My journey to the Cosmo House began two years ago, in the Fall of 2006, when one of my colleagues, Ida, invited me to the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the House. I had spent two years in UIUC but had never had an opportunity to eat a Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, I had never heard about it before coming to the United States four years ago. So I combined the noble thought of charity and the temptation of a good meal and landed at the Cosmopolitan House with five friends.
I have been to many parties before but had never seen anything like the Thanksgiving Dinner at Cosmo House where one breaks the bread for a good cause and that too for a price of $6. Not to say that the food was excellent and we had a great time.
On that very night I had made up my mind about staying in a place like Cosmo House someday so that I could get an opportunity not just to meet international students but also stay with them. And here I am staying in the House this year with so many wonderful people around.
A few months had passed since I had moved in here and another Thanksgiving Dinner was round the corner. I was told that this time the money raised through the event would go to a charity in India, my home country. What more could I want! I told Andrea that I would contribute in any way I could.
The day of the dinner was approaching, the supplies were bought. The night before was the most fun because all the residents of the House gathered in the kitchen to prepare the food that was to be served. Some were peeling heaps of potatoes, some were shredding bread for the crumbs, some were busy dicing vegetables for the stuffing and some people, like me, were just hanging around in the kitchen, coming in people’s way and generally annoying them (just kidding).
As a mark of my commitment to my country and to Cosmo House, and also out of curiosity, I volunteered to stuff one of the four turkeys that we were going to serve. And in case you did not know, I am a vegetarian and had never touched meat before! Nonetheless, the job had to be done so I prepared myself for the experience. I almost threw up the first time I touched the meat. But I soon got over my discomfort. I think a vegetarian’s tryst with the turkey tickled everyone in the kitchen and kept the spirits high on a tiresome night. Thus, we stuffed the birds, sewed them back and put them away for the next day.
On the morning of the dinner, people pooled in their labour again and started preparing for the dinner. Few of us arranged the table and decorated the House and others gave finishing touches to the food and made sure the cranberry sauce, the gravy, the turkeys, the pies and potatoes were where they were supposed to be.
The clock ticked 6 pm and people started coming in. I am supposed to be good with numbers (I am completing my doctorate in math) so I was given charge of the handing out the tickets and letting people in after they had paid. We had around 90 people dining with us that night: toddlers, kids, students, parents, professors and elderly people, everybody eating a sumptuous meal, knowing that the money for their food would help a child in India. Everyone enjoyed the delicious food, especially the huge variety of mouth-watering desserts. We also squeezed in time for a small presentation from the lady who had coordinated the event with the charity in India. She told us that the $6 that each of us had paid for the meal would pay for a nutritious lunch for 60 school children!
That night we collected over $2,000 (including donations). The dinner was a great success and with your support and blessings we hope to have more such successful events in the Cosmo House in the future.
I wish I could live here forever!
Mohit and friends at Indian Coffee Hour