A taste of our world
The sound of music and chatter echoed throughout the Cedar Shoals library on March 28. As the smell of spices filled the air, students made their way through colorful booths, learning about cultures and eating home cooked foods from all over the world.
World Culture Day originated in the spring of 2023 through Model UN and the Student
Government Association. Social studies department chair and Model UN and SGA sponsor Beth Mendenhall says the event shows pride and educates about Cedar’s diversity.
“This is a celebration of what makes Cedar so special — to see all the different cultures and diversity that we have. This is my favorite day because kids will see so much pride in their culture that they’re sharing with other people. The students who are here as spectators or sampling food have a general interest in those cultures and are learning new things in a friendly way,” Mendenhall said.
Senior Rachel Huff appreciated the opportunity to learn about different foods.
“I was surprised by the sheer amount of different foods. It was really fun to explore. It’s also cool to see how many different cultures go to our school; you don’t always see all these people,” Huff said.
Junior Genesis Rodriguez, who helped represent El Salvador, says food is a great way to introduce people to a culture.
“Through the food, you can really reach a lot of people. If the food is good, they’re probably going to like everything else. That really helps broaden people’s horizons,” Rodriguez said.
World Culture Day allows students to discover cultures different from their own, but students showcasing also felt more connected to their own cultures. Sophomore Tulsi Patel, who represented India, understands that trying to stay in contact with her culture comes with challenges.
“There’s always this thought in the back of my head that I’m too Indian to be American, but I’m too American to be Indian. I think that’s what a lot of people have to deal with, especially if you are from an immigrant household. It can be hard to stay in touch with your culture when you may feel that your culture or your nationality is not welcomed in the society you live in,” Patel said.
THAILAND: Sa’ida Arnold created the Thailand booth which offered books about Thai culture and cooking, as well as money used in Thailand. The display board detailed aspects of Thailand’s geography, population, government, currency, culture and foods. “Stories, performances and food are my favorite things about my culture because the food is amazing. Some (performers) are funny, some are creative and some are really outstanding. I feel like those things are my favorite because they really teach you Thai culture,” Arnold said.
INDIA: Tulsi Patel created the India booth which showed colorful pictures of Indian culture and offered paneer butter masala. Her display board informed people about traditional clothing, music, food and the history of the country. “My culture is really big on having respect for everybody. It doesn’t matter who they are. We also have a lot of different languages; over 200 in India. Every part of India has different clothing, different food and different religious sects,” Patel said.
SUDAN: Omnia Mansour created the Sudan booth which offered the sweet taste of asabe zainab and karkade. Her display board told people about Sudanese clothing, music and cultural aspects. “I really liked displaying my culture because I got to teach other people things about Sudanese culture that they might have not known before,” Mansour said. She also brought a small board discussing Palestinian culture. “I feel like a lot of people don’t know about Palestinian culture, we just know about their losses, and I want more people to know about their beautiful culture,” Mansour said.
Sophomore Gabrel Gordon, who represented the Philippines, talks to his native Filipino grandparents to stay in touch with his culture.
“They have a lot of that culture in them already and I gain it from talking to them,” Gordon said.
Gordon’s booth displayed a colorful array of Filipino foods, such as Lumpia and sticky rice. Other Filipino students were decked out in traditional barong and embroidered long-sleeved shirts, sharing the culture that was passed down through their families.
Freshman Sa’ida Arnold also feels that it can be hard to connect with her heritage while engulfed by American culture. Representing Thailand, her booth drew people in with a colorful display board detailing aspects of Thai culture including geography, religion and food. She wore an embroidered skirt and handed out servings of spring rolls and stir fried noodles.
“Because I’m not in Thailand a lot, I haven’t been really connected with my culture. It’s hard because here in America, you have to learn about American culture but we don’t get to learn or express more about Thai culture. I really wish we were able to express more,” Arnold said.
Rodriguez feels that many people think there is only one type of person in her country, who all appear, act and think the same, so she appreciates the opportunity to engage students in more authentic conversation.
“I wish people knew how diverse Salvadoran culture is. With every culture, there’s bound to be a stereotype, but people need to realize how diverse everything is. The departments, which are like states, all have their own cultures. It’s like a lot of cultures meshed into one,” Rodriguez said.
World Culture Day gives students an opportunity to strengthen ties to their unique cultures while also educating peers to reduce the misunderstandings from stereotypes. It creates a space where students can express their cultures with pride and educate others to make their world just a little bit bigger.
“I feel like Cedar students are pretty savvy, but there’s a lot of people who think everything south of Texas is Mexican. That’s not true. All of the cultures of those countries are so different. That’s definitely one of the advantages of doing this: you get to expand their horizons,” Mendenhall said.
For Patel, it is important to learn about other cultures not only to give representation and dispel inaccurate stereotypes, but also to understand people on a more personal level.
“You never know what people’s backgrounds are and there’s always more than meets the eye to every single person. Maybe you learn about someone else’s culture that you didn’t even know existed. It’s always good to know about people’s diversity, ethnic backgrounds and cultural backgrounds,” Patel said.
