International Food Evening #1

For those of you who read this blog (thank you, by the way!) but aren't friends or family, a little introduction to provide some context to this post.

I'm currently the President of the Erasmus Society at my university. That means that if I ever decide to go into teaching, I'll have had a years' experience of trying to herd Europeans into various clubs, coaches, castle and college tours - and lived to tell the tale.

Last night, we held an International Food Evening. It was, to toot my own horn, a total success (beep beep). I'd booked one of the larger rooms to hold the event, and when I got there at 7 and remembered just how big it is, I definitely had an "oh crap" moment. I had images of 40 people standing in the middle of this room that has a seating capacity of about 80, none of whom had brought food, trying to make my Victoria Sandwich and my VP's banoffee pie stretch to feed all of us.

Turns out I needn't have worried. By 7.05 there was a queue outside of people - most of whom had brought food - and by 7.40, pretty much all of the food had gone. I don't think any of us on the committee got even a look in, which was a shame because it all looked gorgeous.

This just taps into my long-held belief that food is something that really unites people. Whether it's offering to make a cake for a fundraising event or sharing food from your country with people who might not otherwise have a chance to try it - food brings people together.

So that's why, despite losing my voice and not getting a bite to eat last night, when I looked down from atop the chair I was standing on to speak to the society and saw everyone's plates full and all of the food on the side gone, I felt an enormous sense of accomplishment.

Ultimately, while I think that for these students, getting the opportunity to explore the UK and get a sense of what it's like to be a student in the UK for a year is incredibly important, food evenings like last night's give people a sense of pride - that was my dish I heard someone enthusing about! or noticing that all of the dish they'd made has been eaten - and it gets people mixing and talking to new people and trying new things.

It also gets you a cheap meal. What could be better?

Just a quick reminder as well - I have a twitter now, it's here, it'd be great if you could pop by and follow me there if you're a twitter-er (twit?)