By Sasha Moedt, Nick Ubels, Brittni Brown (The Cascade/The Cascade/Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 21, 2012
International festivities came the week before everyone started panicking about final exams (and or essays). With tea from around the world in an international tea party, a Diwali Party, a community dinner featuring food from France to Brazil, all rounded up with the UFV international Olympics, students were kept pretty busy.
Student life programmer Martin Kelly said the events were a success. “When events go right, they go right because they succeed on multiple levels . . . Diverse students from diverse departments and groups [worked] together with minimal funds to create something inclusive and community building within UFV.”
Tea, tradition and talk at U-House
Cha, thee, ocha, chai, tea.
There are hundreds of ways to say it and countless ways to prepare it because tea is an ancient beverage with a long history spread across many cultures.
UFV students had the opportunity to sample tea from dozens of countries at last Monday’s afternoon event at U-House. There were Japanese-style pancakes and other small finger foods available to help cleanse the palette between each new cup and flavour.
Suzete Silva, Julieana Flores and Jonatas Bezerra are three Brasilian students currently studying at UFV. They said that the event provided a unique insight into the cultures of some of their fellow international students.
Flores explained that the way tea is consumed reveals a lot about the way of life in a certain region.
“For example,” she said, “if you live in a hot country you don’t usually drink hot tea, you will drink cold tea.”
Silva added that tea provides an excellent forum for discussion.
“We can have a good conversation with our friends and know about their culture,” she said. “Today is very good because we love tea and we have a lot of tea to try. The people here are so friendly. We love them.”
Diwali Celebration
On Wednesday the U-House was alive with the beating of music as the South Asian Peer Network Association hosted a Diwali celebration.
Renee Hartwig was at the Rangoli station, where there was a contest for most creative piece – and she explained the various stations. Besides the Indian food—including samosas and teas—there was the henna station and the sari station, where students could try on a sari.
Hartwig explained the Rangoli station: “you make a design using sand; sometimes it’s done with rice or any other coloured material. Usually it’s done on the floor, but today we’re doing it on paper.”
This was the first time she learned about Rangoli, and perhaps the same could be said for more UFV students attending.
“So you draw a pattern with some chalk on the black construction paper, “ Hartwig explained, “and as you see we’re just filling them in with the different coloured sand. So the end result is just a bunch of colourful designs and patterns.”
International Student Association Dance
A dance party took over the U-house this past Thursday, and if you weren’t there, you missed out! The event, which was put on by the International Student Association (ISA), provided a relaxed environment for students to mix and mingle. Some students enjoyed a variety of refreshments, while others took advantage of the open dance floor. Many different styles of dance were showcased throughout the night. Salsa and Brazilian Forro dance lessons were lead by members of the UFV Dance Club. Later, strobe lights and pounding music set the stage for a Wii dance-off.
Most students who attended the event are international students, studying abroad here at UFV, although all students were encouraged to “come bust a move.” Bandana Jhoree, one of six ISA executives, said they hope to host similar events more often. She explained that many international students only attend UFV for a few short months, and it can be difficult to build strong relationships within that time; dances allow students to loosen-up and network with their domestic peers.
The Dance Club currently meets every Friday in the Baker House, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., for Tea Time. Jhoree encourages more UFV students to come out and try and try a new style of dance. “Who knows, you may find a new hobby,” she said.
