GIVING THANKS: KENYAN STUDENTS MARK U.S. HOLIDAY

Stephen Gitau has grown accustomed to Thanksgiving. But for his fellow Kenyan and roommate, Willis Ayieko, Thursday was his first experience with the uniquely American holiday.

"It's not just a small holiday. Everything is focused on eating," Ayieko said as he and Gitau celebrated Thanksgiving at the Cape Girardeau home of Adelaide and Robert Parsons.

An English professor, Adelaide Parsons has worked with international students since she came to Southeast Missouri State University more than a decade ago. This fall, she was chosen to direct the school's revamped international program.

Parsons said she has been celebrating Thanksgiving with international students for 25 or 26 years, with the last 15 years in Cape Girardeau.

Parsons said it was a tradition in her family to invite international students to their home.

Hosting international students for the holiday can be an adventure.

Parsons recalled that one Thanksgiving she went to pick up six international students only to find that those students had invited along some friends.

Instead of six guests, they ended up with 20. Fortunately, there was enough food on hand to feed everybody.

"There were no leftovers," Parsons said.

Another time, the Parsons hosted students from China. As part of the Thanksgiving meal, they had sweet potatoes.

Parsons said she didn't realize that Chinese don't eat sweet potatoes, which they consider pig's food.

Ayieko and Gitau sat shoeless in the living room of their hosts' home Thursday evening, watching the Dallas Cowboys-Minnesota Vikings football game on television.

Gitau said many of his Muslim friends take their shoes off when they walk inside a home, so he and Ayieko have adopted the practice.

Both men are 30 years old. They come from different parts of Kenya, an African country of 27 million people that is twice the size of Nevada.

Ayieko, who worked as a salesman in Kenya, is a first-year student at Southeast. He is studying international business management.

Gitau attends Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he is pursuing a doctorate in anthropology. He has attended SIU for five years.

Ayieko understands that Thanksgiving is a major holiday for Americans. But he wondered what made the turkey the meat of choice for the celebration.

Both Ayieko and Gitau said they could relate to the holiday's emphasis on family.

Family ties are important in Kenya where the big feasting occurs from Dec. 12, Kenya's independence day, through the Christmas holidays, Gitau said.

Chickens and goats are the food of choice for independence day celebrations in Kenya where it is the custom for people to buy and personally slaughter the animals for their holiday dinners.

In Kenya, Christmas is a two-day celebration that extends through Dec. 26.

Gitau appreciates the Thanksgiving meal. He said Kenyans enjoy a feast.

"A good child is that who can eat well," said Gitau. "That is what my mom always said."

Adelaide Parsons and her husband enjoy having international students over for a Thanksgiving meal.

"We don't have children so this is the way we enjoy it," she said.