Fellowship Through Food: Rice Around the World

The quiet of interterm on campus was transformed into a lunchtime hum when more than 100 people came together January 8 to share home-cooked dishes at “Rice Around the World.”

Hosted by the Staff Council’s Diversity Committee, the event featured rice recipes from many cultures prepared by Smith staff members. From New Orleans to Lebanon and from coconut rice to Rice Krispie treats, there was something for everyone.

Johanna Walter—a facilities services representative and one of the main organizers of the event—served as the gracious host, catching people moving through the Campus Center and inviting them into the oasis of warmth and good, free food in Room 103/104.

Walter—who also cooked arroz con lentejas (rice with lentils) for the gathering—was excited about the turnout: By 12:15 p.m., the Vietnamese sticky rice and Lebanese mujadara were gone, and the Colombian rice was on its way out.

“I didn’t think there would be this many people,” Walter said. “I left half the lentils I made at home because I didn’t think people would like them.”

Katy Rosen ’19, a vegetarian, declared Walter’s dish her favorite, and said she would have been happy to have had those extra servings.

A group of Smith students taking a break from Design Clinic homework said they enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere around the lunch offerings.

Sylvia Hickman, Mellon post-baccalaureate fellow in Smith’s Special Collections, agreed. “There’s an emphasis here on talking with people. I’ve been to a lot of hors-d’oeuvres-type [events] where you just sort of mingle a little, eat a little and leave.”

Organizers said the food, while important, was secondary to the aim of helping people from all walks of campus make new connections. “The best thing that can happen is if we can gather—creating conversation, starting dialogue,” Walter said.

And dialogue there was.

People reminisced about their own childhood rice dishes and debated the merits of rice cookers versus stovetop methods.

Even those who had never tried golabki—described by its cook, Jessica Drawe, an administrative assistant in the Admission Office, as a “traditional Polish dish that my Irish mother often made”—could relate to sharing a home-cooked meal.

“It is important, so important, for the Smith community to come together on hard issues,” noted Library Acquisitions Supervisor Lucinda Williams, one of the event organizers. “But sometimes it’s really nice to come together just to enjoy a meal.”