by Maureen Ngigi
The multi-cultural fair was and is the only school event i actually loved attending. I have always enjoyed learning about different cultures ranging from music,food, and clothing. The fair for me was like exploring the world without traveling outside the country. Some of the stands for this fair were….
The Ecuador stand was one of may stands at the multi-cultural fair. They served empanadas that came in chicken or beef flavors. The empanada is the most known food from Ecuador worldwide.
The India stand offered some Henna art, and by the looks of people around, many were interested. India is known for having many cultures from different sects of the country and each no matter how different all share a love of the art that comes from henna. Henna art is especially used in both India and Egypt as a form of temporary tattoos in formal events like weddings.
In the China stand, they had some Fondue Bourguignonne which is cooked in hot oil in a very cultural pot, and served on fun sticks. I found this stand especially interesting due to the uniqueness of their flyer advertising the country they were representing. Another interesting factor of this stand was Ms. Li’s outfit which is culturally known as the “Qipao” or the “jiayanzi”.
The iceland stand was represented by a picture of the flag with a poster of their countries name, and some quotes which shows their political stands when it comes to women and the LGBTQ community. Onequote especially proved to me that all around the world women and the LGBTQ groups are being recognized which is very empowering; “ iceland had the most 1st democratically elected female and openly gay prime minister”.
Egypt was one of my favorite countries represented because I love its culture and its history both religiously and as a nation. They served “cold shuffle grave” which is a food from Ancient Egypt that was designed as an after life food put in pharaohs’ tombs after they were mummified.
La France was a station I especially enjoyed because of raised in a country that embraces its cultures and learning the language was especially exciting because I got to learn about this beautiful countries culture after years of just hearing about it was the highlight of my day.
This stand was an all around the world stand where you got to label a little sticker with your name and place it at your country of origin. This represented the wide population of different cultures that are in Freedom High School and it was a beautiful sight to see the poster filled with stickers from people from all around the world.
At the end of the festival I had learned so many new things about different cultures and ate different food and associated with many new people. All in all, the fair is a beautiful and wonderful place to be if one is interested in new cultures and learning about different countries, and if one is a lover of food then this festival is definitely for you, you get to eat different foods from different stations and all in all just a wonderful experience.