International Festival

Students tasted plantain chips and suya spice, learned to fold paper cranes, tried to dance a celtic reel, learned informal Russian greetings and experienced more at Exeter’s first International Festival on Monday. It served as an opportunity for international students to proudly represent their countries and for other Exonians to learn about the home countries of their friends through food, games and informative posters.

Most international students were happy to have the chance to tell other students about their home country. Upper Dara Okerimi, who represented Nigeria, said that she had Nigerian food at her booth and that she showed students pictures of festivals and traditions that she thought represented Nigeria.

The International Student Alliance (ISA) decided to make fake “passports” that students could bring to different booths to be stamped by various countries. This greatly encouraged students to visit as many booths as possible, and it made the experience interactive since students had to complete tasks in order to get their passport stamped.

"Everyone was enjoying immersing themselves in foreign culture and learning about different countries."

Senior Nicole Shi, a representative of Hong Kong, said that her booth incorporated games into their presentation. “We had fortune telling that incorporated the Chinese Zodiac,” Shi said. “We also had a ‘Chopstick Challenge’ where people would use chopsticks to put as many candies—White Rabbit, a local candy in Hong Kong—in a bowl within 30 seconds.”

To earn their Thailand stamp, students had to compete with Lower Dhanat Plewtianyingthawee in a game of Pao Kob, which consists of blowing rubber-bands across a table. Other countries like Mexico and Cambodia had lists of trivia questions compiled to test students’ knowledge about the country’s culture and history. After the festival, many students reported that they had a clearer sense of the different cultures infused together at Exeter. 

Upper Nader Babar, who represented Pakistan, said that he remembered seeing students learn new things at the festival. “Everyone was enjoying immersing themselves in foreign culture and learning about different countries, and I myself enjoyed it as well,” Babar said.

In addition to interactive games and activities at each booth, there was also a competition between countries for the best decorated exhibits. The winner was senior Anishta Khan, who manned the table for Bangladesh. Runner ups were upper Pedro Sanson, from Brazil, and Tricia Moriarty and Meg Bolan for Ireland. Each winner won 10 dollars in lion card money to spend at Grill or the bookstore.

Those who spent the afternoon bustling from table to table collecting every stamp could enter a raffle at the end to win a Fitbit Flex. The promise of a reward highly motivated attendees to step out of their comfort zones and try foods and candies that they had never even seen before. Particularly noteworthy was a Finnish candy that is vaguely referred to as “the Devil’s Candy”—they are filled with salmiakki powder, and excessive ingestion will cause tongues to peel.

Students, faculty and their respective families thought the festival was a success.  Many were impressed with the diversity of countries present; almost all continents were represented. Upper Joaquin Riojas, who represented his home country of Mexico at the festival, thought that it helped Exonians appreciate the many different cultures that form the Exeter community. “With a student body coming from over 30 countries, I think it is important that we recognize the diversity of our community,” he said.