For two and a half years, Warsaw Community High School student Herbin Guengoua has lived in the United States.

For two and a half years, Guengoua has learned to celebrate American holidays. And the American holiday he has taken hold of more than any other is Thanksgiving.

"I like the idea and everything," Guengoua said. "It's bringing two people together."

The 17-year-old 11th-grader originally comes from Central African Republic.

Guengoua said that when he returns next year to Central African Republic after graduating from high school, he will explain to people in his homeland about the ideas behind Thanksgiving.

"I would explain it to them like other people coming from other countries and incorporating one another and coming together," he said.

Guengoua expressed his thoughts on Thanksgiving in an essay he wrote in his English-as- a-Second-Language class. In the letter, he wrote:

"My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Before I came here, I was in Africa and nobody knows about Thanksgiving in Africa; no one has ever heard the word "Thanksgiving." We don't have a holiday like this in Africa, but I wish we had one so people would learn how to get along for at least one day and forget about their disagreements.

"Two years ago I came to America and I didn't speak English so I didn't know what to say. Anyway, two years ago I learned about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a popular holiday in the United States. It represents people from different cultures coming together and showing what each culture has in common with the other culture and learning to compromise. Thanksgiving is more than a big meal. It's like a family reunion.

"I like Thanksgiving because people forget about racism and war and their financial problems to come together and eat a big turkey and talk about their different cultures.

"I also like Thanksgiving because I was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. Maybe it means that God wants me to bring Africa together and to stop all the fighting in Africa. Maybe it also means that God is reminding me of my family and friends.

"I wish we had Thanksgiving in Africa so people would sometimes forget about their disapproval and fighting, to come together and eat in peace. It doesn't matter if you have different cultures; all that matters is that you are a human being. You are not better than anyone else, because we are all the same and equal in the eyes of God."

Guengoua lives in Warsaw with his four sisters, one brother and his mother. The first time they celebrated Thanksgiving in America, Guengoua said, it was at someone else's house. Now, he said, his family celebrates it together in their own home.

Before he came to America, Guengoua said, he didn't know what to expect. He had come to the United States for an education.

"I came here because my father's a businessman and I want to work with him in the business. I need to learn English. They only speak French in Central Africa," he said.

Guengoua said that Central African Republic is a mostly Christian country. He said they have Easter there, but celebrate it differently. But it's the new things, like Thanksgiving, that he is enjoying the most.

"It has been great. It's been interesting. I'm learning new things and meeting new people. It's interesting," he said.

"Everyone here likes each other. People say hello, even if they don't know each other."

As for learning English, Guengoua said, "It's been easier than French. French is harder." [[In-content Ad]]