The International Student Organization (ISO) held its annual Food Festival on November 13, 2009. The event was held in the Greensburg room, which featured tables superbly adorned with many various flags representing many different countries.
By Sarah Last
Staff Writer
The International Student Organization (ISO) held its annual Food Festival on November 13, 2009. The event was held in the Greensburg room, which featured tables superbly adorned with many various flags representing many different countries.
The smells from all of the different foods permeated the air and created a fun and relaxed environment. A band had set up in the back of the room and began to play as students and staff walked in and curiously began loading up their plates.
Dishes from all over the world were served, some familiar, others not. There was chicken from Ethiopia and cooked plantains from the Virgin Islands, as well as American foods like cornbread.
The line for the food started long and didn’t slow as the evening progressed. Everyone wanted to try at least a little bit of food from each station. It was clear that all the students and staff, both foreign and native, were having a fantastic time experiencing different cultures.
“I think it’s really wonderful- I’m really enjoying all of the cultural foods,” said Emily Baroody a freshman at Seton Hill University (SHU).
“I like how it’s spicier than most of the food we’re used to,” said Rachael Beatty, also a freshman at SHU. “It gives us a taste for other people’s cultures.”
The food itself featured other spices that aren’t usually seen in the typical American diet, which made it a much more cultural experience. The foreign students got to choose what food they wanted to make, and each had a special reason for choosing a particular food.
Janati Sauarimutho made a dish from India called Puri which is unleavened bread usually served as a breakfast food or a snack. When asked why she had chosen to make this particular food, Sauarimutho said that it was a dish she “had a little experience making. I like it, so I thought other people would like it as well.”
She also said how enthusiastic she was about the festival, “This is my second year… I look forward to the ISO Food Festival.”
Cliona McConville, who came to SHU all the way from Ireland, made flakemeal biscuits and shepard’s pie. When asked why she made these dishes, she responded; “I wanted to do something sweet and savory”
She also commented on what she liked the most about the food festival, saying “The best part was cooking… it was so enjoyable to be around everyone. It was really nice to taste foods I’ve never tasted before from different continents.” She added that she thought the event was “Craic!” which means brilliant fun in Gaelic.
When most had eaten, a few started dancing along to the music the band provided. Songs from Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive” to the “Ole Ole” song were played, during which a conga line was formed and wound its way about the Greensburg Room. The entire evening was a fun- filled event for all in attendance, teaming with diversity and flavors of different cultures that came together to celebrate their differences and how, through food, they could stand united as one.
