Students visit bazaar to learn about foreign countries

Jason Gulley/Exponent Photographer GOOD COOKIN': Nana Asante, of West Lafayette, serves up a dish of food from Ghana at the International Food Bazaar in University Church, Saturday.

By Julia Grathwol
Staff Writer

On any other day on campus, a group of students wearing red kimonos would catch a few stares; but on the day of the International Food Bazaar the elaborate and colorful costumes are as normal as blue jeans.

The food bazaar is one of the last events to take place during International Week, showcasing food, clothing and snapshots of different countries. Names of different countries hung from the ceiling in the basement of University Church and created a global plethora of different tastes and cultures. The bazaar has grown in all aspects since its start 27 years ago, which include volunteer numbers, sponsorships, countries and customers.

The bazaar has been held in three places, a backyard on Marstellar Street, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and at its present location, University Church.

Mindy Jester, a part-time co-administrator for the International Center, said the size has changed.

"It started out very small, just a few tables in a backyard. It was a house; it's a parking garage now," said Jester. The number of visitors has grown also, from a few hundred to approximately 2,000 people.

Student volunteers are a major part in the planning and participation of the bazaar each year.

"We have a lot of great volunteers from the student community and service fraternities, just people who have gotten to know the international center here and want to help," said Jester. "Students' spouses and community people also participate; the volunteer numbers climb each year."

This year, 200 volunteers participated.

The center hosts a variety of classes and activities throughout the year such as a women's coffee group, English conversation and foreign language classes, as well as Latin dance parties and the Argentinean tango classes, which is now a student organization. Field trips to Chicago are frequent.

"We take them to Chicago on a bus and turn 'em loose, hope we get them all back," said Jester, laughing as a man in a tall white hat flips omelets behind her. Jester has been doing the event for four years and is now on a first name basis with the friendly volunteers, which is shown by her praising a Vietnamese man named Warren on his chicken salad.

The organizers of the bazaar know that students do not have a lot of cash for fancy meals, so the food is inexpensive and starts at 50 cents. Three dollars can buy a full meal. All the money is donated to the not-for-profit center to continue the tradition of international awareness. The center also depends on student rentals, donations, program fees and a dinner-dance in the fall.

"It's called a fund raiser, but it's more of a celebration," said Jester. The center is hoping to get more American undergraduates involved in all activities, from volunteering to suggesting and/or starting new programs.

Customers browse from table to table asking about dishes, tasting and commenting. There is a story for every volunteer.

Gisela Eigennann, a homemaker from Switzerland, moved to America when she was 33. Her table holds cakes, tarts and bread, all disappearing onto the paper plates of hungry customers. She looks pleased, since she made some of the desserts.

"I baked the pear and apricot tart," Eigennann said in a voice that sounded like a character from the Sound of Music.

Sponsors are a big part in the monetary donations of the bazaar. The Japanese table is no exception. Subaru made the red kimonos the volunteers are wearing.

"The president of Subaru paid for all this; we're just helping out," said Adrian Botez, a junior in the School of Science, as the students next to him encourage customers to eat their food. Botez and the other Japanese table volunteers belong to the Japanese Student Association.

When people come to the bazaar, they taste food and see pictures that they might not taste or see again in their lifetimes. This natural curiousity for other cultures ensures that the bazaar will continue for another 27 years, and beyond.

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