Life is made up of countless difficulties, and one’s life story is their small victories over them. Planning and holding the Polish culture night was one tiny but important victory for me, not because it was the most exceptional event – not compared to other marvelous ICC events in the past – but because it was the result of my overcoming hurdles as well as dealing with my anxieties and worries, with the help of other staff members, including full-time ones and fellow students. Moreover, thanks to all the fleeting but memorable episodes related to the Polish Night event, I have managed to strengthen bonds with people who offered me their hands, to make new friends, and to learn much more than just organizing an event, but also the invaluable meaning of cooperation, trust in others and good friendships. All of the knowledge and abilities gained during the whole experience have helped me to grow as a person, to thrive further in the future.
I was in Poland in the summer of 2019, just half a year before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is hard to imagine that more than two years have passed, and we are still trapped in the prolonged Coronavirus era where the freedom of going abroad to travel is strictly limited. We have also suffered, and some of us are still suffering, the diminished opportunities of seeing, meeting and interacting with other people. This has also caused social problems since many have forgotten how to communicate and cooperate with others.
Therefore, the time in which we are living right now is one big difficulty for my Polish event. Holding events online has become normal at ICC and, although it is a compromise, it is the only way to ensure inclusiveness, as many potential international participants are still kept outside Japan’s borders. It is also the most direct way to prevent physical interaction and therefore new cases of infection. In fact, events were required by the university to be held online, so I didn’t have any alternative. That being said, at the very end of October, the rising rate of vaccination and the falling number of new infection cases led to the relaxation of the university’s event regulations.
We had one month to make the event into a hybrid, so that we can indulge in in-person fun and preserve inclusiveness at the same time, but with no experience or former reference of such an event. Despite having prepared for the event with the assumption that it would be online, I did not hesitate to make the change, since there is great desire for closer interaction in this pandemic era where meeting new people is significantly inhibited. More importantly, it was the last event I would hold at ICC before graduation, and I was eager to do it as my heart truly wanted.
Count that as one of my traits, that exploring new avenues is not scary but exciting to me, especially when doing what I love. No manual is tantamount to no restrictions, so November was full of fun as I constructed the MC memo, the event plan, the venue setup scheme, and the assigning of roles for other staff members.
As the event day drew near, waves of memories from Poland surged and crashed on my thoughts so often. I was enchanted by the central-European country right away. Having roamed around streets of Vienna a whole day in August, my friends and I flew to Kraków in Poland in the evening, where our Polish-Japanese friend waited. He called an Uber and took us to a nearby village called Zalasowa, stopping at a sizeable restaurant they had reserved. In front of the illuminated building decorated with flowers and ornaments, there stood a large signboard which listed all the guests. We glanced at the list and among so many unfamiliar exotic names, we were delighted to find, at the bottom, our conspicuously different Asian names, two Japanese and one Chinese. We were at a grand wedding where the banquet and dancing were just about to launch!
Surrounded by charming Polish people in ceremonial robes and dresses, I felt uneasy at first, with my casual wear that had gathered a considerable amount of dust in Vienna. However, soon I found myself enjoying the moment because people were friendly, showed interest in us, and even made a fuss of “forcing” us to drink vodka, as obviously Asians cannot drink alcohol according to their harmless prejudices. They even dragged us to the dance floor, where I could not gather my courage to ask a girl for a dance though, not because I was too shy, but because I could not dance. Fortunately, just when I began feeling regret and shame, they initiated a series of group dances which were so simple that even I, the most awkward dancer in the world, could join in and enjoy.
Besides the dance and wonderful food that seemed to materialize endlessly from nowhere, we had the honor to meet and talk with a very kind and handsome Polish guy who expressed sincere appreciation for our clothes. We exchanged contacts and stayed in touch for a while after. We had also got the chance to know some girls who were slightly younger than us but looked sophisticated and beautiful in their amazing dresses, with whom we hung out for the next several days, during which we went go-karting, spent a day in an amusement park, had a bonfire gathering and a backyard barbecue party. It was an alluring midsummer, made even more colorful by the warm puffs of fire, the grainy bread, as well as the savory scents of various spices and herbs. Those were the days and nights I will remember as long as I draw breath, and those were the amiable people whose faces will flash back in my mind from time to time as long as I have thoughts.
Because of the lovely experience I had in Poland, I was fueled by a passion to do everything within my power to ensure the success of the ICC event.
Two heads are better than one. I could never have done all the preparations by myself, especially with the limited time I had. Thankfully, I had numerous people at my side who were never stingy with their time and energy to support me. First, the manager and the full-time staff member in charge of the event at ICC are very compassionate. The manager used his own vehicle to pick up the display items for the mini exhibition, approved a considerable budget to purchase professional equipment for smooth online streaming, and also contacted a violin player to enrich the content of the event for me. The full-time staff member in charge gladly helped me with preparing all kinds of materials, with setting up the exhibition at the ICC lounge, and with solving the problem of hanging huge photo panels on a metal wall. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that another full-time staff member joined the crew regardless of bearing her own many tasks, to share her knowledge of AV equipment.
Second, our major sponsor, the Polish Institute in Tokyo, provided us with crucial advice and resources for the content and poster design of the event. In addition, the Institute also generously offered us wonderful gifts, including chocolates and coasters for every single participant, and interesting books related to Poland as prizes for quiz winners.
Third, it would be unfair if I failed to give credit to the five Polish students who volunteered to take part in the event, giving excellent presentations of their life in Poland and captivating quizzes about the country. They also played irreplaceable roles in the chat time during the event.
Last but not least, my obliging fellow student staff members were also indispensable to the Polish event. Some were as passionate as me and proactively asked me to include them in the event; some were not part of the Polish event team but always offered to share my tasks so I could have less burden; they were very helpful in translating scripts, setting up the exhibition, and advising on the PR materials; some were devoted in figuring out and mastering the complex AV equipment that would pose a challenge even to a professional.
It is impossible to mention everyone who contributed, since there were so many. Nevertheless, I will never forget a single deed that any of them did for me, and even just for a brief show of concern or readiness to assist me. I am beyond grateful.
There was a myriad of difficulties along the way, even popping up to vex me right before the starting moment of the event, such as the seemingly unsolvable issue of picking up the piano sound with a microphone, and the sudden loss of internet connection just when we decided to let participants enter the event. Even with the thrills and bewilderments, the event came off successfully. In spite of a few imperfections, we witnessed the excited and the intrigued faces of participants and received much satisfying feedback from them. Most importantly, we heard multiple voices expressing their burgeoning interest in Poland and their wishes to visit the country. That, having stimulated others’ curiosity toward Poland, and having increased the popularity of Poland as a travel destination, even on a small scale, are my little victories.
To make myself content and ecstatically happy, I strengthened my relationships with friends and co-workers involved, and I made some new friends too. Say that these are my spoils of victory, but I know they are more than that, since I have learned incredible lessons: that I can really trust other people, for many of them have hearts that are so sincere and beautiful; that I can count on others to share my responsibilities; that I should value every person with whom I connect. The experience of organizing the event means more than just the fact of making the event happen, but also the enlightenment about the treasure of our relationships with other people, which is often forgotten in the current pandemic era.
The famous Polish-American novelist, Jerzy Kosinski, once said, “I collect human relationships very much the way others collect fine art.” Let us bear that in mind, that we should not succumb to COVID-19 and allow it to wear away our mental health. In this difficult time, we should cherish more our good relationships with people around us, very much the way art connoisseurs cherish their precious artworks.
Syu (ICC Student Staff Leader)