This year, for my cultural organization involvement, I decided to join OU Cousins. OU Cousins is a program designed to bridge friendships between international students and US students to promote cultural knowledge and exchange. After filling out a questionnaire, you are matched with your OU Cousin and spend the semester getting to know one another. OU Cousins also hosts events throughout the year to build community. This was my first time participating in this program, so I was really excited to meet new people. 

 My OU Cousin is from Seoul, South Korea, and I really enjoyed getting to know her more over the semester. We attended the annual OU Cousins Barbeque together, where I got to meet some of her friends and other students. She is only here for the semester as part of her exchange program, but it was cool seeing what she thought about Norman and other places she had visited in the US. I also enjoyed getting to know more about Seoul, as I have never been there before, but I would love to visit someday. She liked listening to what my life is like in the US as well. We are also both business majors, so it was cool learning about how the university system works in South Korea. Overall, I had a great time in this program and getting to know more about the international students here at OU!

I will definitely continue my participation in this program, and I hope to meet even more people to get to know more about different cultures!

The Met Gala is one of the biggest nights in fashion – and last night was no exception. The overall theme for the 2026 Met Gala was “Costume Art,” and the dress code was “Fashion is Art”. Something I wanted to highlight from the Gala was the Indian fashion. Indian fashion has been earning its well-deserved recognition in both the Western and global fashion arenas, but it has not always gotten the credit it deserves. Indian fashion is extremely diverse, made of beautiful fabrics, vibrant colors, and incredibly detailed embroidery. Let us do a deep dive into some of the amazing looks showcased at the Met Gala. 

One of my favorite looks was that of Karan Johar, a filmmaker. Johar wore a jacket featuring hand-painted visuals inspired by the Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. The artists spent 5,600 hours bringing this vision to life. The paintings depicted men and women in traditional Indian clothing and jewelry. As a filmmaker, Johar understands the importance of telling a story through visuals, and his Met Gala debut was no exception. Another look that I loved was Manish Malhotra’s, a fashion designer. He wore a black bandhgala suit with an elaborate cape that featured mini sculptures and embroidery of Mumbai landmarks and other aspects of Mumbai city life. Additionally, the artists who worked on the outfit had their signatures embroidered into the cape as well, showing the people behind the scenes. Another showstopper look from last night was from Sudha Reddy, a businesswoman and philanthropist. Her outfit was inspired by the Tree of Life painted in the Kalamkari style, a painting style that originated in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Kalamkari is typically painted on fabrics, so including it on the outfit is right on theme in many aspects.

Indian fashion is finally getting its moment on the global stage. Indian fashion is truly unique and diverse, with so many intricate and beautiful stylistic qualities – making it art in its own right. 

For my international topic blog, I wanted to do a deep dive into one of the lesser-known religions/faiths in the world. Yesterday, there was an event hosted by the Bahá’í Association, and while I unfortunately could not attend the event, I did want to learn more about the faith as I had never heard of it before. 

The Bahá’í Faith originated in the mid 1800s in Persia, which is now Iran. A young merchant declared he had a message from God and called for spiritual and moral reformation. The merchant is known as The Báb, which translates to “The Gate” in Arabic. The main purpose of this religion is to unite humanity as one and treat one another with respect. The Bahá’í faith also believes that God has sent a series of divine educators to humanity, which include Abraham, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. These divine educators are known as the Manifestations of God, and their teachings have helped the advancement of civilization. The main divine educator of this era is known as Baha’u’llah. As mentioned, this faith believes in unifying humanity. It is believed that every human has an immortal soul, and our purpose is to progress spiritually by serving others. It is also believed that humans achieve their highest purpose through giving, whether that be time, energy, knowledge, etc. 

While this is a very brief overview, I enjoyed learning about this faith, as it is one I had not been familiar with previously. I hope to learn more about this faith by attending the events put on by the Bahá’í Association here at OU!

Last week, I attended the Asian American Student Association’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Even though AAPI Heritage Month is not until May, AASA wanted to get a head start and celebrate in April so students could enjoy the festivities before the semester ends. AAPI Heritage Month celebrates the culture and impact of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. AAPI Heritage Month was officially established in 1992 to celebrate the accomplishments of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The month of May was chosen for this heritage month because May was when the first Japanese immigrants came to the United States, and also when the first transcontinental railroad was completed, and the labor of Chinese immigrants was a huge factor in it. This is a brief overview of the month, and we continue to celebrate these groups for their ever-growing accomplishments. The event featured lots of cultural food, such as samosas, fried rice, matcha, and more. They also had crafting tables to connect the community, where we could decorate traditional fans and more. It was also cool to see everyone in their cultural attire, which showed the diversity of clothing and traditions. Since this event served as the kickoff for AAPI Heritage Month, throughout April, AASA will be hosting a number of events to celebrate and highlight AAPI culture and impact. Some of these events will be hosted by the Filipino Student Association, Vietnamese Student Association, Korean Student Association, and more. These events serve to highlight the variety of AAPI cultures and countries.

Yesterday, I attended the Colombian Student Association’s annual Colombian Night. This was my first time attending this event, so I was very excited. For their 25th anniversary, the theme was “Legends that Bind Us: A Quarter-Century of Tradition”. The event consisted of a show that brought Colombian stories and myths to the stage. This was truly such a fun event, and I am glad I got to learn more about Colombian culture. 

The show had various musical and dance performances that told the story of traditional myths in Colombian culture. We were given a pamphlet that explained the background of the stories performed. The first performance was El Dorado and La Gallanita De Los Huevos De Oro. The story goes as told: When a new ruler comes to power, the native people (the Muisca) gather at Lake Guatavita, which is a sacred lake. The ruler’s body is covered in gold dust and sails across the river on a raft with treasure, and these gold treasures were offered to the lake to honor the gods. Because of this ritual, Spanish explorers thought this city was filled with gold. In the story of La Gallanita De Los Huevos De Oro, a greedy farmer kills his hen, thinking there was gold inside, as the hen lays gold eggs. But after killing the hen, he loses his source of wealth. This story was performed as a “merengue campesino danced in carranga style”. Another performance I enjoyed was the salsa dance, specifically El Diablo en Juanchito. The Salsa dance originated in Cali, Colombia, and consists of fast footwork and spins. In the story of El Diablo en Juanchito, in a nightclub, an elegant man appeared and danced with a woman. When she looked down, she saw he had hooves. Then, the smell of sulfur filled the nightclub when the man disappeared, and everyone knew the Devil had been there. Another performance that was fascinating was the story of El Mohán, who is considered the guardian of rivers and caves. El Mohán also seduces women, steals from fishermen, and loves tobacco. This myth came from the Magdalena River region. The show also had other performances from various dance groups and singers.

Colombian Night 2026 was truly an event to remember, and I enjoyed learning about these myths and legends, as this was something I had never known before. I am glad I was able to celebrate the 25th anniversary of COLSA and learn more about the rich culture of Colombia.