U.S. Campus Life From host to hosted By Masako Yamada	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
交流パーティーとバーベキュー 先日雅子さんたちが企画した大学院生同士のパーティーはなかなか好評だったようで、雅子さんは忙しいながらも学内外の多くの人に会えました。そして、その中の一人からバーベキューへの招待を受けました。お客をもてなし、世話をする側から、一転、もてなしを受ける側になったのです。

Last week, I wrote about my role in planning a large party for the graduate students at Boston University. Overall, I think the party was a great success. About 200 people came to the party and most of them seemed satisfied with the experience. Hiring a professional DJ definitely added to the festive atmosphere and it made things a lot easier for the party planning committee since the DJ took care of entertaining the crowd.

I know that some of the students were disappointed by the relatively tame social scene — I think they were hoping for a nightclub-like atmosphere with hundreds of chic students dancing in tight clothes — but the fact of the matter is that most graduate students lead a relatively tame social life and that is what makes them feel most comfortable. I, for one, was happy that even some of the most shy students from abroad looked like they were having a good time meeting new people.

I actually didn't have much opportunity to mingle or dance during the party because I was busy doing the standard chores of any event manager: selling tickets, trying to get a broken beer keg to open, cleaning up after a student who threw up red wine on a carpet. However, I enjoyed tending to these tasks. As a matter of fact, I was able to talk with many people whom I otherwise would never have met.

I talked very briefly to a few MIT students before I had to run off to clean up. One of the students told me that he and his roommates were planning a barbecue in a few days and that he wanted me to come. His roommate yelled out an e-mail address and said, "E-mail me for details!" Even though we'd just met, I decided to pursue this invitation by writing to him.

The barbecue was held outside an apartment in Cambridge. Each of the five guys living in the apartment invited several friends, so there must have been over 30 people at the party. Planning a barbecue party for 30 people may seem like an impossible task, but the guys did a good job. They bought basic supplies like paper goods, drinks, ice and condiments, but they asked all of the guests to contribute food. They also let the guests put the food on the barbecue grill as they liked. Guests drifted in and out from around noon to after 5 p.m. and the grill was on almost the entire time. I lifted the lid of the grill many times during the afternoon, putting on this piece of meat or turning over that vegetable. I stayed at the party for about four hours and I ended up eating a hot dog, a hamburger, three ears of corn and a heap of roasted vegetables. I didn't need dinner.

The guys didn't have to schedule social activities, either. They live right by a large grassy park, so they got supplies for softball, basketball, Ultimate Frisbee, football and volleyball, and they let the guests organize their own games. I saw various groups playing all of these games. I didn't play any of these games since I had high-heeled boots on, but I did enjoy relaxing and chatting with the other guests. Some of the others, like me, never seemed to want to leave their spots near the grill. It was a gorgeous day, so I was happy enough to be outside in the sun. I even took some mini naps here and there.

I had originally planned to stay for only a couple of hours before heading back to my lab to do some work. The barbecue ended up taking up almost my entire day. This is partly because it was located over an hour away from where I live, but it's mostly because I enjoyed the company so much that I didn't want to leave.

I may have been too busy to tend to the guests at the BU party that I had helped organize, but I am happy that by putting myself in a high-visibility position, I was able to meet a bunch of new people. As one of the hosts at the BU party, I had a lot of responsibilities, but as one of the guests of this barbecue, I was able to enjoy myself to the fullest.

Shukan ST: May 11, 2001

(C) All rights reserved