This post documents my experience on September 22, 2012.
Deep within the controlled wilds of Oberlin’s Tappan Square….
.…Julia, my mom, my aunt and I followed people toward the gazebo….
.…resisting the Obama volunteer who tried to lead us in the opposite direction (nice try, buddy!)….
. …and joining everyone at the Culture Festival..
.Even with its short duration of 3 hours, the festival offered quite a bit….
.…greeting festival goers with a warm smile….
.…and then offering them a passport to get stamped at the various cultural tables occupied by Oberlin College International Student Organizations and community cultural organizations.
Kids especially could make use of the passport….
.
…in-between all their craft-making…
…doll-making (Russian table)…
…globe-making…
…and run-of-the-mill Tupperware fishing.
Fortunately for me, while looking at a kids’ table….
.…I found my own motivation.
Although there were no official food vendors at the Culture Festival, there was grubbing everywhere..
My first stop at the Latino table, for example….
.…had more than a fair share of goodies….
.…and the treats only continued in Germany….
.…the Middle East….
.…Ghana (although this Chin-Chin snack is from Nigeria)….
.…India….
.…and Thailand.
It was enough to regret having previously eaten lunch….
.…especially after not only seeing the Aladdin’s table….
.…but stopping at the Oberlin African-American Genealogy and History Group….
.…and seeing those ham hocks!.
In fact, I did what I could just to burn up those lunch calories so that I could partake in more eating (always the story, it seems)….
.…so I played Mexican bingo….
.…learned the Russian alphabet….
…played a Plum Creek Review version of Madlibs….
.…danced with the steel drums….
.…considered a henna design….
.…and spun this magical wheel (special thanks to my review’s own Vanna White)….
.…where the placement allowed me to ask a German speaker how to say….
.…”I would like a slice of bread with schmaltz (chicken fat), please” (courtesy of German Language School)….
.…(which I find essential when eating at the Christmas Market).
But even after being tempted by the German curry sausage….
.…and other interesting food combos…
.…I was simply too full.
With the remaining time, I decided to relax and enjoy myself….
.…chatting with the volunteers from Kendal about “whirled peace”….
.…learning more about slow food….
…and enjoying more of the great music offered by the Oberlin College students.