For most University students, Thursday is a time to go home, watch football, catch up with the family and, of course, fill a plate to the brim with turkey and plenty of classic Thanksgiving dishes.

Though this is what many students are looking forward to this week, not all students go home to celebrate.

For international students, the short week break does not offer enough time for travel, and going home is a large expense.

Yu Zhang, international student from China and junior in LAS, will not be returning to China for the upcoming break.

“For break only being a week, it’s too short of a break to go home,” Zhang said. “Instead, I’m staying in Chicago with a friend.”

Zhang has visited Chicago before, but plans to see Cloud Gate — better known as the Bean — again and shop during her stay. Zhang said that during other week-long academic breaks she likes to travel and take the opportunity to see more places in the U.S. She visited Orlando, Florida during last year’s spring break. 

The short break is an opportunity international students can use to their advantgae to visit more places around the U.S. These students can get a different experience during their stay rather than remaining in a college town for all four years.

Hagar Salama, junior in Engineering, is an international student from Egypt.

“As of now, I don’t have plans because it’s so expensive and it takes two days just to get to Egypt,” Salama said. “But I may go to San Francisco with a friend who is going there this break because normally during this time I like to travel.”

Nika Roychoudhury, junior in LAS, plans to travel to San Fransisco and also make a few extra stops to Santa Jose and Santa Cruz along the way.

“I have a friend from high school who goes to UC Berkeley and I plan to visit her,” Roychoudhury said.

Originally from Mumbai, India, Roychoudhury has not been home since her freshman year, but has experienced quite a bit in America, including the traditional Thanksgiving celebration.

After making a few friends in her sorority, Roychoudhury went to the Schaumburg area to celebrate Thanksgiving in a traditional fashion.

“It was very Americanized. There was turkey and gravy and the entire extended family. It was a very jolly feeling,” Roychoudhury said.

Though she enjoyed the experience, she has decided not to go home anytime soon and will continue to travel during Thanksgiving to see more popular American cities. She has seen Chicago, and last summer she backpacked along the coast of California, covering about 15 beaches in 30 days. Roychoudhury has some family members in the Los Angeles area, which she plans to visit this January. 

“Now that I’ve experienced Thanksgiving here, I’d like to travel more and see some major places,” Roychoudhury said.

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