OU Italian Club

Through social media and online events, the OU Italian Club was as active as ever in Fall of 2020. Over Zoom, Baccano had game nights, movie nights, cooking classes. By attending these events as OU students, we were able to connect with other students while learning more about the Italian culture in a fun and productive way.

On October 8th, the club put on a cooking class where we learned to make gnocchi. I loved how at this event, you could attend on Zoom from both OU’s Norman campus and OU’s campus in Arezzo, Italy. This allowed for a truly immersive experience where you got to know people who were currently studying abroad in Italy. Before the event, OU Italian posted the recipe on their Instagram page (@ouitalian), and then they got started learning from Chefs Fabio and Ursula Armstrong who were in Italy at the time.

The Zoom cooking class was just one of many events that the Italian club organized to allow students to learn more about the culture. With other events such as game and movie nights, even more students were able to connect. However, one of the ways that the Italian Club truly stayed connected with their students was through their use of social media. Throughout the fall, they constantly posted flyers, memes, and fun facts. They had a “word of the week” every week so students who followed the page were able to learn a new Italian word or phrase. My favorite phrase was “far vedere i sorci verdi,” which literally means “to show someone the green mice,” but according to @ouitalian on Instagram, it is an expression to put someone in a difficult or unpleasant situation.

Through trivia, events, Zoom, and Instagram Live videos, the OU Italian Club was able to stay well-connected with their students while also sharing and spreading the Italian culture.