A Taste of Thanksgiving Abroad

As an American living in Hyderabad, I’m always excited to celebrate Thanksgiving. In fact, despite having lived in several countries over the past ten or so years as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Thanksgiving is an American holiday that I have always celebrated with enthusiasm.

                                    Public Affairs Officer, Carla Benini, sharing her apple pie recipe

As many Indians may already know, the roots of Thanksgiving were planted in the earliest days of America’s existence.  Brave and hopeful new settlers seeking opportunities in the “new world” were greeted with a harsh New England winter soon after they landed. Only half of the original Mayflower settlers survived but those who did found themselves in an unlikely allegiance with local Native Americans, who taught the settlers about local farming techniques to ensure a good harvest. Sure enough, there was cause for celebration at the end of the planting season and the local British governor helped organize a feast in which Pilgrims (settlers) and Native Americans gave thanks and celebrated their bounty at the dinner table.

On November 22, while Americans may  not be thinking specifically about the Pilgrims or how cold that first winter in 1620 was, we do believe Thanksgiving is an opportunity to consider all for which we are thankful.  Some Americans choose to commemorate the day by volunteering at a homeless shelter or food bank as a means of giving back and helping out those who are less fortunate. Others use it as a time to gather with family and reconnect with old friends.

Thanksgiving is synonymous with serving a belt-breaking amount of food. Turkeys are the main attraction, and are served with such dishes such as cranberry relish, stuffing and sweet potatoes. But no two stuffing recipes are exactly alike—most Americans cherish their family recipes that have been handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter over the generations. I recreated my mother’s apple pie last year and will do my best to come even remotely close on her pumpkin pie this year. With grandparents born in Europe, I am accustomed to an ethnic twist at our Thanksgiving dinner table. Pasta in some form was always served while my mother made sure she baked her Christmas, stolen, a little early, so we could all enjoy her Dutch treat.

One of the reasons why I cherish Thanksgiving when living abroad is the challenge of recreating a typical American Thanksgiving with locally procured food. In Brazil, I made a cranberry relish out of the locally grown jaboticaba. Last year I made my own sausage for a stuffing from pork I found in Secunderabad. This year we spiced up our turkey Indian-style by using local spices.

Carla Benini is the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad.

Local Basketball Clinic is a Slam Dunk

As a graduate of Kansas University, where basketball is not just a passion but where it was practically invented, I was proud to inaugurate a two-day basketball clinic last Saturday for young Hyderabadi boys and girls.  It may seem strange to think of the American consulate hosting a basketball clinic, but actually, we see sports diplomacy as an important area of exchange between the United States and other countries.  Participating in sports helps transcend cultural differences and brings people together.  At the same time, it also teaches leadership, teamwork, and encourages respect for rules and for one another.

From February 17 to 27, SportsUnited conducted a sports visitor exchange with India in which ten female and male coaches from all over India visited the United States for a ten-day basketball program.  Amruth Raj and Amitha Jaiswal were our basketball emissaries from Hyderabad. During this program, participants met with sports professionals, athletes from American schools, and engaged in several activities on teambuilding and safety.  The group also went to Orlando, Florida for intensive training in coaching and participation in the NBA Coaches Clinics.

Before opening our clinic in Hyderabad, I had a chance to speak with Amruth and Amitha about the highlights of their U.S. experience.  Both were impressed that American parents enthusiastically support their children’s participation in sports.  Having just spent the summer with my sister and brother-in-law, both of whom attend numerous softball and soccer games to encourage and inspire my nieces, I wholeheartedly agree with their observation.  They also said watching an all-star game in Florida was a dream come true.

Amruth and Amitha both knew that their experience didn’t end when they returned to Hyderabad, and they were eager to share their newfound coaching skills with young basketball players in Hyderabad.  On a recent Saturday morning, the young boys and girls participating in the clinic were grinning from ear to ear.  They appeared galvanized by the support offered to them by the U.S. Consulate.  I was also gratified to meet with their parents, many of whom were excited and thankful for this unique opportunity.

Gurdit Singh is the new Assistant Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad

Planting a School Garden

Growing up in northeastern United States, I had a garden at home, and I would often help my mother grow plants and vegetables.  When I left home to attend university in Vermont, the students maintained an organic garden that grew fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.  It was one of my favorite places on campus to visit and was where my husband proposed marriage, so it continues to bring me fond memories. 

Gardens don’t only hold personal significance for me. They also provide important benefits to individual health and the environment.  Many Americans have chosen to grow their own produce as a healthy alternative to supermarket varieties or to reduce fossil fuel consumption and emissions required to transport produce across great distances. Responsible consumers plant home and community gardens in an effort to “eat locally” to reduce carbon emissions and have a smaller impact on the environment.

The U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad decided to team up with i Go Green Foundation to plant a school garden.  We wanted to help students begin the path towards healthy lifestyles and learn about the benefits of gardens to the environment. Planting a school or community garden restores oxygen to the air, helps replenish groundwater supplies and reduces air pollution.

