One characteristic that helped me choose Suffolk University is the diverse group of students. Students from 108 different countries make up Suffolk’s unique culture. The rush of classes makes it hard to meet students from these amazing countries. Thankfully we have one night a year to all come together and represent our cultures, International Night.
On Friday, November 17th Suffolk held the 7th annual International Night. This year was a great success with students representing 16 different countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, Ecuador, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand, Greece, Armenia, Lebanon, Colombia, Spain, USA, Congo, India, Taiwan. Attendees were able to try traditional cuisine and drinks, get to know the cultures and learn fun facts from each country. I was able to represent my country Colombia and had so much fun preparing my table. I’m very proud of the country I come from so I was very excited to show everyone my culture.
The night started with time for everyone to walk around and observe the tables, try local foods, and learn about each different culture. Taiwan had a ring toss game with an exclusive Taiwanese soda as a prize, India provided henna tattoos, and Brazil taught soccer footwork. The fashion show and the performance were the best part of the evening. Students dressed in traditional attire from their home countries paraded for a fashion show to show off their unique outfits. Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Indonesia, Spain, as well as Colombia all gave performances. Colombia ended up winning best performance. We were very passionate and proud of our colorful costumes and dance.
Indonesia won best table for having great food and decorations. Other notable foods from around the world were the coxinha (fried dough balls filled with chicken) and brigadeiro (chocolate truffles) from Brazil, hummus, baba ghanoush and tabbouleh from Lebanon, mac and cheese from the United States, empanadas from Colombia, and pad thai from Thailand.
The best part of the evening was seeing the Suffolk community come together to enjoy and celebrate the diversity we have at our school and be open to meeting new people and learning about new cultures.
Maria Nigrinis, MBA/MSBA ’19