An insider look at how students and clubs are planning for a week of representing countries from all over the world through booths, food, and performances
Staff Writer
From colorful booths to delicious food and cultural performances, the week of March 11th is the annual International Week where clubs will represent various countries and cultures on campus. Each participating club will showcase a country by displaying informational tri-folds and selling food unique to its assigned nation.
Madyson Tran (12), head of the club’s committee, said, “Countries are assigned to clubs at random via a pair generator. The only clubs that are exempt from this process are culture clubs such as Asian and Pacific Islander Club, Taiwanese Student Association, Indian Student Association, and more.”
The clubs involved in International Week are essential to the event’s success. As Tran said, “The goal of International Week is to teach the students at our school about the different cultures of the world. It is also for clubs to do their part in helping the community through outreach and participation.”
Khushbakht Aleem (12), president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), chose Pakistan as the country for the club to represent. Aleem said, “I feel good about this because I’m Pakistani, so I feel like I have a really good perspective on what I could buy and sell for International Week.” Specific to MSA, Aleem said that the club plans to represent Pakistan by selling a common Pakistani street snack called Nimco.
Elisa Varghese, another senior, is president of the Habitat for Humanity Club which has been assigned to the country Kenya. She said, “Although it’s great, it has been really hard to find [Kenyan] food locally to sell. However, we’ve been thinking about Kenyan donuts. They have powdered sugar, similar to the donuts we have here. There are also Kenyan chips and samosas.”
The food sales during International Week also provide clubs with an opportunity to earn profits and raise funds for their upcoming projects. Aleem said, “We hope to teach people about the country and to also gain a lot of profit. This allows us to have money already saved for when we have cultural or religious events, like for the month of Ramadan. Through this we can also make our events large, having like around 200 people.”
Similarly, Varghese also wants to increase profits but also hopes to increase their club’s participation. She said, “Hopefully, when students come and buy our food, they’ll learn more about the club and be interested in joining this or next year.”
To conclude International Week, a rally is planned for that Friday. The head of the rallies committee, Brianna Zhao (12), said, “Students can expect to see amazing performances from over 8 clubs and dance groups. All of the performers have been practicing since January.”
Tanvi Bhide (12), who has enjoyed attending International Week for the past few years, said, “I am most looking forward to the cultural dances from Nritya, Tufaan, and AAPI. I love watching them, it’s so fun.”
Aleem highlighted the value of International Week in fostering cultural awareness. She said, “International Week gives everybody an insight on what different cultures there are, therefore, just opening your mind to diversity.”
The photograph displays the executives and officers from the Food Science Club at its boba club fundraiser event. The Food Science Club will be representing Russia during International Week. Pictured L to R: Erik Tan (11), Khushbakht Aleem (12), Jessica Yu (11), Coeunchan Lee (11) (Photo Credit: Khushbakht Aleem (12)).
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