ISO’s pumpkin decorating event last Friday carved out time for fellowship and storytelling among international and domestic students. Gathering in the tent on Thomas Plaza, club members cut or painted pumpkins, many for the first time.
That’s how it was for first-year Nardos Melka, from Ethiopia, who painted a scary face on hers. “I feel like it’s going to be a mad pumpkin, ‘cause Halloween is coming.”
First-year Seung Min said it was his first time decorating pumpkins, too, as he painted his pumpkin with red, blue, and black. “I designed my country’s flag,” he said. “In [South Korea], we don’t have Halloween.”
Halloween isn’t widely celebrated in Lebanon, either, according to graduate student Yassmine Hawchar, who is in her first year of the Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding program. “I have always seen pictures and videos about it, but I have never thought of getting the experience of actually seeing it in real life and participating.”
Having new experiences from a variety of different cultures is what ISO is all about. This time, as a celebration of the fall season, it was a Halloween event “a very American thing to do,” according to junior Olivia Mbualungu, co-president of ISO. “Next time, let’s maybe focus on the South Korean culture, or Lebanon…We want people’s cultures to be shown in this organization.”
Meeting people and learning about new cultures through ISO has been a highlight of senior Raychel Rapier’s time at EMU. Rapier first joined ISO last year when asked to help plan for the gala event and has kept on coming since. “They’re just such a good community to be around… where different ideas and different people can come together and have fun. Like, I have met people from I don’t know how many different countries, just by being a part of ISO.”
Rapier reflected on her experiences as she painted simple designs on her pumpkin. “I’m just going with the flow at this point,” she said. For Rapier, the fellowship was most important.
Next to Rapier, Hawchar brainstormed what she might do with her pumpkin after the event. “[I’ll] probably [make] pumpkin soup,” Hawchar said, which is prepared with “onion, probably salt, and also cream…The first time I’ve tasted it ever was in Australia…My aunt used to make it, and it was delicious; it was my favorite thing ever.”
Unfortunately, sharing favorite recipes isn’t as easy to do as a club during the pandemic. Instead, they have other ideas in the works, like playing games from different cultures. Yet games, too, require careful planning. “We can’t do too many games that involve so much talking all the time,” Mbualungu shared, noting the language barrier that club members must navigate together.
Despite all the aspects the leadership team must consider, they still have plenty of future ideas. “Music, can we start playing their music?” Mbualungu said. “I mean, just doing things with your hands that you can do individually… so we talked about tie-dying.”
“This [event] is perfect,” Mbualungu said, noting its hands-on format. “This one is cool,” Hawchar agreed, as she snapped some pictures of her neighbors’ artwork to remember the event.
