The Center for International Education Services hosted an International Art and Craft Fair on Wednesday morning as part of International Education Week, a celebration of global education and cultural exchange.
“It’s an annual event,” said Jingjing Li, International Student Support coordinator. Each year, the fair hosts different types of activities and booths for students to take part in and learn about.
This year’s fair featured hands-on crafts including Bangladeshi block printing, Japanese origami and Indian Rangoli art. One of the most popular attractions was a blind taste test competition to determine which country had the best tasting rice.
Sharon Lee, a volunteer, served three types of rice for students to blind taste and vote on which was their favorite.
“The first one is jollof rice; it’s from Ghana,” Lee said. “The second one is an Indian dish called biryani, and then [the other] is Chinese fried rice.”
Elizabeth, a freshman, said jollof rice won her vote.
“I’m stuck between two of these, but [I think] the first one,” she said. “The second one was too spicy for me, but [the other] two were nice and savory.”
Fernanda, a 29-year-old exchange student from Chile, said the Chinese fried rice was her favorite. In addition to tasting the dishes, she said she enjoyed making art at the various booths.
“Origami was my favorite one,” she said. “I made a little boat and a heart. It was so nice.”
The International Art and Craft Fair was one of several events held throughout International Education Week. Other activities included a Tai Chi session at the International Center on Thursday, a Japanese language table in Jones Hall on Friday and the Education Abroad photo gallery contest in the library.
More information about these events is available on the university’s Education Abroad website.
Heidi Wills can be contacted at hkwills@memphis.edu.
A student works on Indian Rangoli, an ancient Indian art using colored powders.
