The Club's programs got off to a great start this fall, with the Brazilian Coffee hour on September 22. Organized by Claudia Rodrigues, a young woman who is very active in Cosmo programming, this coffee hour was lively and colorful. The main feature (aside from the food) was an ensemble of seven musicians making up a Brazilian percussion band. Everyone appeared to be swaying to the rhythmic and earthy primitive beat. The Cosmo House itself seemed to be reverberating from the music.
Other coffee hours featured the cultures of Croatia (presented by Ivan Feitl), Rumania (Rumanian Student Club), Argentina (Norma Marchesini), Indonesia (Suzanne Bernsten), Japan (Kaizad Irani), Germany (Nancy McGlathery), South Africa (Vivienne Mackie), Ghana (Steve Balderson), Venezuela (Rosa Martinez), and Kenya (Richard Makopondo). On Sunday nights over the semester, Cosmo friends had the opportunity to enjoy a series of delicious dinners: Peruvian (cooked by Julio Urbina), Turkish (the Turkish Student Association), Brazilian (Claudia Rodrigues), Palestinian (the Palestinian Student Club), and Italian (Tommaso Torelli). Finally, in the annual Thanksgiving feast, a dinner organized by Cecilia Alm and Matthew Dau with help from Jennifer Johnson, Angela Bishop, Jeanne Brantigan, Lishomwa Mulongwe, and many others, traditional American holiday dishes were served.
The coffee hours and dinners were—of course—only a part of the Club's programs. Additional activities which occurred this semester were an overnight camping trip to Shawnee National Forest, an international dessert party, several musical evenings where musicians gathered around the Cosmo Steinway to play classical ensemble music, and a pumpkin carving party. As always, the Cosmo House is the venue for so many varied and delightful events.
Looking ahead to Spring semester, you can anticipate dinners featuring Greek, Sri Lankan, Swedish, Polish, Korean, and Argentine cuisine as well as our international dinner held at the YMCA on April 9th which will again feature food from over 25 countries.
Some Spring coffee hour offerings will include a focus on Australia, Turkey, Guatemala, the Philippines, Austria, Honduras, Russia, Thailand, Peru, Costa Rica, and Zambia. We hope to see you at one or all of these upcoming events.
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