Last Global Engagement Night we got crafty!! Instead of the usual presentation and games, we did three different crafts. We made bookmarks, paper lanterns, painted mason jars and made a boat load of paper hats and paper airplanes. The night was filled with laughs, new friends and cupcakes. Join us next week for our POTLUCK!! We encourage you to bring a dish or buy something pre-made to share with everyone. Hope to see you all there!
osuoia
Spring Holidays
For Global Engagement Night on March 22nd, we discussed springtime holidays and festivals from around the world. We discussed customs and traditions relating to Easter, Passover, Ramadan, and Holi, some holidays from major world religions, as well as Songkran and Nowruz, from Thailand and Iran respectively. Many holidays celebrated during this time of year signify the start of spring, a farewell to winter, and a fresh new beginning. Here’s hoping for plenty of sunny and bright days in Ohio this spring!
Happy Easter & Happy Passover! See you next Tuesday.
Global Engagement: Northern Europe!
Here at Global Engagement we explore a region of the world every couple of weeks. This week it was Northern Europe! We discussed everything from geography and culture to polar bears and Finnish metal music.
What is Northern Europe? The general consensus was Scandinavia with some debate over whether the UK and Ireland and the Baltic states could be included. The discussion of polar bears, however, not as polarizing.
We rounded out the discussion with some lovely travel videos and a brief overview of some of Finland’s finest folk metal music videos.
The Global Engagement Sports&Rec committee will be continuing the arctic vibe this month with some fun winter activities despite the recent temperature climb, so stay tuned!
Trick or Canning!
This past Thursday, October 29, we went trick-or-treating in Harley for canned and non-perishable food. The food collected at the event will be donated to Mid Ohio Food Bank. Volunteer participants dressed up in amazing costumes, like the pop star Robin from “How I Met Your Mother,” Thing 1 from “The Cat in the Hat,” etc. Thursday was also the official day that all kids went out trick-or-treating. People were a little bit surprised, but were really nice to our “over-aged” trick-or-treating group. We got so many canned goods, as well as candy.
Thanks to all the nice and generous people. The house decorations were really impressive. Sometimes we scared ourselves walking pass them in the dark. It’s great to see how enthusiastic people are for Halloween.
Also, the American students taught international students about the traditions of Halloween, for example, if the porch light is on, it means that family is participating in the trick or treat event; if not, you better not knock on the doors!
Below you can see our Trick or Canning group with costumes on. What a fun and meaningful night!
Happy Halloween everyone!
(All canned food collected)
OIA’s Halloween Party
After checking in, our guests were given a “passport” and encouraged to visit to all of our exciting Halloween stations! The arts and crafts stations made adorable pumpkins and spiders to use as decorations. Meanwhile, one of OIA’s Program Coordinators, Ryan Radebaugh shared scary ghosts stories about Oxley Hall! Trick-or-treaters roamed the halls, collecting candy from our three trick-or-treat stations, while others carved pumpkins! The night was filled with tricks, treats and spooks for people of all ages to enjoy and was really representative of America’s Halloween traditions!
Join us next week on Tuesday from 6-7pm in Oxley 122 as we travel to Southeast Asia!
Gallery hop
This month’s art & culture event was exploring galleries in Short North which is a Columbus tradition. Several students were celebrating art throughout the evening with new exhibits, street performances special events, food and drinks.
Students were really excited about galleries, especially some different kind of view showing by art.
Although we did not get through a lot of galleries because of the weather, the group went for tea and had a great time over there as well.
Global Engagement Night: Eastern Europe!
On Tuesday October 6th, Eastern Europe came to Ohio State for Global Engagement Night!
Encouraging the audience to look at their own perceptions and stereotypes on Eastern European countries, the Global Ambassadors showed how one-sided our view of certain regions can be. With notes of humor from Hollywood movies complemented by personal experiences, the audience saw how the various cultures, faiths and ethnicities coupled with a complicated history made Eastern Europe difficult to portray in media. The audience was delighted to see some photos taken by the presenters while in Eastern European countries, which greatly contrasted to their pre-conceived notions. The night ended with a truly lively–and authentic–Eastern European experience of dancing the famous circle dance! The joining of hands between the diverse audience members and coming together to dance truly represented the best of Global Engagement Night!
We have Global Engagement Night every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Oxley Hall 122!
Shake It! Night
On Sunday, September 27, a group of Global Ambassadors hit the RPAC to enjoy one of the many exciting fitness classes Ohio State has to offer. Shake It! is a heart-pumping class any Ohio State student can attend that showcases one hour of fun, choreographed dances to the latest pop songs. What better way to workout and get to know people than to dance, or at least attempt to, with new friends?
Join us at the RPAC on Sundays at 7:20 p.m. and bring some friends! We’d love to see you there and get ready to Shake it!
(Killed it)
The Middle East and North Africa
On Tuesday, September 22, Global Engagement hosted the first of its regional nights: The Middle East and North Africa.
While munching on fresh veggies and homemade banana bread, students participated in a spirited game of Jeopardy. Four teams answered a variety of questions, ranging from political dynasties and monarchies to local cuisine and delicacies. It was a close game, but the Final Jeopardy pushed Team Two to a decisive victory. Spoils of this victory included color-changing Office of International Affairs cups.
Global Engagement is hosted every week at 6 p.m. in Oxley Hall, room 122. Next week’s topic is Fashion From Around the World!
Don’t forget to join our Global Engagement Facebook page to stay up to date on all of our ongoing activities: https://www.facebook.com/groups/472690802791884/
The winning team!!
Walk to End Alzheimer’s!
This past Sunday, September 13, Global Ambassadors volunteered for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s at Huntington Park in Downtown Columbus. We were placed along the walk route and asked to cheer on walkers as they made the three mile loop back to the park. The smiles that we were able to put on the walker’s faces and the numerous “Thank You’s” we received made the experience very rewarding! As Global Ambassadors, we think it is very important to give back to the community that gives us so much and felt very fortunate to be able to help with the walk.
But it was not all work and no games! During our down time between the 5K and three mile walk, the American students taught the International students how to play a traditional middle school game called M.A.S.H.! The group had a lot of fun predicting each other’s futures via pen, paper and good (or bad) luck! After the event was over, we made a trip to BD’s Mongolian Grill for some fantastic stir fry.
Stay tuned for more community service opportunities in the near future!