International Night: Cultural diversity in form of songs, dances and comedy
ISA promotes international food awareness
On Thursday, students, faculty and the Fargo-Moorhead community spiced it up at the fifth annual International Meal, hosted by NDSU’s international students.
Food needed to be added to International Week, said Kerri Spiering, director of International Programs. The meal is a chance to give students an opportunity to share a different part of their culture.
“ Food always appeals to people,” she said.
As a leader for a number of students, Temi-Tope Akingboye is a man who knows how to help.
Akingboye is the president of the International Student Association and helped with the planning of the meal.
“ The ISA is meant to help international students adjust to NDSU and Fargo,” he said.
Members of ISA brought many recipes to be chosen for the international meal.
Akingboye said the goal was to provide people with a variety of different entrees from which to choose. The meal was cooked with the help of the international students and a catering class on campus taught by Joyce Hwang, an assistant professor in hospitality and tourism management.
The menu included entrees from Ecuador, India, Thailand, Japan, China, Italy, Sri Lanka and Uruguay.
Tolu Amele, an industrial engineering freshman from Nigeria, joined ISA this year. Amele was excited to help represent international students.
“ We’re showing more than just being here, we’re actually doing something,” she said. “It’s a little taste of home.”
Ben Johnson, a graduate of NDSU, decided to come back to campus after noticing an advertisement for the meal on the NDSU Web site. Johnson attended the international meal last year and was happy to return.
“ I was expecting to eat a whole bunch of wonderful spicy foods,” he said.
His favorite dish of the day was Sambar, which is an entree from India. Sambar is flavored vegetables cooked in a spicy sauce and is eaten over rice.
Hosting an international meal is a great way to represent their homes, Johnson said.
But the Alumni Center is too small for the amount of people interested in the food, he said.
The international students could raise the price for the meal and hold the dinner in a larger facility, he suggested.
Kay Sizer and Pat Suchan decided to try the international meal on their lunch break from the research department.
Both were first timers for the meal but were excited to take a step into an unknown territory of spices.
“ International students have to adjust to our food, so we should try theirs,” Suchan said.
Although some of the food was a bit spicy for their liking, the two said the meal had a good number of people wanting to try the food.
Jessica Neumann, an educational leadership graduate student, said she plans to return next year to try out another international meal.
“ I’m here to support the students and the good food,” she said.
Melissa Wright, a counseling and guidance graduate student, said the whole week was a good way to represent the international students. The students serving the food were very friendly and helpful when she asked about the exotic foods.
Wright said her favorite dish was the Seco de Pallo from Ecuador and the Gomoku Gohan from Japan. Seco de Pallo is chicken with vegetables and Gomoku Gohan is rice, chicken and vegetables.
“ It’s all really yummy though,” she said.
ISA meets at 4 p.m. every Friday in the Peace Garden Room in the Memorial Union. About 98 percent of the members are international students, while 2 percent are American. Akingboye said there is no barrier between the students.
“ To us, you guys (Americans) are also international,” he said.