Kristi Bui ’16
EE Managing Editor
On December 1, the members of the Trumbull High school world language honor societies and clubs hosted their annual international dinner at the senior lounge. All of the clubs and honor societies, including the Spanish, French and Italian honor societies and the Spanish, French, Latin and Italian clubs, helped arrange and set up for the dinner.
The international dinner began with serving food. Students who participated in the dinner brought dishes associated with their ethnicity to share with the rest of the students present. The dinner featured appetizers, main entrees and desserts. A variety of foods from different cultures were served, including cannolis, pizzelles, pierogis, bint al sahn, chips and salsa with queso, meatballs, and other foods.
During the dinner, a live band comprised of senior Alexander Recker and freshmen Bryant Recker and John Recker performed. The band, known as Timberlane, performed from 3:45-4:30. Mrs. Lavorgna-Lye requested the band to perform a variety of music during the dinner. “We played a mix of jazz and a few Christmas songs. In between each, we just played improv,” Alexander Recker stated. Having the opportunity to perform at the dinner was an exciting opportunity for the band. “It was very different. A lot of kids our age do not really listen to jazz or know a lot about it so some kids didn’t know what we were playing. It was still a lot of fun to play at the dinner, though, because the kids who knew what we were playing really enjoyed it,” Alexander Recker said.
After the dinner, there were three students who performed songs. Sophomore Nicole Cannone performed as well as winning a dance-off during the dance portion of the dinner, sophomore Sofia Iacono performed Italian pieces, and a [third girl] who performed a Russian piece. After the performance, the dinner ended with dancing and musical chairs.
Latin club president Megan Mahar found the international dinner to be a great learning experience for different cultures and ethnicities of her peers. “My favorite foods tend to be spicy, so Indian dishes at the dinner were my favorite,” said Mahar. “Eating all the foods definitely gave me more of an appreciation for other cultures, and it was really cool to see people bring some of their own cultures to the table and share their knowledge and traditional dishes because we don’t always put emphasis on diversity in school.”
Mahar was also surprised by her peers’ performances. “It was really cool to see my peers singing in different languages, especially Sofia because I always see her in the halls and don’t know her but she has the voice of an angel,” Mahar stated.
Senior Guida Alarumi also found the dinner to be a surprisingly fun event. “It was more fun than I expected,” Alarumi stated. “The meatballs were really good. I pushed some people for musical chairs, and there was some good dancing—mainly from me.”