Photo by Shamari Harrington
Students, faculty, and families packed into the Mellon Library Reading Room last Sunday, eager for “One Thousand and One Flavors,” a Middle Eastern dinner hosted by the Arabic Club. Co-presidents Amira Nazer ’17 and Lucas Ferrer ’17 and their faculty adviser, Mr. Georges Chahwan, Choate’s Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies teacher, worked with the rest of the club to make the event possible. Middle Eastern food was brought in and arranged “family style,” while authentic Middle Eastern music pulsed in the background. Round tables covered with the ethnic delicacies were placed around the room, and guests sat on cushions around the tables.
The cuisine was from a Middle Eastern-style restaurant in New Haven, including hummus, falafel, grilled halloumi, ful medames, and manakeesh. Shrenik Agrawal ’17 said, “I thought the food was really good. It’s unique to me, so I was excited to try it.”
While eating, the guests watched performances from students taking Arabic. Sam Curtis ’20 went first, reciting an Arabic poem. Afterwards, classes came up to perform songs in Arabic that they had memorized. Throughout the evening, students performed music and poetry, and they also gave presentations on aspects of Arabic culture, such as sports and politics.
Ferrer said that the Middle Eastern dinner aimed to invite the Choate community to appreciate cultures from the Middle East that they would not normally get to experience. He added that before the dinner, many people did not even know what Middle Eastern food was. He hoped that through this event, Choate students achieved a better appreciation for Arabic cultures. Ferrer started off the evening by sharing a brief summary of the history of the Arabic program at Choate.
The Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies program (known as AMES) began in 2010. Previously, the Arabic program at Choate had been limited to a single level 150 language class. The School decided to develop the program to not only teach the Arabic language but also to foster an appreciation for Middle Eastern cultures. Now, AMES students study Modern Standard Arabic as well as the history, art, architecture, and current politics of the region.
Mr. Chahwan said that he wanted “to give students a window through which to understand the Middle Eastern region: its customs and traditions.” He continued, “It is essential for Choate students to gain knowledge of the world through the languages of its peoples and develop a genuine appreciation for the culture.”
In 2012, two students – Alexander Sassoon ’12 and Gabriella Flax ’13 – approached Mr. Chahwan about their interest in starting an Arabic club at Choate. With the creation of the club, these students also established the Middle Eastern dinner to celebrate Arabic culture. Mr. Chahwan said, “They wanted to establish a platform to celebrate the Arabic language and culture beyond the classroom; a platform that connects the Arabic students at Choate to the entire community through cultural activities and events.”
Virginia Stanley ’17, an AMES student, said, “I think the Middle Eastern dinner is important because it’s a chance for the Choate community to experience the Arabic cultures which is something that the AMES students do through their classes. We get to share it with everyone else through this dinner.”
With the political tensions in the Middle Eastern region, Nazer anticipates that events on campus such as the Middle Eastern Dinner will bring awareness to the conflicts in those areas and, more important, spread Middle Eastern culture through the enjoyment of the Arabic arts, literature, and history.
Nazer, along with the rest of the Arabic club, AMES students, and faculty members, hopes that this event will look past the political image of the region and allow the Choate community to appreciate Middle Eastern culture. She said, “It’s a very rich and deep part of the world that isn’t necessarily looked at in a very positive light at the current moment, so I think that, more than ever, it’s important to celebrate the beauty of it.”
Nazer continued, “I think that being a little bit more aware of the greater world gives you a better perspective of who you are and what you enjoy.” And, she joked, “I was just excited to eat Arabic food!”
