The International Banquet

The International Banquet is an annual event organized by the International Club and the International Programs Department. The banquet is a campus-wide event, and consists of international food, musical and dance performances from different countries, fashion show of different ethnic clothing and the "Silent Auction."

The theme for this year's banquet is "The Year of the Tiger" and the event is in the Great Chapman Hall on April 21st, 2010. For students, the ticket price is $10, whereas the price for faculty members is $10. There are three main aspects of this year's International Banquet: international food, performances including the fashion show, and the "Silent Auction." First of all, the majority of the dishes are ordered from authentic restaurants in San Antonio, while a few dishes are prepared by Aramark. Overall, the guests receive a five-course meal for a minimal price. In addition to food, the banquet would also consist of musical and dance performances by students as well as a fashion show of ethnic attires. Usually, there are about 7-8 performances including acts from reputed dance groups such as the Loon-E Hip Hop Dance Crew. Lastly, the third component of the event is the "Silent Auction." This aspect of the banquet allows the club to raise funds for their future events by selling souvenirs from different countries.

Over the years, the International Banquet has been a successful event, and the International Club plans to create this year's banquet a great success too!

An Indian performance during the International Banquet

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The Fabulous Combo

On February 20th, the International Club organized the ‘Fabulous Combo.’ The ‘Fabulous Combo’ is an event organized by the International Club in which students prepare dishes from different countries. In this event, students prepared dishes from India, Greece and China.
The Indian dish was biryani, both vegetarian and with chicken, and was prepared by Mohsin Rahim, an International student from Pakistan. The main ingredients for this dish are Indian culinary spices, chicken, rice, and vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, onions and tomatoes. Overall, the biryani was one of the most preferred dishes by the students.
In addition to the biryani, Kristy Yi, the president of International Club prepared gyros, a Greek dish consisting of meat, tomato, and onion. This dish was served with flavored yogurt. Another Greek dish served was the Greek Salad, and was prepared by Tolley and me. The main ingredients for this salad were tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, Italian dressing, feta cheese and dried cranberries. Likewise to the biryani, numerous students enjoyed the gyros and the Greek salad.
Lastly, Anran with the help Asavari prepared a Chinese soup. The ingredients for the soup were chicken, egg, carrots, onions, tomatoes and other vegetables. Overall, similar to the other dishes, the Chinese soup was also one of the best dishes in the event.

Tolley and I preparing the Greek salad

Executives of International Club

The executives of International Club are involved in planning and organizing events such as the cooking night, dinner night, general meeting, and numerous other events. Throughout this blog, I will be describing the different executive positions.

• President – Kristy Yi (Korea)

Currently, Kristy Yi, from Korea, is the president of International Club (IC). She acts like a figure head for the International Club and introduces different events for the International Club to organize. In addition, she is the secretary of Korean Student Association (KSA) and the secretary of Habitat for Humanity.

• Co-President – Thuy-Anh Ngo (Vietnam)

At present, Thuy-Anh, a student from Vietnam is the co-president of IC. Similar to Kristy’s role, she brainstorms various ideas and events which can be presented to the Trinity student body.

• Treasurer – Sung-Hwi Kim (Korea)

Currently, Sung-Hwi is the treasurer of the club. She is in charge of handling the finances of the club and preparing an initial budget for the entire year’s activities.

First-Year Liaisons:

• Events Coordinator – Paarth Falor (India)

As a first-year liaison, I am involved in planning for all IC events including from a cooking night to the international banquet, the largest event organized by IC.

• Public Relations – Asavari Jalan (India) & Rella Zhang (Thailand)

Similarly, Asavari and Rella are vital members for the club since they advertise and promote the IC events through facebook, Leeroy, and flyers around the campus.

NOTE: Although the entire cabinet of International Club consists of international students, this organization is open for all Trinity students.

Below, there is a slideshow of the executive members of International Club:

Did You Meet the New President?

On January 27^th, 2010, the International Programs Office organized the International Student Reception. The reception took place at Dr. Ahlburg’s house and this allowed students to know more about him and his wife, Penelope Harley. Although, this event was organized primarily for international students, numerous American students also enjoyed the event. Many faculty members such as Dr. Butler, Dr. Burr, Inessa Stepanenko and Brigette Thompson also attended this event. The event was well-organized with international food accompanied with a Mexican orchestra.

Dr. Dennis A. Ahlburg, Trinity University’s 18^th president was born in Australia and he succeeds Dr. John Brazil, who announced his retirement in January 2009. Prior to his appointment as president at Trinity University, Dr. Ahlburg has served as the Dean of the Leeds School of Business since August 2005. During his speech in the event, Dr. Ahlburg demonstrated great sympathy for international students. In addition, he also shared some of his experiences as an international student while he was completing his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, Dr. Ahlburg’s promised to introduce drastic changes for the betterment of Trinity students. Of the many improvements, Dr. Ahlburg stated that Aramark’s contract with Trinity University will be made available to all students instead of only to highadministrators. I personally would like to wish Dr. Ahlburg my best wishes as the incoming president of Trinity University.

For more information regarding Ar. Ahlburg, please visit this link:

http://www.trinity.edu/departments/public_relations/news_releases/090925_ahlburg.htm

This image shows Mrs. Harley (left) and Dr. Ahlburg (right) presenting their speech to the faculty and students.

Cooking Night - Taste the Flavors of the World!

The International Cooking Nights are organized by the International Club, an organization that focuses largely on diversity within campus. The club looks to organize these cooking nights on a monthly basis. They are usually held in Beze Underground from 6:30PM – 10:00PM. It is a campus-wide event and the entrance fee ranges between $2 – 3. All the money earned from this event is donated to the San Antonio Food Bank in the form of cash, canned goods, etc.
In a typical cooking night, Trinity students spend almost an entire day to plan and cook for this event. In our most recent cooking night, Trinity students prepared dishes from India, Korea, Zimbabwe and Mexico for around 70 people. Majority of the food was prepared by International students such as Asavari J., Nyasha G., Kristy Y., etc. The club earned approximately $200, and bought canned food and other items to donate to the San Antonio Food Bank.
Besides food, several games and activities are also planned by the International Club for this event. Of the several games and activities organized in this event, one of the most entertaining activities is karaoke. In addition, numerous students also enjoy playing ping-pong. Overall, this event is enjoyed by many and is a great success.

This image demonstrates students playing cards as well as enjoying their meal.

For more information about the International Club, please visit their website: http://www.trinity.edu/student_org/ic/IC/index.htm