International Fest

Almost one month ago our students of the English language Psychology BA program organized an International Fest. In these hard times and regulations because of Covid-19, it is a good occasion to remember this event and take home positive messages and feelings.

There was a mountain of reason to celebrate. First, the opportunity to study abroad. Second, the cultural diversity that the program offers. Third, the fact that we can meet in person. Last but not least, this was the first time when students from all three years of the program were present. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students who are graduating in Spring 2022 to meet the freshmen of 2024.

The main focus of the event was to help students to know each other a bit more. They had the chance to show us a glimpse of their unique culture: students from Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Germany and Hungary prepared presentations with videos, dressed up in their folk costume vagy traditional clothing, presented folk dances and cooked one of their national dishes.

Hamza Yaqub – one of our 2nd year students of the Psychology BA programme – wrote a short report about the Event.

International Evening Event at Institute of Psychology, Károli Gáspár University of the reformed church in Hungary

There is nothing more beautiful than a multicultural gathering on Earth. Exploring the colours of life from all over the world is an opportunity which is not easily available to everyone. That’s why the Institute of Psychology (KRE) organized an “International Evening Event” on 5 November to gather all the international students of department under one roof. The event was supposed to increase interaction among international students. Three students; Aya Lotfi, Deepa Varma and Hamza Yaqub, worked as volunteer.

The event started as per schedule on 5 November, the room was well decorated, there was a light background music, chairs in a circle and a table full of food. The event was devised into 3 sessions.

First, Professor Paszkál Kiss, the Head of department of Psychology talked about the importance of such gathering. Then, we played an icebreaker, in which all participants wrote 3 sentences about themselves on a piece of paper without writing their names. The papers were then randomly distributed within students and on the basis of those 3 sentences, each participant had to guess the name that belonged to the sentences. It was very interesting and astonishing to see that most of the students correctly identified each other.

Then, the 2nd and most interesting session begun with cultural Sindhi dance performed by Deepa Varma. In addition to Sindhi cultural dance, Deepa was dressed in the traditional Sindhi style. She talked about her dress, dance, and culture for 5 minutes. Then, I stepped forward and took the students to a virtual tour of Pakistan. I presented a video clip about northern areas of Pakistan, I also talked about my national dress (Shalwar Kameez) which I wore especially for this event. I showed them the traditional Sindhi Ajrak which is considered a symbol of old Sindhi culture. In my finishing lines, I invited Deborah Balaton from my class to come to stage and tell us about her culture. Deborah opened the map of Germany and showed us the parts where she had lived during her childhood. She told us about German culture, dress and food. She was very comprehensive in approach so in a very short time, students came to know a lot about Germany. Then, Aya Lotfi and Eman from 3rd year came and talked about Morocco. They were also wearing their traditional dresses. They showed a video about their country, culture, architecture, and tourist attractions. They performed their cultural dance, too, and also asked the participants to join them. So, Megan, Ahmed and some other students accompanied them. After Aya and Eman finished their presentation, Megan came and talked about the USA. She also showed a video about their cultural dance and dressing. The second session was much longer than the first, and we had a limited time for the whole event, so Miss Judit Szabó announced the beginning of the third session, which was about traditional foods.

Different students were asked to bring their traditional foods. So, I prepared Chicken Karahi, Deepa made a Sindhi dish, Alexi brought the cookies, Deborah brought some German food and Miss Judit Szabó arranged for drinks, chocolates and biscuits. We made this event environmentally friendly, so students were requested to bring their own cutlery in order to avoid the use of plastic dishes. Students tasted the traditional foods of different countries and gave their remarks about the taste and quality. It was really a moment of fun and enjoyment to receive feedback about my cooking skills.

After the food session, we took our national flags in our hands in order to represent the country and Miss Victoria helped us with the photo session. At the end, I thanked everyone for coming and actively participating in this session. I thanked Haya Fakhriddin, Deborah, and Sara because they supported me before and during the event. Even though we have faced several difficulties during the organizational phase, with the help of the above mentioned names, we successfully arranged this event.

Thanks again, Institute of Psychology for providing me this precious opportunity to work as volunteer for organizing this colourful multi-cultural gathering.

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