spreads out before our future. We will make good memories with my lovely family.

My Special Thanksgiving day

Written by Seyoung from South Korea

Every thanksgiving make me homesick because my mother country,Korea,has similair thanksgiving day; called Chuseok. It falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, and is one of the biggest holidays in Korea. That day, families get together, make traditional dishes, such as rice cakes and beef stew, and wear traditional clothes,Hanbok. The most important is making a memorial service for ancestors, so our family visits the grandparents' graves every Chuseok. After moving to the U.S, I miss those moments deeply, so I often was jealous of friends who live with their family.

Fortunately, our bellydance teacher, Diana, held a potluck party pre- Thanksgiving in her house with our traditional dishes and clothes. We enjoyed it and also we deeply understand each country's cultures, and also we agree to hold the party every Thanksgiving. I really felt like I found a new family.

A Memorable Thanksgiving Potluck

Written by Judy from Taiwan

Last year, my classmates and I were invited to a potluck Thanksgiving celebration at our BLC teacher’s home. It was my first time celebrating this holiday with a Native American. I was so excited and curious about what a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner would be like. At first, I felt a little nervous about which dish I should prepare, but my teacher was very creative and full of ideas. She talked everything through with us and explained her plan. In the end, each attending family was assigned a specific Thanksgiving ingredient and asked to make a dish using their hometown recipe. I was given pumpkin (Chao Nan Gua).

It turned out to be a wonderful night. We enjoyed many kinds of homemade dishes, and they were all delicious. My teacher made the turkey and paired it with her semi-famous Mole Poblano. When I found out how much time she had spent preparing it, I immediately understood why it tasted so amazing. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed.

I also remember that even though my two-year-old daughter couldn’t understand English, the kids still played together using only body language. That really moved me. It reminded me that even if we don’t speak the same language or share the same culture, we can still become friends and enjoy meaningful moments together. I’m truly grateful to my teacher and classmates. I had such a wonderful time.

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