Below is important dining and housing information for Thanksgiving Break!

HOUSING:

You may remain on-campus during the break. Please inform your RA or your GA that you will be staying. If you need assistance during the break please call (717) 871-4363.

DINING:

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

• Upper Deck:
  • Breakfast 7:30AM-9:30AM
  • Lunch 11:00AM-1:30PM
  • Dinner 4:30PM-7:30PM
• Galley 7AM-9PM
• Anchor 9AM-4PM
• The Cove 7AM-6PM
• Cyber Cafe 7:30AM-6PM
• Starbucks 7:30AM-5PM
• Juice Bar 10AM-7PM
• Marauder Express 8:30AM-1:30PM
• University Grille 11AM-1:30PM

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

• The Cove 7AM-2PM

Thursday – Saturday NO CAMPUS DINING

• Thanksgiving Dinner (Thursday) at Immerse International – Free

Sunday, November 27, 2016

• Anchor 11AM-6PM
• Upper Deck 4:30PM-7:30PM
• Galley 5PM-11PM

Monday, November 28th, 2016

REGULAR DINING HOURS

In the past few weeks, you may have heard or seen advertisements for Black Friday sales, along with countless premature Christmas ads, and you may be wondering what Black Friday is. If your home country does celebrate Black Friday, you may not know that the holiday started as a result of Thanksgiving. For those who are celebrating Black Friday for the first time ever, or just in America, this year it is this Friday, November 25.

In recent years, it is becoming more popular for stores to start their Black Friday deals the night of Thanksgiving. Park City mall, for example, will be open from 6pm-midnight on Thursday night and the stores will be promoting their best deals during this time. Traditionally, on Friday morning, stores open early around 6 am, and the deals are better the earlier you go. It is not uncommon for stores to advertise great deals like 50% the entire store, buy one get one free items, gift with purchase, and much more! This makes Black Friday a great time to get most, if not all, of your Christmas shopping done!

It is important to note that things can get crazy on Black Friday. People push and can be aggressive, so it is best not to shop alone, and to be patient with other shoppers. If crowds and fast paced shopping is not your scene, there is a solution; Cyber Monday! Cyber Monday is the Monday immediately after Black Friday, or November 28 this year. Cyber Monday is when stores continue all of their great Black Friday deals online. That means that you get to enjoy the savings and get your Christmas shopping done, without having to leave your home!

So, whether you want to jump into the exciting and fast paced atmosphere of the mall early Friday morning, or stay in bed and get your shopping done Monday, take advantage of these once a year deals this weekend! Christmas will be here before we know it!

Whether you’re spending Thanksgiving with an American friend’s family, going to the Immerse dinner, or whatever else you may have planned, it is important that you are prepared for the bountiful feast you are about to experience. While everyone has their own Thanksgiving traditions, there are certain foods that you are guaranteed to see on the table, no matter where you go.

• No one really knows why we eat turkey on Thanksgiving. Some say it’s because that is what the early colonial pilgrims hunted; others say it is because turkeys are uniquely American. Whatever the reason, you can bet your main meal on Thanksgiving will be turkey. Some people also offer other meat, like ham and chicken or even vegetarian options. However, turkey sales in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving sky rocket!
• A traditional mix of bread, broth, onions, carrots, celery, and any other twist people like to add, studding is a delicious way to eat soggy, cooked bread. Although it sounds and looks questionable, stuffing is everyone’s favorite side dish on Thanksgiving.
• CRANBERRY SAUCE. Sometimes it comes from a can, and sometimes it is homemade, but all the times it is delicious. Cranberry sauce is simply boiled cranberries with added sugar and cooked into a jelly-like texture. Some people love it, and some people don’t, so try some for yourself to decide!
• MASHED POTATOES. No Thanksgiving is complete without mashed potatoes. Depending on tradition, these potatoes can be prepared and seasoned in many different ways, all very delectable though. Melt some butter on them, add some gravy, and you have the perfect side dish.
• APPLE, PECAN OR PUMPKIN PIE. If you can’t choose your favorite kind of pie, try all of them! More commonly, you will find pumpkin pie; however apple pie is all an all-around American tradition. The dessert options on thanksgiving are truly endless!
• BREAD/ROLLS. To add to the tradition of overloading on carbs on Thanksgiving, it is likely you will find some kind of rolls or baked bread on your plate. Perfect as a pre-turkey appetizer, or for soaking up all leftover gravy on your plate, you can never have too much bread.

