Academy Holds ISA x AAB International Night Market

By  BELLA JIN, AMY LIN, and ROXANE PARK

On April 29, Exonians gathered in Rink A of the George H. Love Gymnasium for the International Student Alliance (ISA)  x Asian Advisory Board (AAB) Night Market. The event melded two annual Exeter traditions — Soul Fest hosted by the ISA and Asian Night Market hosted by the AAB — and kicked off Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

     Underneath string lights and lanterns, Korean Society, Chinese Student Organization (CSO), Vietnamese Society, Hong Kong Society, Asian Voices, The Phillips Exeter Asian, Subcontinent Society, Middle Eastern and North African Society, and the ISA set up individual booths with traditional food and activities. A part of the night consisted of performances by the Academy Belly Dancing Society (ABS) as well as seniors Ale Murat, Minseo Kim, Bai Xue, and upper Eric Wu. The Night Market was an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in Asian culture and cuisine.

     On April 29, Exonians gathered in Rink A of the George H. Love Gymnasium for the International Student Alliance (ISA)  x Asian Advisory Board (AAB) Night Market. The event melded two annual Exeter traditions — Soul Fest hosted by the ISA and Asian Night Market hosted by the AAB — and kicked off Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

     Underneath string lights and lanterns, Korean Society, Chinese Student Organization (CSO), Vietnamese Society, Hong Kong Society, Asian Voices, The Phillips Exeter Asian, Subcontinent Society, Middle Eastern and North African Society, and the ISA set up individual booths with traditional food and activities. A part of the night consisted of performances by the Academy Belly Dancing Society (ABS) as well as seniors Ale Murat, Minseo Kim, Bai Xue, and upper Eric Wu. The Night Market was an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in Asian culture and cuisine.

     Each cultural club’s booth served traditional food or offered games for attendees to enjoy. “Korean Society made bingsoo out of shaved ice, condensed milk, sweet red bean, and mochi,” upper and Korean Society co-head Will Soh said. “It’s a really popular dessert back in Korea.”

     Upper and co-head of Middle Eastern and North African Society Sarah Soufny shared: “We had a bunch of different Middle Eastern foods, like falafel and hummus. We also set up a bunch of pictures from many different Middle Eastern and North African countries.”

     “The CSO booth had a lot of different things going on,” upper and co-head of Chinese Student Organization Eric Wu said. “We had a ton of deserts, some Chinese crackers, some Chinese candy, and we also had an interactive game where we challenged people to pick up marbles with metal chopsticks and to move as many as they could.”

     Senior and co-head of CSO Bai Xue added, “We had a sweet rice and ube dessert, which was our most popular dish. We also served spring rolls and dumplings.”

     Upper Tanya Syed represented the Subcontinent Society booth. “At our stall, we had henna or mehndi, as it is called in India, and we also had two Indian dishes, mattar and samosas,” Syed shared. “We chose to do mehndi because we’ve noticed that it’s really popular [with Exonians], and it’s a really important part of Indian culture. [Mehndi] transcends boundaries and is a tradition that I strongly believe in.”

     Vietnamese Society tackled both savory and sweet dishes. “We served banh mi, which is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich made with French bread, pork belly, veggies, and sauces,” prep and co-head Annie Vo said. “In the later half, we [served a dessert] with jammed fruits, seltzer water, and rose and pandan jelly.”

     “For me, food is such a big part of my cultural identity, and one of the best parts of vacation is being home and eating good food. So [being able to] just [share] that little piece of home here has been really nice and refreshing,” Vo continued.

     “We chose to serve egg waffles,” lower and co-head of Hong Kong Society Ava Helbig said. “They’re a popular street food in Hong Kong, and it was a fun experience to share them with other Exonians.”

     Asian Student Coordinator Kerrie Tinsley shared the preparation that went into ISA x AAB Night Market. “[First,] Asian Advisory Board and I sent out surveys to each of the AAPI-identifying cultural clubs to get a sense of which clubs wanted to participate in the event. For my part, I supported the clubs’ efforts by getting supplies,” Tinsley said. “I also worked closely with International Student Coordinator Silvia Gerard to really try to get each club what they wanted in terms of food ingredients and supplies for activities.”

     “AAB and ISA co-heads worked on the layout of Rink A and took charge of organizing the schedule to ensure there was time for the performances and karaoke,” continued Tinsley.

     Other key helpers in preparing for the event were the catering and dining services staff, who played an essential role. A stellar cast of faculty coordinators aided students in making the night possible, including Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo, Assistant Director of Student Activities Kelly McGahie, and Assistant to the Principal Leigh Drapeau.

     From food to performances, students and faculty shared their favorite memories from the Night Market.

     “I loved interacting with people and showcasing what we came up with and made. It was a great experience explaining to them all the little details about what’s going on, what they’re eating, what they’re experiencing, and everybody coming back because we sold out so quickly,” Vo said.

     “It was so great to see [so many] different Asian [regions] represented, from southwest countries to northeast countries,” upper Safa Alwakya shared. “The middle-eastern booth brought my culture to Exeter, and I was so glad to see everyone enjoying the food.”

     For Wu, the student performances were a highlight of the night. “I thought it was an awesome opportunity for international and Asian students to show off a little bit of their skills and culture. I also [enjoyed] performing myself,” Wu said.

     “One of my favorite parts of Night Market was performing with ABS for the first time,” prep Mansa Awuah said.

     Wu commented on the success of the event. “The organizers did a great job of setting the mood, providing intimate decorations, and including so many different Asian cultures and international cultures. The space felt really comfortable and personal at the same time,” Wu said. “I think it was a really big success.”

     “It was great [how Night Market] brought people together to celebrate the diversity in our school community,” Soufny agreed.

     Wu concluded: “I really liked the energy and the positivity. The crowd felt like a unified group of people who were just there to try new things, see new things, and experience new things. I found that really, really warm and welcoming.”