In the past, when I have attended the Day of the Dead festival in Norman, it was always held outside and thus, I could only stay for as long as my jacket kept me warm. This year, however, the festival was moved inside due to rain, and so I was able to stay for much longer! I was so excited! For this fall semester, I was particularly determined to participate in everything that was happening within the event. Luckily, the festival planners made this easy, as there was an entire room full of activities and, if you completed three activities, you were able to get a free meal and drink of your choice! It was truly the best of both worlds. I participated in making a butterfly ring, coloring a skeleton design, and decorating a cookie (though, the cookies came mostly pre-decorated by mistake). As I took a seat at a random table, I met two PHD students in industrial engineering from Turkey. We laughed together as we discussed what colors our skeletons should be, and they actually recognized me from my role in Everybody! They were both working on their own dissertations, and though I do not commonly know much about engineering, they explained their projects to me and how they liked the United States. It was so nice to talk about theatre with fellow passionate people and exchange knowledge about our respective fields and backgrounds; I left feeling hopeful and revitalized. After we parted ways, I grabbed a taco from one of the taco trucks nearby, though it was only after I started to eat that I noticed there was more than one truck! The other vendor offered elote and fresas con crema—two foods I had never tried before! I took pictures of the trucks because I definitely need to find where else they serve and try their other foods! However, my tacos and horchata were delicious as well. I’m always grateful that the University of Oklahoma is a place that uplifts events and individuals of diverse backgrounds; what a more vibrant, hopeful, and wonderful place the world is when we listen to each other and try new things.
