Fish Out Of Water

I went to one of the Akbayan meetings for mainly Filipino students on campus. At first when I walked in there, a few people looked at me since I was an unfamiliar face, but being at the side of one of my good friends helped. Although the Akbayan Club, is filled with many different races, Filipinos easily dominate. I look nothing like a Filipino and had no encounters with any of these people so while everyone hugged each other and started small chit-chat, I leaned against the wall and waited for the head to call order. Finally, the time came to start the meeting and one of the girls asked everyone to quiet down. It didn't take long for the room to become silent, so I figured the organization was well run. When the girl stood in front of her fellow Akbayan's she thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. She then brought up the recent event Akbayan attended. That weekend, they came back from the Friendship games that took place in Los Angeles where clubs and fraternities gathered together to showcase their organizations. Some of the members were wearing the shirts they made specifically for that event. When she mentioned Los Angeles, everyone cheered. I must admit that I also clapped because it seemed like the appropriate thing to do. She then called "Eric" to come up to the stage. As he went up, everyone clapped their hands and woo-ed so one would assume he was well liked amongst the Akbayans. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and was having a bit of difficulty trying to unfold it. To keep it from getting silent he said, "You would think a folded piece of paper would be much easier than bringing my laptop here, but now I am starting to re-think this." As everyone laughed, he finally unfolded his paper. His eyes scrolled down the list and he announced what events were coming up. He assured the group that Los Angeles was a success, but that it was only the start of what the group planned to do. There was a bake sale happening next week to raise funds for their trip to Sacramento and they were planning a dance competition with other Akbayan groups in the area to have fun and get to know more people. After different people volunteered tabling for the bake sale and formed dance groups, the meeting was dismissed. Before I made my way to the door, one of the girls stopped me and asked me if I had been here before. I told her I was with my friend and had an assignment to do for a class. She then insisted that I come around more often and learn about the organization for myself. I smiled politely and took the brochures she handed me. When I walked out the door I noticed many of the people hugging and smiling and although it is not a community I personally belong to, there is definitely a sense of community felt in that room.

Word Count: 511