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International students get a taste of the holidays

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Many UW-Madison students are heading home for the holidays, but international students do not have the same luxury. This circumstance led Friends of International Students to start the holiday hospitality program a few years ago.

Long-time member and host for students involved with Friends of International Students, Rose Mary Wise is a first-time chair for this year’s hospitality program. Wise said it is a great way for students from other countries to see how Americans celebrate the holidays.

Students who take part have an opportunity to spend the holidays with the host family they were placed with upon entering the country.

“It’s great for people from parts of the world where they don’t celebrate Christmas,” Wise says. “And because they are away from home.”

The program is completely voluntary; families make the decision to include a student. The costs of dinner and any other activities come out of the families’ pockets. Although gifts are not exchanged, some families choose to offer their students crafts they made together.

Dawn Delgado and her husband said they love hosting Spanish-speaking students. Delgado’s husband is from Cuba and they speak Spanish in their home. But they don’t limit themselves to Spanish-speakers. Last year they hosted a student from Argentina and one from China.

“I’ve been a culture nut and a people nut since I was a kid,” Delgado said. She first got involved in the program when she realized she was usually in town for the holidays.

“Why not invite someone who isn’t close to home,” Delgado said. “It makes the student feel good, and it makes you feel good.”

Delgado also sees it as a chance for international students to learn what American culture is like.

In the past, the program has found host families largely by word of mouth.

Members of Friends of International Students receive newsletters, and individual members advertise in church bulletins. But without compensation, it can be hard to find families for all the students that need a family for the holidays.

Both Wise and Delgado said it is a rewarding experience, and hope they offer their visiting students insight into their culture.

“It’s never been boring,” Delgado said. “It’s very positive, and it’s always been a blast.”