AUC Welcomes the World on Campus
By: Vereena Bishoy
@vereena_bishoy
Bartlett Plaza burst to life on March 16 as the university celebrated one of its most cherished traditions, International Day, a potpourri of diversity, culture and languages.
The AUC community welcomed seeing the Plaza lit up with colors from around the world after a two-year break during which many gatherings had been canceled.
Students from 24 countries were given the space to provide a gateway to their culture through music, food, costumes, and more.
“Internationalization is one of AUC’s pillars, and we are working toward globalizing our campus and internationalizing our classrooms. So, we thought of raising awareness more or less and encouraging our partners,” said Daliah El-Tayeb, Senior Director of the International Programs and Services Office (IPSO).
El-Tayeb said these events are beneficial marketing tools for the university as they are documented and sent to the office’s partners to encourage students abroad to come study at AUC.
International Day wasn’t just notable because of its return to form amid the coronavirus pandemic, but also because it was part of AUC’s first International Week.
The week aimed to provide a bilateral benefit; encourage those abroad to come to AUC and those from AUC to go abroad.
That was achieved through the Study Abroad Fair and the Chat with the Experts event.
El-Tayeb explained that the office has over 200 partnerships with universities abroad and this is an opportunity for students to discover the diverse experiences offered by AUC.
“We are aiming at having Egyptian students integrate with the international student body. It is always good to [learn] about cultures, how people deal with each other, how people think differently, acceptances and tolerances,” said El-Tayeb.
Lili-Jeanne Thibierege, a Political Science junior from France, spoke about how the experience helped make her feel connected to the rest of the community.
“I mean for me it is so nice obviously when you go abroad you feel closer to where you come from so, I am so happy to share it here, and people are so keen on knowing more about [your country and culture], and when they come, they speak in your language so it is nice and good for interaction,” Thibierege said.
Kristina Antonyan, a junior studying Middle Eastern Studies, had a similar point of view.
“I really enjoyed that AUC became a place where all the cultures meet. Different people with different cultural backgrounds can communicate with each other and find a mutual language,” said Antonyan.
Antonyan conveyed the pride of holding her country’s flag somewhere away from home.
“As I [walked] under the Armenian national anthem, my heart was beating very fast. I felt very proud of my Armenian background and so proud to walk with the Armenian flag here at AUC,” Antonyan said.
Some students couldn’t help but feel touched as they received support and were welcomed as they represented their home, culture and family in the Plaza Parade.
Abdallah Sabah, a Computer Engineering sophomore from Palestine, said that moment was even more special for him and his friends.
“I felt proud, and hearing people clap for each national anthem, especially when they started clapping for our national anthem, made me so proud and happy,” said Sabah.
Standing beside Sabah were a group of students from Morocco, Lebanon, and Palestine teaching the rest of the community how to dance the traditional Dabke.
Dabke is a Levantine folk dance that combines circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions in many Arab countries.
“I was so happy that people were doing the dance, but I was also happy that I was doing other dances like the Nigerian dance. I was so happy; it was so fun for me,” added Sabah.
Students found true joy in sharing their traditions with one another and giving them the chance to celebrate their identity.
Isabel Rodriguez from Mexico, who is currently doing her masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at AUC, appreciated the space provided for her to cook and share some of the things she loves from her country with everyone here.
“[Events like this] makes us feel welcome, providing a small taste of our own country or identity, I think that is what is important,” emphasized Rodriguez.
The United States of America booth challenged students with some tongue twisters that amused all who tried.
“Seeing the other booths next to us and what they are doing and they’re dances that they are doing or the music they are playing, it is really fun to kind of connect in that way too,” Gabrielle Sequeira, who is part of the exchange program currently studying Environmental Sciences, explained.
Though Egypt was the country hosting it all, it did not fail to impress by showing off its traditions, especially with one arriving just around the corner, Ramadan.
“It was actually very honoring to be in the Egyptian booth where we served the most Egyptian of foods – koshary. We also had people contributing with their donations for us to make Ramadan Packs for this season,” Construction Engineering Sophomore Ahmad Ayman told The Caravan.
He added that his favorite aspect of the event was exposure to different cuisines from around the world.
“I’ve never tasted all of this food in one place in my life so far.”
