April 8 2022

I had such a good time at the Eve of Nations this year! I never had the chance to go before and I was so happy that I got to make it for my last semester on campus. I always enjoy the IAC events like the bazaar, the street festival, and the pageant, but this was a performance on a whole other level! After eating a variety of foods from around the world, I got to watch my friend Priscilla perform. Then, there were dance performances and skits from all around the world. They were all so unique and cool, but by far the best part was the last finale performance! They integrated portions from every culture and it was so moving. I wish I could go again!

This semester, much of my time was spent working on the Emergence Performance for Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority Incorporated. Theta Nu Xi is a unique social justice organization, focusing on the interconnections of multicultural identities. A core tenet of the organization is learning about other peoples’ cultures, and finding common ground on issues such as scholarship, service, and leadership. Together, we collaborated on creating a multicultural dance show, highlighting the cultures of Mexico, China, Japan, India, The Phillipines, and Black-American culture. This organization has taught me so much about all of these cultures, both their American diaspora and the core values that still exist in the countries they come from. The performance was on April 23rd 2022, and was a huge success! Many people came out to see our cultures put on display, and it was very validating for me and the rest of the group.

April 14 2022

This week, I had the privilege of attending the OU Resilient Futures Symposium at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. I was asked to go by one of my professors, Dr. Emma Colven, who was speaking at the event. The event highlighted stories of global environmental sustainability, and I really enjoyed Dr. Colven’s presentation on the sinking situation of Jarkarta, Indonesia. She talked about how it is difficult to portray issues of sinking and lowering water tables, because it is an invisible issue. There is also the cultural divide between the people who are creating this research, and the people who live in the city. Other authors talked about their research, which highlighted topics such as global internet and sustainability, climate change, migration, and other interdisciplinary perspectives.

Fall 2021: International Issue

With income inequality already a growing international issue, the global pandemic has only bolstered the problem. There are several ways that COVID is drastically increasing inequality around the world. First, due to job loss, women are more motivated to stay home and take care of children. Expectations and demand for domestic work has only increased with stay-home orders and lockdowns, leaving women to do most of that work. They have also globally had to leave their jobs for good in order to teach their children school. This is an issue more drastically affecting countries that already had a gender inequality issue, even though this phenomenon continues throughout the world. Another way that the Global South is unequally dealing with the pandemic, is through job loss and inability to continue working over the internet. Many people do not have the capability to work from home like they do in the United States. Lastly, vaccine availability is very high here in the U.S. (despite the fact that lots of people still don’t want to get it). In other parts of the world, it has been very difficult to get a vaccine, and this is disproportionately giving more people COVID in the Global South, despite their enhanced lockdown policies in comparison to ours.

The last thing to think about, is how most of the companies who are greatly profiting off of the pandemic are based in the Global North and the states, like Amazon and Zoom. It is disappointing to see that in moments of crisis, we continue to only think of ourselves and leave the rest of the world to deal with the pandemic through their own limited resources.

Source: https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/five-ways-coronavirus-is-deepening-global-inequality

Fall 2021, International issue:

This year, the International (via UN) climate change conference took place in Glasgow, Scotland. This conference is also known as COP26. This was the first time the conference had convened since the Paris Climate Accords had been signed. I was happy to see that the conference managed to agree on the Glasgow Climate Pact, which is a deal most known for its aim to phase out coal completely. This agreement came with a number of promises, including that 140 countries pledged to reach net-zero emissions. This is exciting because it makes up the majority of emissions producers.

I think that this conference is great, but there is still much tangible change that needs to happen if we are to reach a stage where we do not have to worry about climate change any more. We need to keep putting pressure on our representatives to do the right thing and make big change quickly.