As you enjoy the next few days off for Thanksgiving break, you may be wondering what the break is even for. While you’re not going to argue against no classes for half a week, you might be curious as to what Thanksgiving really is.

Thanksgiving is a unique holiday, celebrated only in the United States. America was settled by English Pilgrims who fled from Europe in search of a better life with no monarchy. Upon arriving in Massachusetts in 1620, the Pilgrims established the village of Plymouth. It was only after a very brutal winter that the surviving pilgrims met Squanto, a Native American who taught them how to grow corn, catch fish, avoid poisonous plants, and much more.

The following November, a year after they arrived in America, the Pilgrims had a successful first harvest of corn. To show his gratitude, Plymouth governor William Bradford invited a group of Native American’s to join in a fest. This feast, that lasted 3 days long, consisted of deer and various fowl (birds), according to written records. While no one knows the exact menu of this unofficial first Thanksgiving, it is assumed that most of the meal was prepared with traditional Native American spices and cooking methods.

It was not until two years later, in 1623, that the Pilgrims celebrated their second Thanksgiving feast after a long drought had threatened their corn harvest. Thanksgiving then become a tradition in New England settlements, through to the American Revolution when George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation. This thanksgiving was to express gratitude for the end f the war on independence.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Since then, Americans have celebrated the holiday on the fourth Thursday of November every year. Today, Thanksgiving is a day to spend time with family and those you are thankful for, eat a delicious abundance of food (check out the article on traditional American thanksgiving food), watch some American football, and enjoy the start to the holiday season!

Immerse International House is hosting a Thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving is a family holiday in the U.S. where we celebrate things we are thankful for! The Meal starts at 12:00PM

Inform Global Education that you are interested.  International.Students@millersville.edu 

Last night was the U.S. Presidential election. So if you didn’t know why there was a somber/shocked tone on campus today now you do!

Pennsylvania was a swing state, which means that the results in this state were very close and it was predicted to be a tight race.

Read the Snapper newspaper article below, written by one of our very own international students, Titilayo Farukuoye, on her thoughts on the implications of a Trump Presidency. Which we now know is reality.

Does Trump’s candidacy matter internationally?

As we head into the second to last month of the year, you may have noticed that the days are awfully shorter than when you first arrived or began classes. Not only does winter bring dramatic weather changes, but it also brings with it the change of time. Daylight savings time is old news to some countries, like North American and European countries, but an entirely new concept to Asian, African and South American countries. Whether you’re ready for it or not, daylight savings time is ending.

This past Sunday, November 6 at 2:00 am, daylight savings time officially ended and everyone set their clocks back a full hour. If you have not done so already, it is time to set back your clocks that do not automatically reset, like the one on your car radio, clocks around the house like on your microwave, and wrist watches. It is important to set these back one hour. An easy way to remember this is “fall backwards, spring forward.” In the fall, we set the clocks back, and in the spring, we set the clocks forward one hour.

A few things will happen as a result of DLS time ending. Possibly the most upsetting part of DLS time ending is that the days start to get dramatically shorter. As if the sun setting at 6:00 pm was not early enough, the sun will now set around 5:00pm each night. Until the Winter Solstice on December 21, the days will get shorter and shorter by a few minutes each day. The predicted sunset on December 21, the shortest day of the year, is 4:32 pm. That’s right; the sun will begin to set before most people are even done their day jobs. Luckily, after that date in December, the days will very slowly but surely get longer by a few minutes each day until we set our clocks forward into spring in March. Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we still have a very long, dark, and predicted snowy winter to get through first.

Although we may not have as much sunshine and daylight as we would like in the next upcoming months, there are plenty of things to do and to look forward to. Whether we like it or not, Pennsylvania winters are just something that we all have to deal with. I think this is why they save the best holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year, for the winter months; to give us something to look forward to. Make sure you check out our articles on important information for thanksgiving break, as well as fun indoor things to do now that the weather is getting colder.

