Nationality Rooms welcome the world

People of all ages, dressed in everything from winter hats and gloves to traditional cultural… People of all ages, dressed in everything from winter hats and gloves to traditional cultural garb, filled the Cathedral of Learning for the Nationality Rooms’ annual Holiday Open House yesterday. The event, hosted by Pitt and various cultural organizations in the Pittsburgh area, displayed foods, clothing and trinkets from 23 international cultures, all of which are represented in Pitt’s 28 different Nationality Rooms on its first and third floors.’ The Pittsburgh Bobbin Lace Makers, the Pittsburgh Folk Festival, the Women’s Association, the Women’s International Club and Quo Vadis, a student organization gives Nationality Room tours, sold coffee, jewelry and other items.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Nine groups from local Chinese, Greek, Indian, Italian, Philippine, Scottish, Serbian, Swiss and Thai organizations performed native dances and carols in traditional costumes in the main walkway of the Commons Room. Samantha Barrett, the president of Quo Vadis and the Irish room’s tour guide for the past three years, said the event has always been popular with Pittsburgh residents, and this year’s turnout appeared to be the same. ‘Every year, we have about 3,000 people who show up,’ said Barrett. ‘I’ve seen a lot of people come in today, and the turnout seems to be pretty good if not better.’ Sara Pecora, a freshman studying German and French and a tour guide for the Yugoslavian room, agreed and said the visitors were really receptive to her. ‘I’m really glad to see that everyone has been so interested in my room,’ said Pecora. ‘Yugoslavia doesn’t exist anymore, and lots of people still asked a lot of questions about the history and the culture. I’m happy that so many people came out for this.’ Barrett said each tour guide has their choice of the 28 nationality rooms, with upperclassmen getting their first picks. After each tour guide has been selected, in November, they go through training sessions and costume fittings. Various groups and organizations in the community and at Pitt promoted and advertised the event, too. ‘It’s a great way for students, especially the tour guides, to learn about the different cultures if they don’t know a whole lot about the room that they got, too,’ she added. Leigh Buches, a junior and tour guide for the Lithuanian room, agreed and said the open house allows the guides and visitors to discuss different aspects of their heritage. ‘My family is Lithuanian,’ said Buches. ‘It’s always fun when people from a Lithuanian background come in and ask questions or share some of the their cultural knowledge. It’s a nice way to learn about different people and even some of my heritage, too.’ Barrett said one of the main goals of the open house is to introduce people to the various rooms and cultures and to reach out to the Pittsburgh community, especially to those who do not know about or have never visited the rooms. ‘We have these amazing cultural gifts that the cultural organizations around the city have donated to us,’ said Barrett. ‘And this is a great way to get others in the community, especially students who sadly don’t know about these rooms, involved.’ Sanjeev Sharma, a junior studying communication, said he never really thought about the Nationality Rooms or their cultural importance until he went to the open house and visited multiple rooms. ‘I would hesitate to say that I am culturally lacking in some sense, but the fact is much of society today is caught up in a sense of ethnocentric American cultural dominance,’ said Sharma. ‘With that said, the unification of these cultures acted not as a point of division, rather it celebrated the unity and cultural harmony that we must strive for in the future.’