Sharing Their Home for the Holidays

International students travel an enormous distance to receive a Valpo education, leaving behind everything familiar to enter a completely new culture. They go long stretches of time without seeing home or family, so for the holiday season, Valpo faculty and staff were invited to participate in Thanksgiving MEAL @ Valpo, where volunteer hosts agree to open their homes to groups of international students. This year, Bethany Garling-Spychala ’14, staff counselor, and Tiara Moore ’18, a residential learning coordinator, were two such participants. 

Both Bethany and Tiara had experience with international students as Valpo undergrads, and were enthusiastic about taking the opportunity to host as staff members. 

“I was involved with the international programs office when I was a student here, so I’m familiar with that organization and wanted to continue to be a part of it now that I’m a staff member,” Bethany says. “I also knew I wasn’t traveling home this year, so it seemed like a great time to start. I also have two little kids, and it’s important to me to create as much of an international community as I can for them.”

“When I was a student, I was part of the Valparaiso International Student Association (VISA), and I like learning about different cultures and meeting different people,” says Tiara. “They’re away from home and don’t have that time to get together with their families, so I thought it was important to share with them and help them get a little bit of a family feel.”

Mayor Ndukaku ’24 was one of the students that Tiara hosted.

“I pretty much enjoyed every part of the Thanksgiving experience,” he says. “Our host was exceptional. The food, the conversation, and everything was just amazing. I recommend that every international student take part in this.”

While the main event at both homes would be the Thanksgiving dinner, both students and hosts had plenty to do outside of the kitchen. For some of the international students, the event was their first experience in an American home, and their first exposure to the typical Christmas decorations that come with the season. 

“For one student, it was the first time they had seen a Christmas tree, and they had questions about how we decorate it,” Bethany says.  

The cultural exposure was a two-way street. At Tiara’s, her student visitors shared nearly as much as they learned. 

“It was cool learning a little bit about where they come from and their own family traditions,” she says. “One of them was from India, and she brought some traditional snacks that her mom made for her before she came here. It was nice to learn about more cultures while sharing my own.”

While the food and conversations were the centerpieces of the experiences, for Bethany, the connections made between her family and their guests were the highlight of the holiday.

“There was one student in particular that really warmed up to my kids, and he mentioned that he has family back home, nieces and nephews, that he doesn’t get to be around,” Bethany says. “The next week we took our kids to the Christmas Tree Lighting, and they identified two of the students in the crowd that had been there, and they ran up and were very pleased to have someone that was familiar. It was special to me that the connection was pronounced enough that my two year old was able to remember someone they had met.”

Both Tiara and Bethany expressed interest in continuing to participate in the program in the future. For more information on the many international programs, students, alumni and more, visit valpo.edu/international/.