This is a continuation of Gabriela Georgieva’s piece ‘The Global Village Is Coming to Segovia!’ from April 20.
Last Thursday, 27 April, the IE Segovia campus was beaming with culture.
Filled with beautiful stands adorned with flags and colors, and chock-full of delicious traditional food, students from both campuses, with plates in their hands and ready to eat, joined to experience this wonderful celebration of IE’s diversity.
Several countries representing the IE student body offered a piece of their culture and shared parts of their identity with visitors.
I joined and spoke with many students, organizers, and participants to see what the IE community thought of this fun event.
First, I talked to Anna, a first-year Computer Science student.
“My favorite booth was the India booth because of the food and the henna they were doing. Everyone was so sweet and fun to talk to at that booth. I also loved the mango lassis.
But overall, I loved the global village, and I’m really happy to go to an event like this because this is the type of community I wanted out of IE when I applied here. I loved seeing the culture everyone was so proud of.
My only other comment is that I wish we had this more often because I feel like this is what IE was trying to accomplish,” shared Anna.
At the Bolivian booth, I later spoke to Javier, a first-year PPLE student, and Valeria, a first-year Economics and International Relations student.
Javier expressed: “I liked the Global Village. It has helped me meet and connect with people from my country I didn’t know were at IE. It’s been great talking to people from home about our shared experiences. We know how to understand each other. We had a great time organizing this. We made a group chat to talk and coordinate, and in the end, it felt like meeting with friends.
My favorite booth was, of course, the Bolivian one because Bolivia has several diverse cultures. It’s a multinational country – something we wanted to make apparent. There is the Incan culture, Aymara, and the cities of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, which also have a unique culture. My favorite food was the empanada de queso (cheese empanada), from Santa Cruz, my city.
It has been a beautiful event that needs to happen more often, at least once a year.
It did a really good job at showing IE’s diversity; it opens one’s mind and exposes one to new cultures, but also it helps one appreciate the luck we have – being in a place with so many people from all over the world, to be able to share different opinions and understand that there is more to the world than what you can see in front of your eyes.”
Valeria adds: “I met people from my country, being together and sharing our traditions – getting together and organizing the booth was very nice. We all arranged what to wear and bring, and the day of the Global Village itself was also very nice: we listened to Bolivian music! It felt like being back in Bolivia. We were teaching each other how to dance different traditional dances.
I liked meeting people from your country and feeling that passion. I also saw the Argentinian stand – I think that was my favorite because you could see the passion. Love was felt.
I also liked the Chinese booth; it had very tasty food, and it also felt that they cared for it.
One of the event’s highlights for me was when they were sharing talents and singing, and they played Shakira’s Waka Waka – everyone ran downstairs to sing with the girls on stage. It was a very nice connection. I danced with people I didn’t know; I can imagine it felt like being in a World Cup. Seeing the diversity of IE was very special. There are not so many universities that are so diverse.”
I also spoke with Leticia, a first-year BBA student, and co-founder of the Latino Club, to get her opinions on the event.
“Well, I loved the experience of organizing the booth of two Latin countries (Argentina and Puerto Rico) since I saw the motivation of everyone in each of the details they wanted to present to the public.
In particular, I felt proud that day because I was able to introduce everyone to where I come from, Puerto Rico since many people don’t know.
Also, it brings me so much joy as all Latin countries came together and created a very nice bond,” shared Leticia.
Chiara, a first-year BBA-BIR student, also shared her experience organizing the Swiss stand.
“The Global Village was an incredible way for me (along with all the other booth representatives) to showcase our cultures in a truly unique way.
It was great explaining to the students who passed the Swiss booth what our food was and encouraging them to take our quiz. From another point of view, I have previously worked for Switzerland Tourism, so this was an outstanding way to connect with my culture again.
From making the decorations to attempting to cook all the dishes we would serve while juggling studying for finals, it was a truly memorable experience. I had a fantastic time and highly encourage everyone to represent their countries at the Global Village next year. Thank you, everyone, for making this happen. It was truly an amazing experience!”
While visitors enjoyed the culture, the represented countries competed for the best booth. Participants were encouraged to vote for their favorite stand throughout the event.
Congratulations to Argentina and Peru for winning the best booths!
The event allowed the IE Community to connect further and share our cultures and identities. The Global Village helped students bond, making a sunny Thursday a fun break from class to relax.
