Walking into the forum at 7:00 p.m on January 14, I was greeted by an influx of colors and sound: African flags hung proudly from an array of tables, Egyptian incense wafted with the aroma of Ukrainian cherry pie, and Mexican candies lay alluringly next to Bulgarian salami. As a Caribbean band touched the high, arching ceiling with their music, the Schoolhouse came to life.
As I moved from table to table, talking with old classmates and new lower formers alike, I learned both the diversity of other cultures and the dismal state of my geography knowledge. 3 Idiots, I learned, was a fantastic Bollywood movie. Cricket fell third only to soccer and running in Jamaica. And “leng” can mean “extremely attractive”—the more you know.
The highlight of the night, by far, came about an hour into the event, when a professional group of Indian dancers invited students on stage to learn a routine. Second and sixth formers alike poured into the Forum. And suddenly all those tireless hours of practice learning TikTok dances with my roommates seemed to pay off.
By the end of the night, I had achieved my goal of visiting every table in the forum. My “passport” had gathered 28 stamps, but more importantly, I was 28 trivia questions more knowledgeable than I was about three hours prior.