At the start of spring semester, the College announced that the campus resource once known as the Language Resource Center, located in Ciruti, would be renamed as the Language and Culture Commons via an ‘MHC This Week’ email. Though this name change has been in motion for years, its recent retitling signals the Commons’ commitment to cultural and linguistic education.
By Amelia Luo ’23
Staff Writer & Photographer
From Dec. 1, 2020 to Jan. 15, 2021, the Language Resource Center is hosting an online recipe swap for Mount Holyoke community members to share their favorite recipes and holiday traditions. This activity will take place via a shared Google Doc, which is accessible to everyone interested.
In the document, people can link or type out their recipes as well as comment on the recipes provided by others. This activity aims to encourage people to try different dishes from around the world while connecting them with different languages and cultural communities.
Jean Janecki, the Language Resource Center coordinator and liaison, said, “I have been saddened by the emptiness in the LRC and missing all our students, staff and faculty that share the love for different languages and cultures. I am always looking for ways to keep our community connected and even more so now in our remote world.”
Inspired by a recipe swap hosted by LITS and other colleges’ online activities, Janecki chose food as the theme of this activity. “Since food is something we have in common, I thought it would be nice to see what others enjoy around the world and even better if the dishes, stories and recipes could be shared. All MHC students, staff and faculty are welcome to submit their recipes, along with photos, and it would be great to have some videos too,” Janecki said.
Ina Dombrowski ’24, who participated in the recipe exchange, shared her recipe for Laugenbrötchen, or pretzel buns.
“I was very excited to participate in the international recipe swap, especially since I love to travel, I love all kinds of food and I love learning about other cultures. I chose to share my [Laugenbrötchen] recipe since they are my go-to-bake when I’m craving some comfort food from Germany, where half of my family is from,” Dombrowski said.
Due to the busy time of year, Dombrowski has yet to test out the other recipes but is excited to try them soon. “Baking and cooking things outside of my own experience and comfort zone [is] one of my hobbies, even if the recipes don’t turn out the way they were supposed to,” she said.
Janecki shared that she hopes to eventually organize the recipes into a website. “When we are allowed to meet in person, [I want to] have a celebration of cultures featuring some of the dishes. I submitted the first recipe, beef empanadas since my family has an Argentine background and this is one of our favorite fiesta foods.”
These recipes can be found in the Google Doc to be read or attempted as a break after or during finals.
