The Centre of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the International Development Office (IDO) hosted the International Culture Festival on 14 October. The event was held with the purpose of continuing international education, which is encouraged by UIC’s foundations.
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| Students eagerly line up in hopes of trying some of the delicious food |
Though the event was expected to start around 2 pm, students eagerly began to line up in hopes of trying some of the delicious food that was being showcased at the event.
President Ng Ching-Fai welcomed students and faculty to the event stating that “UIC has always aimed to promote international and intercultural awareness” and that the event is a “celebration of the international aspect of UIC; with staff and students from 25 countries and different cultural backgrounds, this International Culture Festival fosters intercultural understanding among all”.
Every foreign language taught at UIC had a table at the event to further current learners’ knowledge as well as introducing a new culture to others. The languages represented at the event included French, German, Spanish, Korean and Japanese.
The head of IDO and German Language professor Katharina Yu said that the event was “a way for students to learn about the languages they are studying through food in a more relaxing atmosphere”.
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| Preparing various types of Spanish food |
Each station featured a dish or snack popular in the country where the language was from. For French the food offered included: crepes with caramel, apple tarts, and baguettes with pate. For Spanish the table offered speck, salami, tomatoes, Spanish bread, and sangria. The German table offered potato salad, sausage, and beer. The Korean table offered rice cakes, and the Japanese offered sushi.
In addition to the delicious food there were performances by various students and groups. This included a welcoming German chant, an English song, two Japanese songs, a Korean song, and a French song.
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| Students' various performances entertain the audience |
The students’ overall reaction was positive, especially among the exchange students. Antoine Nardone, a year-long exchange student from France said, “It was a great opportunity to share my culture with my Chinese friends through my favourite foods.”
Reporter: Heather Lana
Photographers: Duan Yucen (IJ, Year 2), Simon Liu
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO, with special thanks to the ELC)
