Around the World in 90 Minutes

Have you ever wanted to sample cultural foods from around the world (fasnetsscherben, okonomiyaki salmorejo, bhajia za dengu, 烧卖(燒賣)… mmmm!), learn simple phrases in 10 different languages from native speakers, find out which German city suits you the best, receive a hand-written card in Spanish, and meet King Cyrus, all without worrying about travel expenses and taking too much away from other responsibilies?! If you find yourself at Pomona College next spring, these experiences can all be conveniently found at one of Pomona’s South Campus dorms, Oldenborg!

Souvenirs from my visit to Oldenborg Center! (pictured: Pomona College Jazz Trio, postcards from Germany, a placard with my name written in Arabic, a paper flower from Spanish lounge)

Every Oldenborg language lounge brought my friends and I delicious treats, festive activities, and more love for the wonderful Oldenborg Center. It was so delightful to listen to friends dazzle me with their fluent Japanese or explain how to brew the delicious Swahili coffee that I had too many cups of.

Pomona genuinely strives to provide its students with an intellectually stimulating environment in any discipline, but its support for the study of and immersion in foreign languages is unsurpassable.

I collected postcards from Lübeck, Munich, Freiburg, and Berlin (German Lounge), a paper flower (Spanish Lounge), and had my name phonetically spelled out in Arabic (Arabic Lounge). As for all the treats and drinks I sampled... unfortunately I don't have photos because I consumed them immediately (or maybe 'fortunately' so you don't drool at your laptop). — I collected postcards from Lübeck, Munich, Freiburg, and Berlin (German Lounge), a paper flower (Spanish Lounge), and a placard with my first and last name spelled out phonetically in Arabic (Arabic Lounge). As for all the treats and drinks I sampled… unfortunately, I don’t have photos because I consumed them immediately (or maybe ‘fortunately,’ so you don’t drool on your laptop).

Students and faculty alike serve as Language Fellows, providing support for any students desiring to learn any level of a language. Oldenborg also houses the Language Tables, where students and faculty of any and every proficiency converse together over lunch. Although partitipation at the Langauge Tables is often a requirement for many Conversation and Language classes, many students don’t see this as a burden because Oldenborg also hosts many interesting talks at lunch time, inviting experts in Internaitonal Relations from around the country through Oldenborg Luncheon Colloqium (OLC). And if you simply can’t get enough out of learning at Pomona, Oldenborg even has its own International Research and Travel Grant!

Here are some events the Oldenborg Center is hosting through OLC:

Framing the Female Collaborator in Neoliberal Chile

“The Comparative Imperative: How Studying Ancient East Asia and Rome Can Make Us Better Global Citizens”

“Peace Corps: The Journey of a Lifetime”

As if there weren’t enough interesting people and talks elsewhere already… ahh!

Who will be fortunate enough to live in this wonderful dorm next year? I hope I will be!