Fittingly in Detchon’s International Hall, the Wabash community was given a taste of international culture and cuisine from students present and abroad. Faculty, host families, staff, students, and other guests attended the fourth annual International Dinner last Saturday evening. The dinner was arranged and hosted by the International Students Association.
“I thought it went really well,” said Professor of Economics Humberto Barreto, “It was the best International Celebration yet. The food was really good and plentiful and the entertainment was fun.”
The types of food featured were Turkish and Indian.
“My palate has not felt such a great sensation for a while,” said junior Michal Opieczonek. “[The food] was spicy and filling.”
Indian food was provided by the Shalimar and Indian Palace restaurants. Turkish food was provided by The Bosphorus Istanbul Café. All are located in Indianapolis.
After dinner, Wabash students studying abroad were contacted via Skype for an interview.
“Mr. Clapp [Director of Off-Campus Studies] thought that it would be good idea to know what the study abroad students were experiencing at their respective host countries,” said ISA president Kunga Choden.
Juniors Jon Funston, Ross McKinney, and Jacob Peerman were able to video chat with the guests using web-cameras and a projector. Funston is studying in Spain, while McKinney and Peerman are in Great Britain.
Following the Skype conversations, members of the ISA performed a great variety of entertainment. There were several foreign language vocal performances. There was also a piano piece by freshman Tian Tian.
“My favorite part was Tian's piece, the Turkish March, which very well accompanied the Turkish cuisine,” said Opieczonek.
One part of the entertainment was formed into a competition. Four foreign languages, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Nepali, were represented in teams by four members each. The goal was to most precisely translate a story from English to the team’s foreign language. Then pass the story through the team and finally translate it back to English. The Chinese team was victorious.
The final performance was courtesy of the DePauw Indian Dance Group.
“We have had ideas about doing events with International students from other colleges and universities for a long time,” said Choden. “This year we had some contacts with the ISA at DePauw as we were invited to their International Food Festival. Later, I came to know of their Indian dance group, and we decided to invite them to perform at our event.
Attendance for the dinner was strong, despite the fact there was a multitude of events that happened concurrently. Nevertheless, some thought it could have been better.
“I think International students are one of the very best things about Wabash College,” said Barreto. “I was a little surprised that there were so few faculty there. I don't know if there was a conflict of some kind, but I hope next year that faculty show more support for international students. It's a really fun and enjoyable event.”
Choden said, “It was hard coping with everyone’s schedules.”
All who did attend found it enjoyable, a fact is not lost on ISA members.
“We international students wanted to show the Wabash Community that we are engaged, how we give back to this place, and our thanks for friendship and hospitality,” said Opieczonek.