The Goshen College International Student Club hosted its annual coffeehouse last Saturday, March 8. The evening began with a meal served in the College Church fellowship hall. The meal consisted of a variety of traditional dishes from the 22 countries represented on campus.
Junior Lane Miller attended the meal and said that the ISC and other volunteers served, “everything from Falafel to Li Chong's spicy Chinese beef and peppers, rice pudding, Baklava, Italian tiramisu from Argentina, Japanese beef and potato curry, and Pad Thai from Thailand.”
Following the meal ISC members participated in cultural dance and vocal performances in Sauder Concert Hall, dramatic readings, and skits that entertained and informed the audience.
“Something different about this year's coffeehouse was that it included a series of short PowerPoint presentations about different countries from different continents,” added Natasha Alhagananthan, member of the ISC steering committee, or as they call themselves, the “Sensational Six.”
Daniela Zehr and Billy Clement hosted this year’s performance portion of the evening and presented interesting facts about countries such as Uganda, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and Indonesia, in between each of the student performances, with a corresponding slide show. One excellent act followed another, as ISC members performed on a stage, accented by flags lining the balconies of Sauder.
Dance was the predominate form of expression for the coffeehouse. Eight dances from various countries were performed. A highlight of those dances included the impressive Rueda Cubana. Eight male and eight female dancers, clad in red and black outfits, linked and un-linked their arms, they weaved and spun in and out of different configurations, all the while in step to the music. The final move of the routine left all eight of the women, roses in their hair, elevated into the air and carried in a perfect circle, held up by the eight male dancers below them.
After all the delightful performances, Professor Skip Barnett, advisor of the ISC announced the recipients of $500 scholarship awards installed by GC alumnus Raj Biyani. Junior Nereida Ochoa received the Mary Bender Academic Award; and senior Natasha Alhagananthan, and junior Mio Kurahashi received the Giving Something Back awards.
Overall, the ISC was very successful in accomplishing their goals to “help students and the local community learn about and appreciate a variety of cultures.” Pamela Pauw, member of the “Sensational Six,” said this event “is the most important for the ISC. When you purchased a ticket, you actually bought an experience.”
For more on the ISC coffeehouse, see the perspectives pages.
