On the second Wednesday of every month, a group of students gathers in Mrs. Teusink’s room during lunch. We play games, eat food, and spend time together as part of the International Club.
International Club is a club that provides a specific time for international students and domestic students to spend time with and get to know one another better. A lot of people think that International Club is just for international students, but actually, anyone may join. Everyone’s welcome, no matter if you were born in the United States or hundreds of thousands of miles away from here.
Personally, I’ve really enjoyed International Club because I’ve become friends with some international students through participating in this club. I didn’t have any classes with them and rarely saw them during school. International Club gave us a time to grow closer together. These friendships have been so valuable to me because I’ve been able to learn about new cultures and been able to see the world through different eyes. I’ve gotten to appreciate so many differences between America and other countries in the world and to see how, despite these differences, we’re all still so alike.
I’ve heard similar things from some of the other International Club members that I spoke to while writing this article. Jessi Dykstra, a senior at CCHS, told me that she enjoys International Club because, since she and her international friends don’t always eat lunch together, it’s a great time to spend with them. Max Wang, a junior from China told me that he enjoys how everyone hangs out with everyone else in the club so we’re able to make friends from all around the world and learn about different cultures from one another. Julia Xu, a senior from China, also said that she’s enjoyed how International Club has given international students more chances to meet new people and make new friends and how everyone is welcomed into the Club. Similarly, Jared Ebels, another senior at CCHS, said that he’s enjoyed the overall inviting atmosphere within the club.
On top of all this, it’s also a lot of fun. I and the other members I spoke to have really enjoyed the games and activities that we’ve played together (as well as all the food). I specifically heard about an activity we did a couple months ago during which we tasted weird American foods such as Twinkies, ham salad, Easy Cheese, SpaghettiOs, and JELL-O (which is apparently made of gelatin obtained by boiling the bones and hides of animals: https://www.livescience.com/42088-what-is-jello-jell-o.html). Megan Timmer, a senior at CCHS, told me that she’s enjoyed realizing what’s only done in America. About this activity specifically, she said that she had never considered these foods to be uniquely American until we tasted them and the international students thought they were strange. Jessi Dykstra also liked this activity, saying that “when you’re sitting down and eating ham salad and Twinkies, you start to realize how weird your country really is.” It’s been a lot of fun to see what’s unique about America compared to other cultures in the world.
What We’ve Done:
In October, several members of International Club went to Post Family Farms. I wasn’t able to go, but from what I’ve heard, it was a lot of fun. The students who went were able to enjoy the Michigan fall by eating doughnuts and apple cider and then going through a corn maze. Peach Maneesorn, a senior from Thailand, said it was her first time ever going through a corn maze, which was very exciting. Afterward, they were able walk through the pumpkin field to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. All in all, it was a lot of fun for them to enjoy and celebrate the fall season together.
More recently, on December 13, we had a Christmas party. Mrs. Teusink, the International Student Coordinator and a science teacher at CCHS, brought sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles as well as miniature cupcakes. While we ate, we had a White Elephant gift exchange. We each wrote our names down on a note card and gave it to Mrs. Teusink, who shuffled the cards and picked one. The person chosen was allowed to pick a random present from the cart and unwrap it. Max Wang was chosen first and received a Bible written in Mandarin. After that, whomever’s name was drawn by Mrs. Teusink was allowed to either pick a present from the cart or steal a present from someone else. No one stole from another person until about halfway through the gift exchange when Sena Geneti Tadesse, a sophomore from Ethiopia, stole a giant Hello Kitty stuffed animal from Katie Tanja. Katie was then able to steal from someone, so she stole the Groot chia pet that Jared Ebels had received. After everyone got a turn, Max was allowed to choose whether he wanted to steal or whether he wanted to keep his gift, since he had been chosen first and hadn’t had the opportunity. He ended up stealing and exchanging his gift, which ended up in Jared Ebels’s hands after another round of stealing. It was a lot of fun to see what we’d each receive and to watch people decide whether to steal or pick a gift and then which gift to choose. I’m so glad that I was able to take part in this and to enjoy this Christmas party with everyone there.
Plans:
After exams are finished, we’re going to make plans to go to a restaurant and eat authentic food from another culture. This will be a very fun opportunity to learn more about another culture that one or some of the international students at our school is a part of. After this, we hope that we will be able to experience a variety of cultures throughout our time together this year and will be able to enjoy a variety of different foods.
We are also planning on having a party on February 15, 2018, to celebrate Chinese New Year. Plans for this are still in the works. Julia Xu, one of the planners of the party, told me that as of right now, we will be making dumplings and then doing some other activity during this time. We’re really looking forward to this event and hope that you will join us!
