International Student House Washington DC

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Cultural Nights Galore!

March 26, 2018 by Zinna Senbetta

It has been an eventful month at ISH! Residents have been planning many cultural nights to share their country’s food, dance, fashion and traditions with the ISH community. First was Bollywood Night! Delicious Indian food and drinks were served in the Great Hall followed by lots of dancing. A projector was set up to show popular Bollywood music videos and residents from India taught us their moves.

Japan Night was next. The Japanese residents decorated the Great hall beautifully with different “stations” or tables of activities. At one table I experienced a tradition Japanese tea ceremony with a sweet cake and bitter matcha tea. Another had Japanese games including Kendama, a game that involves trying to swing a ball connected by a string to a wooden stick into a cup. There was also a calligraphy station where I learned how to write my name in Japanese. The Japanese residents created a true or false trivia game that I learned a lot of fun facts from. For instance, did you know that many families in Japan make reservations at the fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day? At the end of the night several residents performed a Japanese dance called the koi dance using glow-in-the-dark wands.

The day after Japanese night my Master’s program at Georgetown had an International Student Night. Students cooked food from their cultural backgrounds and dressed in national outfits followed by a talent show. I wore my traditional Ethiopian dress and my roommate, Manuela wore a dirndl that she got while she was living in Germany. Here’s a photo of me and Karin, one of the organizers of Japan Night and a fellow Georgetown MSFS student.

The final event of the month was Latin Night. Manuela, who is originally from Colombia, was part of the planning team along with residents from Brazil, Peru and Mexico. The Great Hall was decorated with pictures from beautiful places across Latin America as well as Colombian, Brazilian and Mexican flags. Music in Spanish and Portuguese kept things lively all night. The same morning as the event I got my Brazilian visa for the internship I will be doing at the U.S. consulate in Sao Paulo this summer. I wore a Brazilian jersey to the event and being at Latin Night got me even more excited to go to Brazil.

I am happy to report that I am now involved in planning a cultural night. On April 28 myself and residents from Congo, Rwanda, Nigeria and South Sudan will be hosting an African Cultural Night!

Filed Under: Inside Look at ISH!, Life at ISH

Zinna Senbetta

About Zinna Senbetta

Country: USA
School: Georgetown University
Field of Study: Global Politics and Security
Bio: Zinna is an Ethiopian-American student at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Politics and Security. She is originally from Wheaton, Illinois but most recently lived in New Jersey where she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a minor in French Language and Culture at Princeton University. Zinna studied abroad at the Sorbonne University in Paris in the spring of 2016 and interned at an international law NGO in Paris called the Union Internationale des Avocats. The summer of 2016 she was a campaigns intern for the Young African Leaders Initiative Network Program under the Bureau of International Information Programs in Washington, DC. Most recently she was an intern for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on Capitol Hill. Zinna is a 2017 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellow and will focus on Public Diplomacy as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer upon completion of graduate school. She hopes to concentrate on issues related to the rights of women and girls, education, and human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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International Student House of Washington, DC | 1825 R Street, NW | Washington, DC 20009

International Student House of Washington, DC is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 organization located near Dupont Circle in the heart of Washington, DC. Donations will help support our mission to provide an exceptional residential experience to a highly diverse international community of graduate students, interns and visiting scholars. The House promotes inter-cultural dialogue, encourages life-long connections, and fosters global citizenship.

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