Planting a garden also creates a positive learning space and opportunity to build responsibility in young children.  By planting a school garden we created an outdoor classroom where students can gain firsthand knowledge about basic plant biology and the ecosystem.  They also learn the value of responsibility, as they work to care for living things and learn about the many environmental and health benefits of plants and trees.  Most importantly, planting a school garden empowers students by showing them they can have a positive impact on their community and the environment.

The students of Sri Vidyanjali School in Kukatpally were excited to have their own school garden.  Together we planted seeds that will grow into palak, tomatoes, bitter gourd, brinjal, chili peppers and more.  Of course, I could only be there for one day; it will be up to the students to maintain their garden.  I told them I’d be come back to check on their progress.  The students promised to make me lunch with fresh vegetables from the garden.  I can’t wait, as long as they don’t use too much chili!

Elizabeth Jones is the Assistant Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad.  

Thoughts about Undergraduate Education

I’ve written about students and opportunities for undergraduate study in the U.S. before, but the subject has been on my mind again lately, in part because this is “back to school” season here in Hyderabad and also because it’s peak student visa season at the Consulate.  In the next  six months, we hope to establish an office of the U.S.-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) at the Consulate which will focus its efforts on helping students in Andhra Pradesh to find appropriate educational programs in the U.S.   I’m hopeful that USIEF’s efforts will mean that at this time next year, we’ll have even more demand for visas for students to pursue undergraduate education in the U.S.—and much higher rates of visa approval for these students, who will have well-considered educational plans.

The other day I read an article about the grueling schedules secondary school students endure in India as they prepare to compete for the critical exams that will determine their university placement.  The journalist reported that it’s not uncommon for students to study 12 or more hours a day, six days a week, and often sacrifice other interests, including sports, social interaction and cultural activities, because they just don’t have time. 

It struck me how different that stress is from the pressures facing American high school students who want admission to the top universities in the U.S.   They enhance their prospects by putting more time onto extracurricular activities, like sports, fine arts, and volunteering in the community.

For Indian students, results in examinations that test knowledge seem to be the dominant factor in university admissions.  For American students, the picture is more complicated.  Colleges and universities make an initial, quantitative assessment of candidates by looking at a combination of grades in high school and results in examinations that test literacy and analytical skills.  On that basis, they narrow their pools of applicants, but final decisions only come after they look at a variety of other factors, including references, essays, interviews, and records of extracurricular activities.  Of course, students who completely neglect studying will have poor grades in high school, and some studying may be useful to prepare for the SAT exam.  But a bright, motivated student can excel on both without putting in anything like the number of hours that Indian students spend absorbing the vast body of knowledge that they will be tested on. 

When I was in high school in the U.S. in the 1970s, sports was by far the most important extracurricular activity that could help a high school student gain admission to a competitive university, but today the focus is wider.  Participation in fine or performing arts is a plus, as is a record of leadership.  At selective schools, there is increasing preference for students who have demonstrated a sense of social responsibility by participating in volunteer activities.  And references, essays and interviews have real weight in the process.  American universities are looking for future leaders, innovators, and communicators, not just those who will excel in academics, and they use all these indicators to help identify the most promising applicants.

The big difference between the criteria students in India are familiar with and the way the American system works may be intimidating for Indian students thinking about pursuing undergraduate education in the U.S.  The other big barrier is the high cost of U.S. universities.  As a result, many students look for help and advice on where to apply.  The U.S. government has a student advising service called Education USA.  Education USA throughout India works through the U.S.-India Educational Foundation, which is jointly sponsored by the U.S. and Indian governments, and provides free advice and resources for prospective students.  Their website is:  USIEF.org.in.  They also have a toll-free student advising telephone number 1-800-103-1231.  We’ve found, however, that many students don’t know about the services of USIEF and Education USA, and instead they turn to many other educational consultants.  Some of these consultants may be knowledgeable and effective, but many of them have a conflict of interest because they accept funds from universities when they steer students in their direction.  Some also provide poor advice, and encourage students to misrepresent their circumstances during visa interviews.  I’m pleased that we will be opening an office of USIEF at the Consulate in the coming months.  USIEF will help students find the schools that best meets their objectives and will be able to help students understand the process of applying for financial aid.

I hope that Indian students will also become more aware in the future about some of the special opportunities that exist in the U.S., for example, for female student athletes.  The U.S. may be unique in the value that universities place on participation in sports.  Critics accuse some of the biggest universities in the U.S. of exploiting athletes by enrolling those who excel in high-profile sports like basketball and football as students despite the fact that their grades and test scores suggest they have little potential to meet normal academic standards.  For those who use college as a springboard to become professional athletes, the system works; for unqualified students and those who can’t take advantage of educational opportunities and who don’t make it to the next level, the accusation of exploitation is difficult to refute.  But there are others who benefit from this.  U.S. legislation requires that colleges provide young women as many athletic scholarships as they provide to young men.  As a result, universities maintain women’s teams and provide financial support to girls who combine academic and athletic achievements.  When I was in Zimbabwe, I was pleased to see that a number of Zimbabwean girls received scholarships to study in the U.S. while playing field hockey.  These young women have a chance to participate in sports, but they also get a quality education, and I hope more Indian girls will also take advantage of this scholarship opportunity.