As you may have noticed, it’s getting cold out and will continue to get much colder. With winter just around the corner, you may be wondering what there is to do when it becomes unbearably cold outside. While there is nothing wrong with sitting in bed on a Friday night and catching up on your favorite show on Netflix (See our article on all of our favorite Netflix shows to binge watch), there is also plenty to do with friends that does not involve freezing your limbs off.

Luckily for us, the winter months are very popular times for new movies to come out. An easy way to avoid the cold while still getting out of the house is to go to the movies. The local movie theater right down the road has student priced tickets, as well as recliner seats so you can kick back and relax while you watch the latest cinema hit. However, if you’re planning to go on a Friday or Saturday night, it would be wise to buy tickets ahead of time here, to avoid the line or having to sit in the front row looking straight up the entire time you’re watching. If seeing a movie is not in your budget, have a movie night in with friends. Pick a movie on demand or on DVD, turn down the lights, wrap up in a blanket on the couch, and pop some microwavable popcorn. It is just as good as the theater, for a fraction of the price.

Board games are another great indoor activity that is anything but boring. You can find gently used bored games at the local goodwill, or, if your American friends are anything like me, they already have a pretty impressive collection of board games for rainy/snowy days. Some classics include Monopoly, card games, Sorry, Jenga, Life, Twister, Pictionary and so much more. The more people you have, the more fun these games get! Have everyone bring over some snacks and you have one warm, exciting night in the works.

If you really want to get out of the house, there are plenty of MU sponsored events that are cheap and fun to go to with friends. Millersville’s ice hockey team plays at the local ice rink in Lancaster. Dress in layers because the inside of the ice rink may be cold, but cheering on our MU hockey team is a great way to spend a Friday night. Look here to find out when they play next! If cold hockey rinks are not your idea of a fun Friday night, Millersville’s basketball team also plays their home games on campus at the Pucillo Gymnasium. The gymnasium is a lot warmer than an ice rink with an exciting and fun atmosphere while they play ball. Check out their schedule here!

As the weather gets colder, you will find more and more ways to avoid the outdoors and still have a great night with friends. If you are bored and tried all of the above activities, ask a friend who is used to north eastern winters, they are professionals at staying indoors while still having fun!

If you’re like me, you may not be a fan of being outside in the cold unless it is snowing. Luckily for you, we as Pennsylvanians have had our fair share of experience with long, cold winters and we have come up with ways to cure your premature winter blues. If you have not done so already, be sure to check out our article on entertaining things to do indoors as the weather gets colder.

American millennials favorite past time is binge watching Netflix. For $8 a month, you can have access to stream thousands of TV shows and movies anytime, anywhere (as long as you have Wi-Fi.) Here is a list of the top trending shows on Netflix according to Digital Trend that will have you canceling plans and spending a lot of time in front of your computer screen.

1. House of Cards: a Netflix original drama about American politics and the secrets that lie within the inner workings of Francis Underwood as he tries to dethrone his enemies.
2. Friday Night Lights: based on the hit movie, this show follows small town friends as they face everyday issues of young adulthood in high school. The show focuses around the Football team at Dillion High school in Texas.
3. The Crown: a TV show that follows the early life of Elizabeth II, Britain’s current and longest-reigning monarch. The show dramatizes the secrets that went on in her life while under rule of Britain.
4. Grey’s Anatomy: If you can get through an episode of surgery and blood without passing out, this show is an excellent binge watch. This ABC original follows the dramatic lives of surgeons at Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital as they face everyday issues that we can all relate to; that is if your issues involve finishing a double bypass surgery before lunch.
5. 30 Rock: Formerly one of the greatest comedy shows of our time, 30 Rock has recently ceased to produce new episodes. However, back when it was still airing, it was about a head-writer of a sketch comedy series and her group of friends and coworkers. Lucky for us, we can relive the laughs of this show as many times as we would like on Netflix.

These are just a few of the top shows on Netflix right now. Netflix provides a variety of shows from documentaries, to cooking shows, to house fixer upper shows, to dramas, comedies, and more. If you are not ready to be emotionally invested into a show or simply do not have the time to start one, pick from one of their hundreds of movies offered to stream as well. With Thanksgiving break coming up, there is no better time than now to pick a show, take a break from school work, and enjoy staying in.