The sound of Southeast Asian pulsating rhythms, Latin salsas and South African melodies periodically burst through hip hop chants and the latest chart topping songs Friday on a U Yard ringed with flags from several countries, as several hundred GW students celebrated Day for the Nations.
Fifty student cultural organizations signed up to participate in Day for the Nations, a show of cultural pride, to work tables that offered dishes of food, perform dances, share fashions, facts and geographical significance about many of the countries from which GW students or their families come.
The day was the brainchild of Myra Goke, Student Government Association (SGA) deputy director for student life.
“We just wanted a space where nations and people of different cultures gathered,” said Goke, who wore a bright yellow t-shirt with red and green details, the colors of Ghana. “I’m Ghanaian–Nigerian. It’s something I’m really proud of. We just wanted a place to celebrate that.”
She partnered with sophomore Janae Russell, SGA executive secretary for student organizations who hails from Jamaica. The duo drummed up support for the idea by email, text messages, word of mouth and Zoom chats.
Russell said she would love for GW students to experience the Jamaica where she spends time with her grandparents. “The landscape is breathtaking, from the mountains to the lush greenery,” she said. “I remember knocking down fruit from trees, walking through forests with my family and experiencing a natural beauty that not everyone gets to enjoy.”
Goke said the Day of Nationals came about because “we had a team at SGA that worked very hard to put this event together.” She then quickly dashed back onstage to announce the start of a show that featured students clad in fashions from China, Dubai, Malaysia, Japan, Greece, Taiwan and others.
Maryam Najafzada, a dancer and teacher with the Synetic Theater performed the tea plate dance, clicking small plates like castanets in time with cymbals in the music. She was invited by Humay Sadig, a junior and president of the GW Azerbaijani Student Association who wanted students to see the dance performed well.
Though Sadig was born in the United States, the land of her parents that she also claims is a country “with many ethnicities, amazing food in the Caucasus Mountains that is rich in musicians, art, poetry and ballet.”
Over at the Swahili Table, Kenyans and third-year students, Hope Njoroge and Sophia Akwera offered tempting samosas and chapatis—a nod to food borrowed from a country just across the Indian Ocean but made with different spices. To win them, visitors had to match flags to countries from the East African region, including Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia and Tanzania, or identify a common Swahili word. One student came up with “Jenga,” the Swahili name of a game now played the world over, where players take turns removing a block from a stack and placing it on top to heighten a tower without knocking it over.
Hawaiians, clustered in flowery shirts, stressed a history they are concerned gets overlooked. Cheydon Naleimaile-Evangelista, a first-year student, said, “It is important for people to know that Hawaii was overthrown by the American government. Illegally. Our Queen Lili’uokalani was locked in her home and forced to sign over her power that was rightfully given to her by the Hawaiian people, forced to sign it over to the American government,” he said. “There’s a popular saying, ‘We’re not Americans. We will die as Hawaiians.'”
Izzy Adams, also a first year, who sat with him, moved to Hawaii with her family when she was 2 years old. “At the end of the day,” Adams said, “this is a sacred place with rich traditions and rich history. It is so much more than a honeymoon spot.”
Anya Spevacek, a sophomore, and first-year student Kelsey Wolf did a robust mini version of Riverdance, an Irish dance they’ve performed since childhood, and continue to practice with a group every other week at GW.
Heyci Lara of GW Fuego is part of a Latin dance group that performed merengue and salsa and encouraged students to sign up for lessons.
Graduate students John Dima and Bethel Mandizha represented the Zimbabwe Student Association. They said GW has about 300 students from that country, many of whom are studying project management. They urged students to visit the region and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, the majestic Victoria Falls and the wildlife including lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and African buffalo. They offered students samples of several dishes made from maize, a staple of the Zimbabwe diet.
Over at the Hellenic Student Association table, Paul Tervo, a senior, was serving savory spanakopita and singing the glories of Greek food. Across the way, Mario Buchkov, who said he was part of a large Bulgarian community in the D.C. area, invited folks to taste Banitsa, phyllo dough filled with feta cheese. “In Bulgaria, it’s the main thing we have,” he said, and pointed to little cups of a cold yogurt soup, “tarator, that is made with dill, cucumbers and parsley.”
First-year student Michael Guigui’s posters on Israel detailed its country’s people. “That’s why it’s such a great place and no matter where you go, you have different cultures and a different sense of home based on where people in the past have gone,” he said. “The Ashkenazi people who came from the Holocaust and brought traditions that were passed down to them, the Mizrahi Jews with the Middle Eastern heritage, and the very populous Arab community in Israel.”
Director of the Multicultural Student Service Center Vanice Antrum, sampling a bit of Little Italy provided by the restaurant Maggiano’s, said, "The planning committee did a great job planning this event. It was an amazing turnout and exciting to see the many cultures represented at GW."
