“Taste of the World” was held in the Schwitzer Center atrium on Wednesday, March 2, for University of Indianapolis students to experience bits of different cultures around the world.
The event—coordinated by Archaic, a club of mostly archeology and anthropology majors—included music, dancing, food and various activities at tables around Schwitzer. Archaic President and senior archeology and anthropology major Elizabeth Straub organized the event.
“Well, we’ll have food from several countries, provided by the university,” Straub said prior to the event. “We’ll also have several students coming, and they will be bringing little snacks from their home countries that people can try. ”
The music was performed by wife and husband duo Carol and Gary Pattfield. Carol played the Native American flute, while Gary played an acoustic guitar. After the Pattfields’ set, Shreya Khetan, a student in the master’s program in physical therapy, performed a classic Indian dance routine for the audience in the atrium. Straub was excited to see the turnout for the event.
A stand representing Indian culture gave students the opportunity to try spices and get henna tattoos. Photo by Badar Alageel
“I’m just really excited about the number of people who are interested in it [‘Taste of the World’] this year,” Straub said. “We brought it back for the first time last year. It used to be a regular thing, and then it sort of fell out.”
A smorgasbord of foods from several different countries lined a large table near the back of the atrium. The first dish was “almond kisses,” a sweet, cookie-like dessert filled with almonds, which originated in Hungary. The second dish was “empanadas,” small folded pastries filled with meats and cheeses, which originated in Mexico. The third dish was “bissara,” technically a soup, but with a consistency similar to refried beans. It is made from fava beans and originated in Morocco. The third dish was “bruschetta,” a thinly-sliced, garlicy bread topped with tomato and basil, which originated in Italy. The final dish was “miso soup,” which is made with a stock called “dashi” and contains tofu. It originated in Japan.
Several stands were set up around the Schwitzer atrium, each representing a different country or culture. There was a stand representing Italian culture and heritage. The stand let students match Italian words to pictures and also try homemade “Anisette” cookies, baked by sophomore archeology major Jennie Saponaro. At another stand representing Middle Eastern culture, students could have their names written in Arabic. At a stand representing German culture, students could match German words with the pictures next to them. At a stand representing Native American culture was a game in which students could match archeological artifacts found in Indiana to the material they were made of. At the stand representing Indian culture, students could try spices from India and henna tattoos.
Saponaro said that there actually were not that many people involved in the organization.
“We don’t have a lot of people involved, but the people who are involved seem really excited about it [the event].” Saporano said.
“Taste of the World” presented UIndy students an opportunity to try different foods from cultures about which they may know very little.
