At this year's Thanksgiving dinner, Wading River resident JoAnn Vitale welcomed a new guest to her table: A young Stony Brook University student from India.

Vitale is part of the university's International Friends and Family Program, which pairs students from overseas with community members who volunteer to show these young people Long Island’s landscape, teach them about American culture and break bread. In the three months since she was matched with the student, she said they have visited Fire Island National Seashore and gone apple picking — both new experiences for the young woman.

“I learned a lot about her culture and she’s learning about our culture,” Vitale said. “We’ve shared holiday traditions and holiday folklore and things like that together.”

On Friday, Stony Brook students

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