Subscribe
Community
Middle East feast
Pita, hummus go perfectly with a little belly dancing
Friday, Nov. 20, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by EMILY BARNES
Belly dancing teacher Catherine Moffatt-Bush, right, teaches students some moves Wednesday during International Week, celebrating the Middle East, at College of Southern Maryland in La Plata. Students sampled food such as hummus, pita bread and chicken Shawarma during a free buffet.
|
E-Mail This Article
So, chicken shawarma, tabbouleh and jasmine rice might not be the typical lunch for the American college student, but Nov. 16 to 20 is International Education Week with a focus on the Middle East, the menu for a free lunch Wednesday at College of Southern Maryland in La Plata touted fare that was steeped in the rich flavors of the featured region.
Tabbouleh: a dish made of finely chopped parsley, mint, tomato, spring onion and other herbs with seasonings like olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.
Starting in 2000, the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Education, introduced the nationwide IEW program to spotlight international studies, broadening students' point of view and promoting understanding between cultures.
Past regions studied during the week at CSM include Asia, the Americas, the Pacific, Africa and the Mediterranean, according to Don Smith, the past co-chairman of Global Initiatives Committee, a faculty-led group which strives to integrate an international dimension into coursework and promote international study (groups are going to England, Galapagos Islands, Belize and China in 2010).
"This college has been very supportive. [CSM] is considered one of the leaders in developing innovative programs," said physics professor Smith of the travel study programs, which includes studying the history of physics in England. "The college has been forward-looking."
Smith added that IEW is embraced by the college as a way to introduce students to various cultures, even if those at CSM might be a bit more culturally savvy thanks to their proximity to the nation's capital.
"The modern world — we're not a closed society," Smith said. "[The students] are more traveled and expect a higher level of offerings."
Chicken shawarma: usually served in a wrap, it is chicken with yogurt, garlic, mint, lemon juice, olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices.
Throughout the week, the three Southern Maryland campuses of CSM will delve into Middle Eastern culture — not only by sampling food but through book discussions on "The Kite Runner," a novel set in Kabul, and a talk with Kathryn Abdul-Baki, lecturer, author and editor.
Abdul-Baki will speak at 7:30 p.m. tonight on the La Plata campus about her novel, "The Sands of Zulaika."
Hummus: a popular Middle Eastern spread made with garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, olive oil,
lemon juice and spices.
Back at lunch, Catherine Moffatt-Bush, a belly dancing instructor at the La Plata campus for its personal enrichment courses, talked a little about the art. But the highlight was her performances.
Dancing under the name "Rayhana," Moffatt-Bush became serious about belly dancing about six years ago. After an eight-week course taken as a high school senior first introduced her to the genre, it wasn't until later she found a notice and signed up for classes.
Wednesday she led an impromptu class for about seven women and a guy who tried to copy her moves.
"It takes practice," Moffatt-Bush assured the students. "Some moves have taken me years to get."
A history major in college, Moffatt-Bush said she enjoys learning about different cultures and as a belly dancer gets asked often about the Middle East, at least about the importance of belly dancing there.
While she dances in the style of tribal fusion — a genre that was sparked in the late '80s that combines traditional belly dance moves with different styles of dance including country, hip-hop and Latin — Moffatt-Bush also performs "gothic belly dancing," a mix of traditional moves and more macabre clothing put to electronica music.
Students who didn't catch the dancing bug still attended the event, including John Sackett, whose girlfriend, Kameron Byrd, is a student of Moffatt-Bush.
Sackett participated in the Skype discussion Tuesday with former CSM Vice President of Academic Affairs Timothy Keating who is currently the dean of the New York Institute of Technology campus in Abu Dhabi.
Sackett said he was surprised at the growth occurring in Abu Dhabi as reported by Keating and that despite the city's development, education reform continues to lack.
"The boys especially lack motivation," he said, adding that he doesn't buy in to the bias against the Middle East.
"I'm a geography major so I like finding out about what's going on anywhere," Sackett said
Tonight
College of Southern Maryland's Connections literary series will feature author, editor and lecturer Kathryn Abdul-Baki at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 at the La Plata campus, 8730 Mitchell Road.
Abdul-Baki will read from "The Sands of Zulaika,"which explores the lives of a New York couple as they relocate to the Persian Gulf.
Cost for the event is $3. Call 301-934-7864, 240-725-5499 or 443-550-6199 or go to www.csmd.edu/connections.
