By Domonique Hawthorne
LA PLATA, Md.—The College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, gave students a taste of the Caribbean during International Week on Nov. 17.
The college served a free Caribbean buffet catered by Isaac's Restaurant, which included red beans and rice, jerk chicken, key lime pie, coconut macaroons and other Caribbean-inspired dishes.
Ewabo: Steel Drum Trio provided music while the people ate. They played I Shot the Sheriff and added Caribbean flavor to the song Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5, featuring Christina Aguilera.
One student expressed interest in the song selection. "I liked the choice of music that they [Ewabo] played," said Alexandria Lee, 19, CSM student. "It was really interesting to see how people from different cultures can still incorporate music of this culture and theirs."
Members of the faculty also took part in the events.
"I would say it was successful as far as getting a new experience out for students to hear this kind of music and to taste some foods they haven't tasted before," said Communication Professor Michelle Simpson. Simpson also expressed surprise at the number of students who came out.
In other International Week events, Assistant Professor of History Dr. Cicero Fain presented To Start Anew: Afro-American and Afro-Latin Cultural Development, a PowerPoint lecture to more than 15 people.
In Fain's lecture he presented such facts such as "40 percent of slaves went to the Caribbean." He also discussed the influence the African slave culture had on today's culture.
"I think most Americans have no idea about the slave trade outside of America," Fain said. "How slavery in American differed from slavery in the Caribbean and in Brazil for instance, but also how they were very much alike."
As a whole Debbie Jacques, CSM Global Initiatives Committee member thought the week was successful.
"The goal that the committee always sets is to educate the students, and make them aware that there is a whole world outside of Southern Maryland," said Jacques. "And we like to expose them to the culture, the history, the food, the music; anything pertaining to the region we're focusing on."
Domonique Hawthorne is an English major at the College of Southern Maryland.