From the icy Norwegian fjords to the warm lands of Spain and through the sparkling world of the casinos in Monaco, our international students have tried to capture the essence of several parts of the European continent. Divided into three teams, they have organized a series of three events at CIH along this semester. Their purpose? To allow us to enjoy the experience of discovering the typical aspects of these three European countries.

The first one of these parties took place on October 2nd. It was 8pm when CIH opened its doors to the assistants. Formal dress was required because the flyers that were hanging on every wall of every building warned: “Prince Albert may attend.” Well, if he did, we obviously didn’t see him. But we had a great time for sure. There were three tables set with different games. For Nao (Japan, 20) “many of those games were unknown.” Some students bet like crazy, not having any idea of what they were doing. Others, however, played poker like professionals. You could really feel the tension that filled the atmosphere around this particular table.

A couple of Thursdays later, on October 23rd, the second event took place. It was called Nordic Night Party. This time, it started at 7.30pm. Apparently, the team organizing it was called “the Viking Team.” Guess why? One of the leaders of this team, a very blonde girl called Yvonne, is from Finland. The Nordic Party, which she and her team organized, was awesome! The Viking Team cooked for us some meatballs with mashed potatoes, and they even made a bunch of small pieces of chocolate typically known as “Myror.” They also put up a witty game in which players had to answer all kinds of questions about the Northern countries of Europe: Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. It was quite a competition! And while the assistants were eating and playing, Nordic music enlivened the event.

And finally, but no less importantly, the Spanish Party, presented as La noche flamenca. This last event took place on November 13th. I have to say, this team was practicing how to cook properly what they had in mind a couple of times so everything was perfect. And it was. My congratulations to the chef, Marina! She was the hero that saved the day. Spanish “tortilla” (omelette) and chicken “croquetas” (croquettes) were definitely the protagonists that night. Jose Manuel, from Spain, couldn’t even stop saying: “These “croquetas” taste awesome! I feel like home!” We also had our Spanish girls dancing “Sevillanas,” a typical dance from the South of the country. It was so much fun!

Unfortunately, this semester is coming to an end. Some of our international students will go back home and, probably, never come back to PC. Others, however, will be here for the next semester. Be that as it may, and I think I speak for most of us when I say this, these almost four months have been special. For Cyntia, RA of CIH, this semester with the international students has been also “wonderful.” The events at CIH have done their bit, of course, for they have brought our internationals closer to each other and, at the same time, closer to the rest of PC students. As Cyntia also says, these events have been “very useful to get the rest of the campus to participate,” because “American students always want to know more about the internationals.” What’s more, as Jiyeong (South Korea, 22) adds, these events have been “a great opportunity to know other cultures, too.”

Who knows what next semester will bring?