When I finally decided that Oberlin would be the college I would go to, I didn’t imagine I’d have the chance to see pieces of the whole world on its campus. Yet, this past Friday, I attended the World Fair organized by the International Student Scholar Services office at Oberlin’s campus. During the event, international students from 21 different countries, from five out of seven continents, set up tables and spoke to their friends, professors, and community members about their cultures. More importantly, they tried some traditional food from each country and enjoyed the company of multilingual music and students all around. They topped the event off with a beautiful sign interpretation of a musical piece coming all the way from Burundi.
International community on campus
Being an international student myself, I am lucky to say that Oberlin offers a world of cultures and countries that I get to contribute to and learn from. From the moment I arrived at Oberlin, I was welcomed by the International Orientation Week, where I met the faculty and international students who would help me create my family on campus. I had workshops and ice cream socials, where I met over 40 international students from my class, from the total of around 500 international students on campus. Two years and some months later, my closest friends remain the same people I met during those socials.
International events
The World Fair was only one of the many events where international students gathered together and mingled with domestic students, learning from each other and teaching each other about their respective cultures and upbringing. The Fair, part of more extensive programming for International Education Week, was one piece of the puzzle celebrating the diversity on our campus. As a Macedonian student, I got to tell my peers and professors about the small town I come from, the dish ‘ajvar’, which usually requires a family occasion and two days to make, and got to show off the traditional clothes called ‘nosija’.
The International Education Week also included many other events alongside it. One of them was a fun World Trivia held at one of the campus’ cafes, The Cat in the Cream. I’m an employee at the cafe, so I got to spend my shift guessing the locations of world wonders, the capitals of small countries, and fun historical details of faraway places. When the trivia awards were finally distributed, students got to guess world flags, ranging from smaller countries in Oceania to more known countries in the Americas. The range of cultures manifests itself not only in the cultures celebrated and discussed at such events but also among the students here.
International Student Organization
The International Student Organization, known as ISO for short, is entirely led by international students who live on campus and have moved countries to study at Oberlin. They are committed to organizing events for international students to create and build community and find their home away from home.
When I moved to Oberlin all the way from Macedonia in Eastern Europe, I imagined that the American Dream would provide me with a new home. Now, I know that although creating this experience from zero is difficult, I have been beyond lucky and privileged to find it in my people, friends, and these events where I get to talk about my culture and country and share my upbringing. Although my biological family is an ocean away, I am lucky to have a self-chosen family, found in my friends from Brazil, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, and Costa Rica, as well as my housemates from India, Saudi Arabia, and the US. The mix has allowed me to experience a different type of richness in creating my new home away from home.
Being far away may be difficult, but through events like the World Fair and mixed friend groups like mine, it is well worth it.