Source:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-59277788

Fall 2021:

I know that when IAC puts on an event, its going to be a party! That’s why I was so excited to go to the 2021 International Bazaar on October 1st. Of course, it was a blast! It was so much fun getting to see all the tables by so many international students from all over the world. Each group had laid out a bunch of different items on their table to represent their country and culture. Some groups had food, others had games, while some had jewelry, clothing, and music. Everybody really brought their all and gave OU students a real look into their international identities. My favorite part of the event was just seeing everyone together in one place. With so much separation and isolation over this past year, it was incredibly nice to see people from all over the world come together to do something fun. More than ever, we need to be able to support one-another like this.

Fall 2021:

I had such a fantastic time at the Annual OU Day of the Dead Festival on November 5th. The festival has changed so much since the first time I went in 2018 when I was a volunteer for the event. However, I must say that it only got more fun and festive! There was lots of food to try this time, as well as a number of traditional elements. I especially enjoyed the beautiful Altar/Ofrenda that they had displayed, which has only gotten more impressive every year. The ofrenda contained many beautiful flowers and other symbolic offerings for loved ones who had passed on. I love the Day of the Dead, because it shows the unique ways that different cultures have traditionally dealt with death and grieving. It is a chance to reflect on the ways that we treat death, and how much more fulfilling it is to celebrate it, rather than grieve it and never talk about it. I am sad that this is the last one I will be able to attend, but I had such a great time and I will always look fondly back on this celebration once I graduate.

Fall 2021: International Issue

This semester, I have had the incredible opportunity to intern at an immigration law firm in Oklahoma City. It has been such an eye-opening experience, and I have learned so much about the immigration process. The firm also helps clients from all over the world, and it has been so fulfilling to be able to meet so many different people. I have met with clients from Pakistan, Mexico, Japan, Canada, and more. I have learned about each of the unique circumstances that motivate immigrants to move to the United States. However, as an international issue, I have also learned how incompetent and out-of-date the immigration process is in the United States. Most of the applications must be filled out on paper, the offices take 6 to 9 months just to get a reply (not a decision) and the agencies lose paperwork all the time. Since I have been an intern there, we have had to resubmit paperwork at least 8 times because the agency lost a core document.

Therefore, it is increasingly difficult to immigrate to the United States from other countries. The attorneys say that the process used to be very straightforward and welcoming. Now, after the Trump Administration, there are more and more blocks to accessibility, and they are really limiting the flow of information. Furthermore, all the documents are only to be filed in English. If someone doesn’t speak English, then it is really difficult to begin the process.

Overall I have learned a lot from this experience, about my country and many others. I hope that going forward, there will be a way to make living in the U.S. easier for people coming from an international background.

Fall 2021:

I believe that the Indigenous Peoples Day ceremony counts as an inter-national event, because the Native nations are… well…. nations! The outer United States should treat them as sovereign nations, so I would consider this event international. Additionally, the rights of Indigenous peoples are incredibly important all over the world. This day is to commemorate the diverse cultures that make up the First Nations everywhere, and acknowledge the hardships imposed by colonization. It was so wonderful to attend this event. I really enjoyed seeing the different Tribes present their flags and take their representational place on this campus. I loved hearing the different languages, and listening to the speeches from the students. It was such a celebration that this was the first Indigenous Peoples Day that was federally recognized by the United States Government. This is a big move for Indigenous-rights all over the world, and I was thrilled to be a part of the celebration.

Fall 2021:

I had such a great time this weekend meeting up with the OU in Puebla people to celebrate OU Mexico Week! We had a fantastic time meeting up, which was much needed, but most of all we enjoyed trying the different Mexican foods they provided. They also gave us the opportunity to speak in Spanish, so it was very fulfilling getting to practice after a long break. Since all the advisors and professors from Puebla were there, it was also interesting to get to know how Mexico was handling the pandemic. They said that the situation there is slowing down a bit, but with the different variants it is always a little difficult to tell. Overall I really enjoyed getting to celebrate Mexico, reminisce on my time studying abroad there, enjoy different foods, and learn a little bit more about the country.