International Student Dinners?

Every now and then, my friend Hannah and I decide to just make a dinner or an outing because we need time to spend together outside of work or studying. The first time, we went over to her boyfriend's house and watched The Cleveland Show. It doesn't seem like the most exciting of venues, but to just have me, Hannah, her boyfriend, and his roommate just relax and watch some cartoons was a thrilling experience itself.

Did I mention that Hannah was born in Botswana and is just now spending time back in America after taking a gap-year in South Africa? What about her boyfriend and his roommate, who are both from Burkina Faso? And then there's me...that Black/Cherokee kid looking to fit in. And somehow in the midst of things, I did. 

So we decided to have another dinner! And this time, they asked me to bring a friend. So naturally, I brought the person who absolutely never leaves my side for anything at all. He's from Goa, India, and I knew Hannah and he would hit it off. The evening ended with us watching Touch until 3am. Again, I didn't think much of it. Just a group of us students getting along and making food from our own cultures and enjoying ourselves. The first time, we had tons of mangoes and papayas and vegetables to hold us down as healthy snacks. The second time, we decided to make frittata, brown rice, and baked chicken livers.  It was okay. I thought, oh okay, a third event wouldn't hurt too much, right?

Over Easter break, Hannah and I decided that we needed to watch Jesus Christ Superstar because the phrase "Jesu Cris superstar" has been in our head for ages. We decided a dinner would be the best way to handle this situation. In addition, she and I have been craving salad for ages. So we decided to have another dinner this past weekend. But little did I know, I was going to have a major surprise.

"Come over at 3pm," Hannah's boyfriend said. "We'll start prepping and get ready for the dinner at 7." I'm pretty sure my face dropped, because never has prep work ever taken so long. 

"How many are coming?" I asked.

"However many my roommate invited," he responded.

When 7:00 PM came around on Saturday evening, the people just started piling in. I took it upon myself to invite another friend and my roommate, just so that they could have a little experience of what "hanging out with Hannah" meant, but the impression they received was far more than what I had intended. What happened instead was that all of Hannah's boyfriends' friends over 21 showed up. And there were a ton of them.

We had people from Norway, India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Greece, Italy, and Australia. In addition, we had Polish, African American, African, and other American Indians around. In other words, we had a number of countries and a ton of diversity! It was insane! There was a ton of food, from three types of grilled and baked chicken, to green beans and tomatoes, to basmati rice and a spicy sauce to go on top, and frittata as usual. Surprisingly, though our number came to about 16, there was enough food to spare. 

What makes this event exciting is that I felt it acted as a contact zone. Though most of the international students already knew each other, it was obvious through interactions and conversations that they had never really spent time of this nature together. They learned about what songs they liked to sing and dance to, what drinks they preferred, and even plans after graduation. And my friends were able to meet the upperclassmen that I always talk about. I believe networking is a valuable thing, and so I hope more events of this caliber happen in the future to create more "contact zones."