CIS potluck party for winter quarter 2007
by Maria Gallucci
Communications Assistant, Center for International Studies
Family and friends, students and staff—all came together in the Athens Community Center as part of an Ohio University International Studies potluck party for winter quarter. Music from around the world played in the background as everyone lined up at a table filled with ethnic dishes and mingled with others in attendance.
The party began with a performance by a musical troupe that enacted a traditional Cambodian ritual. Performers, who dressed in Cambodian attire, played on authentic Cambodian drums and also sang and danced. (View the event online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueVZ3r71F08 )
“The drums are usually played for opening ceremonies and rituals,” said Im Sothearith, a doctoral telecommunications student who came to Ohio from Cambodia in 2003.
Joan Kraynanksi, who played the gong in the performance, said the highlight of the evening for her was being in the troupe, which performed again at a later time. Kraynanksi is a graduate student of Southeast Asian Studies and an Administrative Associate for the Center for International Studies.
Click here to see more pictures of the party
Betsy Partyka, director of Latin American Studies, said the party was an opportunity for all different groups in International Studies to meet one another and see the real composition of their degree, beyond their particular areas of study.
“It is really great to be out of class with the faculty and staff and to get to know them better,” said Colleen Shank, a senior undergraduate of European Studies and member of the International Studies Majors Association.
Drew McDaniel, interim director of International Studies, described the gathering as a good way to combat the “winter blahs.”
“(The party) is a great chance for people from different academic programs and different parts of the world to share food and socialize,” he said.
Sothearith said he thought it was a good idea to get together and get to know one another. “(We can) talk about ourselves so we learn from each other,” he said.
The gathering was also a way to meet the families of everyone involved with International Studies, said Partyka, who brought along her son, Alec and two daughters, Jacque Graham and Julie. “They come to all sorts of cultural events,” she said. “I want to them to be world travelers and appreciate other cultures and foods.”
“I love things like this,” said Shank on the evening’s cultural exchanges.