Taste of OSU 2019 was an incredibly culturally diverse event. Even though I was on trash duty walking around with my big old trashcan, I was able to interact with a lot of the tables and see what they had going on. I didn’t buy any food tickets but I was able to taste a Somali(?) cheesecake kind of food that was really good. The Pakistani Student Association’s display really caught my attention. They had a whole sort of display showing the efforts of some kind of project for youth in Pakistan. 

Another entertaining table at the event was the Japanese student’s table. They made Ramen and were all dressed in traditional Japanese clothing which made them stand out in my opinion. Not a lot of student orgs dressed up for Taste of OSU so the fact that they did was really fun. Honestly, the Pakistani and Japanese set ups are the only ones that I really remember well.

My one disappointment pertaining to the event was the fact that I was on trash duty. I originally volunteered to be either on guest check in or directing of the guests. Since it was such a culturally diverse event, a lot of people from different cultures showed up. I think it would have been quite an entertaining job to be able to interact with everyone. Overall, I’m not upset or anything. I just wish I had a better responsibility than picking up everyone’s trash.

The performances on the other hand were amazing. After my volunteer shift was over, I went down to the first floor for about a half hour so that I could watch some of the performances. By the time I got down, they were in the middle of a number on J2K (Japan 2 Korea) performances. Those were really fun to watch. I watched those before they moved into the Black/African org performances. It was really nice seeing both the culture I am fascinated by and my own culture be represented on the stage. I really enjoyed watching.

Event: Breathe Hope OSU Blanket Making Event

Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2018

Breathe Hope OSU is an organization on campus whose mission statement is their goals are to raise awareness on campus and around Columbus about Cystic Fibrosis, volunteer at events for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, make craft projects for patients in the Pulmonary Unit at Nationwide Children’s hospital, and raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through yoga classes and other fundraising events. The organization focuses on the importance of community service and using face-to-face interactions with patients and families as a tool to inspire and unite those who care. At Breathe Hope, they believe that in yoga and in life, breath is the beginnings of mindfulness and helps focus on what they can do for others.

The event I went to sponsored by Breathe Hope was a fleece blanket making event to give to sick children at Huckleberry house for the winter season. It was a lot of fun meeting and working with other students who were all super excited to make blankets as well. The fact that it was for a good cause also made it a great experience. I spent an enriching hour of my life putting together these blankets and making cards with the hopes of making the day of a child in Huckleberry house just a little bit brighter.

The blanket making event lasted roughly an hour and included some people cutting a few inches into the fleece to create tassels to tie blankets together and roughly the other half of people making holiday cards wishing the children to have a happy Thanksgiving in the next few weeks or just including a short, uplifting message

Breathe Hope’s event didn’t really relate to the topic of international affairs at all. Even though international issues are a big problem in the world there are still issues prevalent in our own states and if we give them the attention they deserve then we can focus on larger issues outside of our own surrounding communities. And on top of that, illness and disease is sort of an international issue with disease being such a debilitation complication in so many countries. I think the support for cystic fibrosis is important since it is in support of an issue that is not only our own.

Personally, I gained an even deeper support for service oriented organizations. I’ve always been pretty big on trying to make a difference or just cheering for organizations that do make a difference in our communities. I think it’s really important to give back to others, or even just try to help lighten the load of others going through struggle. Breathe Hope’s event was really fun and for a good cause.