Connecting over the holidays when families are far away

By Tim Kalinowski on December 9, 2017.

tkalinowski@medicinehatnews.com @MHNTimKal

Medicine Hat College will be hosting a special potluck dinner on Dec. 22 for about 20 international students living in its residences who simply can’t make it home during this holiday season.

“Over Christmas we like to make sure the students who don’t have an opportunity to go home over the holidays get a chance to get together,” says MHC co-ordinator of student residences Rhonda Parahoniak. “We like to host a festive day for them, and host a dinner for them in our community room.

“We are so grateful to have such a gracious staff at student services, our registration staff, who all pitch in and make a dish, and donate it for this,” she adds. “A lot of them think about: What if it was their own child overseas and alone at Christmas? So they are actually excited to get invited to help out.”

“The students are very appreciative,” confirms MHC senior residence advisor Laurelle Dupley. “I think they have a nice opportunity to sit down together and visit. It’s a way to connect everybody who is still here over the holidays — just so they know they aren’t alone. Distance is the big reason why students can’t get home for Christmas, and means is another one. The college really only closes for a little over a week after exams; so there is not a ton of time between exams and when classes start up again.”

“I pay like $1,500 for a round trip,” agrees MHC international student liaison Yuta Sagano, a dorm resident who comes from Japan. “It is always good to have this kind of event at Christmas, especially for us international students. We have nothing to do, and a long vacation like this makes me homesick. And when people don’t have anything to do, Christmas day can be very boring. Everywhere you might go is closed on Christmas day.”

“We want build an inclusive community and bring other cultures together,” adds Parahoniak. “This is a real chance for them to connect with their peers and staff. It seems wrong for us to engage solely in our own Christmas activities when we know there are students sitting here without a place to go to for Christmas.”

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