As the second ESL summer session progressed into August, our students came together to celebrate their cultures and got to experience one of Houston’s favorite attractions. Continue reading to find out more about each exciting event!
The month began with an event the students called “Jarea Day,” a celebration of Japanese and Korean culture and food. Students formed a planning committee to discuss which dishes would represent each country, as well as who would be cooking what.
Among the delicious options at Jarea Day were kimchi fried rice, kimbap, sushi, and even a matcha masterclass by one of our former students. She combined strawberry or vanilla flavors to make a refreshing, slightly sweetened matcha drink that everyone enjoyed.
The next day, students discovered Cidercade, one of Houston’s most popular arcades. It is a great place to spend an afternoon, and with an all-access pass, students could play every game inside the arcade. Before that, however, students enjoyed a brief stop for lunch at Cidercade’s own restaurant. They took the opportunity to plan out which games they wanted to try first.
After lunch, the students played the classic arcade games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, enjoyed pinball machines decorated with famous movie characters, and tried their hands at the claw machines to win a few prizes!
The afternoon was a lot of fun for the students, who each returned home with their claw machine prizes. They were eager to tell their classmates about the event and to start planning for the next cultural day, which was scheduled for the following week.
For the next cultural day, called “Chaudi Day” by the student planning committee, students from China and Saudi Arabia discussed what they would like to do to showcase their cultures and cuisines. They chose many different dishes, drinks and desserts, and after classes ended that afternoon, every student stopped by to see what they had prepared.
The event started off with a few wonderful Chinese dishes like dumplings, Saudi-style rice, and more. To drink, students and teachers enjoyed Saudi coffee and Chinese white and green teas. For dessert, there were Saudi mammoul (date cookies) along with a variety of tasty Chinese sweets.
After students finished eating, one student taught Chinese Mahjong to any who wanted to try it out. While challenging to learn, the students all had a great time enjoying the game and competing against each other.
“Chaudi Day” was the last of several social activities for our students this session. Thank you for reading this entry in our blog, and stay tuned to our Instagram and Facebook pages to hear about more new social activity announcements next session. Until then, check out our other stories here on the blog!
By Hadrian Barbosa