Gathered at Rebecca Rothney's Thanksgiving feast in her Raleigh home were Christians, Jews and Muslims. Her guests came from three continents and spoke half a dozen languages. Two of them don't even eat turkey -- unless it's killed with a sharp knife while a Muslim prayer is offered.

Rothney hosted three embassy workers from South Africa, Morocco and Indonesia, plus friends who also have international ties.

The three embassy workers are among 24 U.S. Department of State employees from around the world who came to Raleigh as part of a three-city tour that will help them learn more about the country that employs them.

As cultural affairs specialists, the foreign nationals work for the United States in its embassies abroad. They serve as local experts in their home countries, coordinating speakers at the embassies and arranging exchange programs for their local leaders to visit the United States.

Esti Durahsanti of Indonesia said her impressions of the United States came from TV shows such as "Friends" and "Sex in the City."

"It will help me do my job to know what America is really like, that it is so diverse," she said.

Rounding out the international flair Thursday was the family of Leila Bekri, who leads the International Visitors Leadership Program in Raleigh, which brought the embassy workers to the Triangle. Bekri also brought her mother, who was visiting from her native Tunisia.

Dinner conversation was suitably diverse. Durahsanti explained the different meanings of "jihad," or holy war, to her American hosts as she inspected the unfamiliar menu of mashed potatoes and stuffing. Moroccan Mohammed Guedira chatted in French with Noufel Bekri, Leila's mother. Sheila Malan named South African authors for Rothney to read in her book club.

The group also found some common ground. Apparently Waldorf salad, or something that looks much like the mayonnaise-and-apple mixture, is a hit in Indonesia and much of Africa. And while the storied alliance of Pilgrims and Indians is uniquely American, the concept of gathering to give thanks is not.

Malan said black South Africans hold thanksgiving parties for different reasons all year long. For instance, she said, a young couple she knows recently held one to celebrate their career and family successes.

"You express gratitude to your god and your ancestors," Malan said. "The idea is that because they were, we are."

Guedira compared the American holiday to two Muslim "eid," or feasts -- one to end the Ramadan fast and one to commemorate God's replacing a son of Abraham -- who was about to be sacrificed -- with a lamb.

"What you call Thanksgiving is like thanking God," said Mohammed Guedira. "Thanking God is universal."

Rothney says she has hosted more than 400 foreign guests in the past 20 years as a volunteer hostess. So it didn't faze her when she found out Durahsanti and Guedira are both Halal Muslims. A turkey killed in the correct manner was not to be found in the Triangle, so she filled in with spinach quiche.

Such dietetic difficulties are a small price to pay for what she sees as round-trip tickets for "visits" with people of other cultures.

"It's a wonderful way to have the world come to your house," Rothney said, "even if you can't go everywhere to see the world."

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