A Thanksgiving Guide for College Students

A Thanksgiving Guide for College Students Thanksgiving break, for many college students, is an oasis in the middle of fall semester. Its a chance to return home and recharge. You can take a break from midterms and papers. For a lot of students, it might be their first chance to get some good food and spend time with old friends. Lots of students go home for Thanksgiving, but some stay on campus. Others head to a friend or roommates house to celebrate the holiday. No matter your situation, though, there are things you can do to make sure you squeeze every last drop out of the long weekend. Friends, Family, and Relationships Thanksgiving is nearly always about friends and family. And while every college student has a unique situation when it comes to their nearest and dearest, nearly everyone needs a little love around the holidays. Some families are less supportive than others. If you find being back home stressful, try planning to see friends or a trip to your favorite coffee shop. For many students, its the first chance they have to visit with friends from high school. If you had a large circle of friends, getting to see everyone you wanted to see might be hard. After all, the Thanksgiving break is only a few days, and most people will have some family obligations as well. Because of this, it is wise to try to plan group activities where you can spend time with as many of your old friends as possible. Dealing With Change If Thanksgiving is the first time youve been home since the start of college, you may have a hard time adjusting to being back. After months of the freedom to come and go as you please, having a curfew again might be hard to swallow. Things around your town have probably changed, too. You may have new interests and hobbies that you didnt have before, which your family may or may not approve of. Dealing with change isnt easy for anyone, including your parents. Try to approach the differences with an open mind. College is about moving from childhood to your adult life and its a process which is why you still have to follow your parents rules- but it wont be like that forever. Be patient when your parents start treating you like youre back in high school; they need time to adjust to their child growing up. When you start getting frustrated remind yourself its just a long weekend, youll be back at school before you know it. Dealing With Politics Its not uncommon for students to return home with new ideas or insight into the politics of the world. If your politics no longer align with your families, it could lead to some unpleasant conversations. Many people attempt to avoid discussing politics during the holiday but if thats not an option, view it as a learning experience. Ask your family members to explain their political beliefs to you. Even if you dont agree, allowing others to feel like theyve been heard can ease tensions. Its also easier to explain your beliefs when you have shown that you respect the other person enough to hear what they have to say. Heading Home Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year, so knowing what to expect can prevent a fun trip home from turning into a travel nightmare. Knowing what to pack when heading home for Thanksgiving is half the battle. The other half is planning your route home. If youre in charge of purchasing your airline ticket, youll want to book it at least six weeks in advance. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest travel days of the year, so youll want to avoid it if you can. If you have a class scheduled that day, talk to your professor about ways to accommodate your absence so you can leave earlier in the week. Dont worry if you forgot to buy your ticket home; there are ways to find last-minute student travel deals. If you do have to leave on Wednesday, leave early and be prepared to deal with travel delays and crowds. Staying on Top of Your Academics For most students, Thanksgiving falls either right before or right after midterms. So just because youre relaxing and hanging out with people over the break doesnt mean you can let your academics slide. While staying on top of your coursework is challenging, it isnt impossible. Thanksgiving is your first real chance to get to learn how to manage homework over a college break. Even if your professors didnt assign you anything over the break, you probably have a larger project or paper that you can work on. Remember, the end of the semester is really only a few weeks away. The time will pass faster than you think and saying you have to study is a great excuse to get out of an awkward conversation with extended family members.

How to Use the Spanish Verb Faltar to Indicate Absence or Lack

How to Use the Spanish Verb Faltar to Indicate Absence or Lack Faltar carries with it the idea of lacking. But it is used in a variety of ways where to lack isnt the best translation. Here are some of its most common uses. Fast Facts Faltar typically is used to state that something is missing, lacking, nonexistent, or not available.An indirect object can be used to indicate who is affected by the lack or absence.Faltar is used much more flexibly than lack and other English equivalents, so a wide variety of translations is possible depending on the context. Faltar to Indicate Absence or Nonexistence Possible translations of faltar include to be absent and to be missing as well as a simple statement of nonexistence: A la reunià ³n faltaron los representantes de Ecuador. (The representatives of Ecuador were absent from the meeting. The representatives of Ecuador were not at the meeting.)La mujer faltaba de su hogar desde hace cuatro dà ­as y era buscada intensamente por sus familiares. (The woman was missing from her home since four days ago and was intensively searched for by her relatives.)El martes de la semana pasada, Sabrina faltà ³ a la escuela sin avisar a sus padres. (On Tuesday of last week, Sabrina missed school without telling her parents.) Faltar With Indirect Pronouns In many situations, faltar is used with an indirect-object pronoun to state who or what is affected by the lack or absence of something. In this usage, faltar functions much like gustar. The indirect-object pronoun is in boldface in the following examples. Although lack can almost always be used in translation, other possibilities include need, to be short and so on. As is the case with gustar, the noun represented by the indirect-object pronoun often serves as the subject of the sentence in translation. A esta receta le falta un ingrediente principal. (This recipe lacks a main ingredient.)Nos faltan dos personas para reservar el cuarto de hotel. (We need two more people to reserve the hotel room.)A este pobre le falta una pierna. (This poor man is missing a leg.)Sà ³lo me falta el telà ©fono. (Im missing only my telephone. I have everything I need except for my telephone.) ¿Cuntos puntos me faltan para llegar al nivel segundo? (How many points do I need to arrive at the second level?)Te falta estudiarlo un poco ms. (You need to study it a little more.)Hay 10 secretos que te faltarn saber de Guatemala. (There are 10 secrets you will need to know about Guatemala.)Me falta agua en el radiador. (I need water in the radiator.) Faltar to Indicate What Remains Somewhat paradoxically for English speakers, faltar is often used to indicate what remains in anticipation of an event or situation. The construction used in these instances typically is optional pronoun faltar what remains para the goal. Faltan cinco dà ­as para Navidad. (Five days remain until Christmas. There are five days to go until Christmas.)Faltaban dos segundos para terminar el juego. (There were two seconds to go to end the game.)Te faltan 100 pesos para comprarlo. (You need 100 pesos more to buy it.)A à ©l le faltaban tres horas para la medianoche. (He had three hours remaining until midnight.) Faltar A to Indicate Lack of Heed The phrase faltar a can be used to indicate the lack of attention or respect to the object of the preposition a. Es una promesa,  ¡y nunca falto a mis promesas! (Thats a promise, and I never break my promises!)Es tonto pensar que ella faltarà ­a a un evento como ese. (Its silly to think that she would not attend an event such as that.)La escritora jams faltaba a las reuniones de lunes. (The writer never missed the Monday meetings.) Expressions Using Faltar Expressions and phrases that use faltar include: Faltar al respeto, to be disrespectful. ¡Lo que faltaba! Its all I needed! ¡No faltarà ­a ms! Of course! Obviously! Dont mention it!Faltar a la verdad, to be dishonest.Faltar tiempo, to be short of time. Conjugation of Faltar Faltar is conjugated regularly, following the pattern of hablar. Etymology of Faltar As you might have guessed, is etymologically related to the English word fault. Both fault and faltar come from the Latin verb fallere, which meant to deceive or disappoint. Other Spanish words derived from fallere include fallar (to fail or disappoint), falla (defect), and falso (false). Related English words include fail, failure, and false.