Members of the Indian Student Association serve samosa chaat to the UMSL community Tuesday afternoon during Globalpalooza at the Millennium Student Center. The annual event included stations with a variety of food from across the globe and performances by musical acts from a variety of cultural traditions. (Photos by Izzy Fontane)
University of Missouri–St. Louis community members heading to Globalpalooza Tuesday afternoon took in the sounds and scents of the vibrant annual event before they even got to the sights.
The hallways outside of the Century Rooms in the Millennium Student Center reverberated with the powerful, rhythmic drumming of St. Louis Osuwa Taiko, while trays of Filipino lumpia, Indian samosa chaat and more perfumed the air. Inside the Century Rooms, dozens of UMSL faculty, students and staff carried cardboard to-go containers as they moved from table to table, sampling an array of global dishes.
Jessica Hylton, director of global students and experiences, said the event is a fun way to introduce international students to the rest of campus and for UMSL community members to learn a little bit more about the rest of the world.
“The goal for the day is for people to meet other students and maybe try a bit of their food, learn about their culture, listen to music from all over the world and just have a joyous celebration,” she said.
Hylton helped launch the inaugural Globalpalooza in 2023 after seeing the success of a similar international festival at her previous institution.
“It was so popular that we’ve done it ever since,” she said.
The fourth annual event – sponsored by UMSL Global, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs – provided opportunities for attendees to expand their palates by tasting traditional fare and snack foods from countries including the Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, France, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
Throughout the afternoon, musical acts from a variety of cultural traditions provided a lively soundtrack for the crowd. The lineup included Osuwa Taiko, the American Raga Band, Saint Louis Irish Arts and Spirit of Angela West African Dance and Drum.
In addition to a variety of prepared dishes and drinks, attendees also had the opportunity to grab snack foods from around the world.
Osuwa Taiko showcased the high-energy form of traditional Japanese drumming, while the American Raga Band blended Indian classical music with jazz. Saint Louis Irish Arts played a selection of folk songs complete with harps, the ancient national symbol of Ireland, and step-dancing. The Angela West African Dance and Drum team provided a spirited finale, moving to the signature syncopated, layered sound of West African music.
In addition to taking in the food and music, students could also stop by a table to get more information about UMSL Global’s many study abroad programs. Another station invited attendees to test their global knowledge with trivia challenges. Tritons tried to correctly name international capitals and flags, among other things, to win prizes.
Hope Green and Samantha Kapeller were just two of the many students who stopped by the Century Rooms Tuesday. Green and Kapeller, both psychology majors, heard about the event in their French class with Associate Teaching Professor Violaine White. They especially enjoyed the Hispanic and Latino Student Association’s tres leches cake and the packaged snacks they could take with them.
“It was nice to talk to different students about either their culture or the culture they’re studying,” Kapeller said.
Those kinds of interactions are what motivated Jaswanth Chowdhury Pidikiti to participate in the event with the Indian Student Association.
“This is my first year at UMSL, and I wanted to meet people and network and make new friends,” said Pidikiti, an Indian international student majoring in math. “That’s the main reason I joined the Indian Student Association. I’m just trying to get over my fear of public speaking and trying to talk to a lot of new people.”
The Indian Student Association served samosa chaat, a chickpea curry with a fried turnover crumbled over it, which people were able to customize with several other sauces and toppings. Pidikiti said everyone seemed to enjoy the food, which went quickly.
Jordan Pham, a computer science major, was on hand to dish out fried rice, fried noodles and vivid red barbecued chicken with the Vietnamese-American Student Association.
“We always love coming out to these events, where there’s a lot of people,” Pham said. “Usually, the biggest turnout is when there’s food involved, so that’s our chance to show off our club a little, share a bit about our culture.”
Pham said the student organization chose dishes that would be easy to serve in bulk, but his personal favorite is actually bò kho, a spicy beef soup that is served with a baguette for dipping. He urged fellow Tritons to explore the menus at local Vietnamese restaurants like Mai Lee, Spot House and Truc Lam.
“People know the basics of Vietnamese food,” he said. “They know pho and bánh mì. I mean, those are great options, don’t get me wrong. But Vietnam has such a diverse cuisine. It’s also one of the most aggressively healthy cuisines in the world.”
Pham hoped the event might also inspire attendees to investigate Vietnam’s past, particularly its connection to the U.S.
“I wish people knew more about Vietnamese history,” he said. “Obviously, America was involved in the Vietnam War, and there’s many, many clashing perspectives about that.”
By the end of the afternoon, the crowd left with full stomachs and full hearts. Hylton encouraged everyone to take the interpersonal connections and experiences from Globalpalooza forward with them.
“Treat every person you meet as a potential friend,” she said, “someone you might learn from, someone who could change your perspective in even the smallest way.”
