Winter break usually marks a time when students are able to escape from exams and homework. However, making a holiday escape isn't always an option for students raised far away from the state of Alabama.
Mary Lauren Mitchell, senior in media studies, is a New Zealand native who has not always been able to make it back home for the holidays.
Her freshman year, Mitchell said, she befriended Amelie Marohn, senior in communication. Marohn invited Mitchell to join her and her family for Thanksgiving in Greensboro, North Carolina, marking the beginning of a new tradition.
“Mary and I stuck together, as I could not go home either for weekend holidays” Marohn said.
Due to neither having the ability to travel home easily, Marohn said she and Mitchell have bonded by creating their own traditions.
“Easter 2014 we went to Atlanta for the day and Mary swam with whale sharks…and we topped it off with a nice lunch in the city,” Marohn said. “Other Easters we go to church and have a ‘fancy meal’ together in Auburn.”
The summer after her sophomore year, Marohn's family moved to Vienna, Austria.
"This made Mary and I related even more so, with both of us having international parents," Marohn said.
This took the pair’s holiday tradition to the next level, Marohn said, as they spent the next Thanksgiving in Vienna.
“It was amazing," Marohn said. "We explored my new home, went to countries like Slovakia…we spent the holiday going around the city, shopping at Christmas markets, going to art museums and then eating with my parents at home."
For this winter break the duo took on New Zealand together for the first time.
“Now it is her turn to show me her hometown and family,” Marohn said. “Hometowns and families say a lot about how a person has come to be.”
“We have just completed a 10-day road trip around the South Island and today hiked our thirtieth mile in two weeks together,” Marohn said. “We went to the beach to hike up a mountain in her hometown and there were hundreds of campers filled with families and their Christmas trees.”
Marohn said she's enjoying seeing the difference in family dynamics between countries.
"It is so refreshing to be in a culture that wants to be outside and be together.” Marohn said.
Marohn said her trips with Mitchell have opened her eyes about what the holiday season represents.
“Mary and mine’s experiences have taught us about what the holidays are all about," Marohn said. "It doesn’t matter whether you are blood related, holidays are about people being there for each other and being together.”
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