Despite rainy weather, which resulted in a venue change from Lowry Mall, students and community members still experienced a variety of cultures at the International Bazaar on Tuesday at Stotler Lounge in Memorial Union.
The International Bazaar was one of many events on campus for MU International Day, along with a flag processional and Thai cultural performances.
Sponsored by the International Programming Committee and Missouri International Student Council, the International Bazaar featured different international student clubs and organizations. With tables for each organization set up throughout the lounge, students could see cultural displays and try food.
“It’s similar to the International Welcome Party,” said Janelle Pfeifer, senior chairwoman of the International Programming Committee. “People come to experience cultures and different foods and different organizations can kind of present that aspect of their culture to other students on campus.”
Events such as the bazaar and the International Welcome Party help to bring students together and advocate the idea of “One Mizzou,” Pfeifer said.
“(One Mizzou) is something that our current MSA president (Xavier Billingsley) is really adamant about — trying to bring the entire student body together,” Pfeifer said. “I think these events do. They really bring different kinds of people to these events and get to share something with everybody.”
In addition to free food, tables featured music, crafts and other cultural items.
“I came to experience all the different foods,” freshman Hannah Cope said. “It’s great to be able to try out all these different foods all in one place and see all these different cultures. The Thai tea was phenomenal.”
In addition to MU students, local high school students attended the bazaar.
“My favorite thing is just experiencing all these different countries,” Hallsville High School student Tonia Bartlett said. “I don’t know where I’d get something like Malaysian food around here. We live in a small town in the middle of Missouri so we don’t really see a lot of culture, so this is a really cool way to get people exposed and try things they’ve never really tried before.”
By seeing different cultures, students can broaden their minds, Pfeifer said.
“Students gain more knowledge about their fellow students and how different people live when they see other cultures,” she said. “We have things in America that we think are normal and there are things that other cultures think are normal, such as music and food, and here people get a chance to see that.”
