An Early Christmas Present

Three words: World Cultures Day. It is an annual campus event, and it is truly one of my favorite days of the entire school year. Students and faculty take over the convocation center to bring fresh and diverse perspectives to RU. They present information on different countries throughout the world, and many of them prepare dishes native to that specific country. You can virtually travel the world in one hour. My favorite part is to see the faces of the newer students who have not yet experienced the awesomeness of World Culture Day. The sights, sounds, and smells are overwhelming… but in the best way possible.

(My friend Claire serving a traditional Puerto Rican dish)

Each year, the event kicks off with a touching prayer service. Sadly, there are many disagreements between countries in today’s world. During the prayer service, we come together to ask God to help us heal those broken relationships and to bring peace to all, in effect making God’s good world better (another important Jesuit ideal). Additionally, there were dancers who performed cultural dances. My favorite one was a traditional Philippine dance in which they welcome the rainy season. I always enjoy this day of festivities, and I will definitely miss it when I graduate.

(The dancers performing a traditional dance from the Philippines)

As an International Business student, I have always been interested in different cultures and customs throughout the world. Due to a number of factors, mostly cost and time, I have been unable to study abroad during my time here at RU. That is probably one of my biggest regrets of my undergrad time. I’ve known a ton of students that have travelled abroad through RU and have absolutely loved it. One of my sorority sisters will be spending a year between Spain and Argentina. I would love to go to a country where I could actually practice my Spanish. I will be staying at RU for my MBA, so I hope to finally take advantage of the business school’s trip to Spain. The first step in making God’s good world better is to experience all that it has to offer.