The Rocket

Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Steve Reed International students from all across the world represented their countries with dishes that reflected their cultures at the 33rd annual International Dinner on Nov. 10. Among the countries represented were Germany, Nigeria, Ireland, India and Finland. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Steve Reed Christine Chever, a 21-year-old senior dance major, performs a traditional Indian dance at the 33rd annual International Dinner on Nov. 10 in the University Union Multi-Purpose Room. Chever said she learned the dance while studying abroad this summer in Chennai, India. [Click to enlarge]

Walking into the Multi-Purpose Room, guests were welcomed by two rows of colorful flags, students and staff dressed in their native attire and rows of authentic food waiting to be eaten.

To conclude Internations Week, the Internations Club held this year's International Dinner on Nov. 10 in the MPR of the University Union, providing the guests with entertainment, the smell of home-cooked dishes and a variety of new tastes.

With more than 300 people in attendance at the dinner, Pam Frigot, the director of International Services, said of all the events held during Internations Week, the 33rd annual dinner was the most successful.

"Each year we have such a loyal following for this event," Frigot said.

There were six activities anyone could attend during the week of Nov. 3, with the culminating event being the dinner.

The night kicked off at 7 p.m. with the introduction of each international student who participated in the event, as well as the flag of the country each student was representing.

The two masters of ceremonies, Nikolay Genov, of Bulgaria, and La-Shawn Stewart, of Jamaica, gave the introduction and welcome.

After the welcoming, the audience heard several prayers in foreign languages spoken by students from countries including Norway, Sri Lanka and Japan.

The emcees then explained to the audience what the process of being served would entail.

Of the three long tables full of covered dishes that ran around the perimeter of the MPR, one of the three hosts would come to each table of guests and inform them of which line to go through first.

After each person got one dish from his or her designated line, the floor was then open and the guests could choose to go through the line of whichever serving table they wanted.

"Let the feast begin," Stewart said. "Bon appétit."

There were about 40 dishes at the dinner, each dish a different type of food from a student-represented country.

Dishes included Bulgogi from South Korea, Pilau and Curry Beef Stew from Kenya and Red-Red from West Africa.

"International students started requesting recipes for the event in September, (by) either calling mom or e-mailing home," Frigot said.

The students then prepared these dishes themselves in Boozel Dining Hall along with the help of AVI FoodSystems, Inc., on the Friday and Saturday mornings before the event.

Ana Nikolic, an international student from Serbia, made a dish of Musaka and Mycaka from the Balkans.

"It's a layer of potatoes with ground beef and milk all baked together," said Nikolic, a 21-year-old human resource management major.

One food that was prepared in different variations by several students was curry.

Maria Pierre, a 24-year-old senior marketing major, explained how her dish, a Trinidadian and Jamaican curry, was different from other curries.

"This particular one is a chicken and potato curry, but curries are different in every country," Pierre said. "Everyone uses different spices."

One student in attendance to the dinner was 22-year-old senior Kerry Schlicht, who explained it didn't matter where the curry was from and enjoyed them all.

"My favorite dish tonight would be any and all the curry," Schlicht said.

Following the eating portion of the dinner that lasted for about an hour, there was entertainment from many of the international students as well.

An Indian-style dance, performed by Christine Chever was the first event.

Chever is not an international student, but was one of the three SRU students to go to India to study dance.

After Chever's piece, there were several other performances, including an Irish dance and song, a rap and singing duet from the islands of Sri Lanka and Jamaica and a dance from Korea.

There was then a collaborative dance featuring seven female students dancing with Caribbean- and African- inspired moves, followed by two more dances by female international students.

Following the entertainment, the president of the Internations Club, Nyssa Mendoza from Trinidad and Tobago, thanked the audience for its support and for attending the event.

"We look forward to seeing you next year at the 34th (annual International Dinner), and thanks for expanding your world and joining ours," Mendoza said.

Frigot said it is important for students to learn about international students because they are people just like everyone else.

"They live with us, are in class with us and work with us," Frigot said.

"It takes a lot of courage to do what they do."

The other events held during Internations Week included a sports night at the Aebersold Recreation Center on Nov. 4, a fashion show on Nov. 5, a showcase in which international students could display their artifacts on Nov. 6, a coffee house on Nov. 7 and a roundtable discussion during which students discussed employment issues around the world, on Nov. 8.

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