International Dinner to tantalize the taste buds

Foods from over 30 countries and cultural dances are some of the things that are in store for those that attend the International Dinner on Saturday, which will be held in Magnolia Ballroom.

President of the International Club at GCSU, Scott Zhang, a sophomore computer science major, is excited about the event because it is the 25th anniversary of the very first International Dinner.

“We want to make the dinner even bigger this year than last year. We hope to have more performances,” Zhang said.

For entertainment, salsa and other Latin dances are expected as well as many traditional African dances.

A fashion show is also on the list of events. International students will be wearing traditional clothes from their own countries. The emcee will tell about the reasons that people wear the clothes that the models are showcasing. Decorations of flags from the home countries of the members are also expected.

Sophomore Willibroad Lofon Maimo, a chemistry major, will be participating in the fashion show and cooking a dish. He will wear a traditional outfit from Cameroon called an “aguada,” which is a three-piece outfit that is embroidered decoratively.

Dishes from almost every continent are expected, including Europe and South America. Sophomore computer science major Helni Roblero is making tamales. Zhang will also be cooking a dish from his home country of China.

Such a big event requires a lot of time and commitment from those involved. This is made easier by the sponsorship the event has gotten.

“Members of the club have submitted their recipes to the food committee and it will decide what ingredients we need to go to Atlanta to buy,” Zhang said.

There are some ingredients for the dishes that just aren’t available in local supermarkets. The day before the dinner the people preparing the food will cook in the Sodexo kitchen and the kitchen at the First Baptist Church.

The members of the club went around to the local restaurants and banks to ask for funding because the event is expected to be much bigger than last year’s dinner and ticket costs may not be enough to cover the costs.

“I hope that the International Dinner will help promote international understanding in Milledgeville because it attracts so many people not only from the college, but from the surrounding area as well,” Zhang said.

Posted by Danielle Paluga on Mar 12 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry