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Maxwell welcomes thousands to International Culture Day
There are not many places where families and airmen can experience the food and culture of 62 different countries in one place, yet, for one day a year, Maxwell Air Force Base transforms two hangers into a place where thousands come to celebrate International Culture Day.
This year’s International Culture Day was held Saturday and is traditionally a capstone event for military officers attending Air Command and Staff College at Air University. This year marked the first time in-resident Air War College students joined ACSC in the event together.
Walking into the hanger, visitors instantly smelled traditional meat and pastry dishes from Nigeria, Israel, France, Germany, Japan and a host of others from Asia, South America and the Middle East.
Denise Massie, from Scotland, and her three children came to the event with Massie’s mother. Massie’s husband is an officer attending School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Maxwell Air Force Base and participated in last year’s event.
“The day is amazing, it’s nice to taste and smell the different countries and it’s educational for the kids,” Massie said. “Last year we did all the cooking so it’s nice to get out and see it all this year.”
Massie and her family tried cakes from Greece and food from Estonia.
The day is a chance for international officers attending AWC and ACSC to share their cultures with visitors through authentic cuisine, cultural dress, trinkets and music. Jesse Laroche, an international officer attending ACSC from Australia, was one of the organizers of the event.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some people to see cultures and talk to people from various countries around the world,” Laroche said. “I’m having a great time from Australia getting to see a lot of countries that I haven’t had the opportunity to interact with, so what a fantastic day.”
Each of the country’s representatives were given a booth to decorate with what they thought represented their country the best.
“We put a little display of what we think our culture is about, what we like to demonstrate to the world. Obviously, food is an important part of that in every culture; a little taste of what they have back home and an opportunity for people to talk about what their culture is about, their languages and history,” Laroche said.
In previous years, AWC and ACSC held separate international days a few weeks apart. This year, they decided to combine the events into one for convenience and draw, according to co-organizer Lt. Col Darcy Molstad of Canada.
“Combining the events has increased the size of it,” Molstad said. “We have 44 countries represented at AWC, so we bumped it up to 62 together, which is a significant increase. I think it’s going to be the model for the future, because it allows people to come here and in one shot embrace cultures from 62 nations of the world. It’s incredible.”
International Culture Day in the past has attracted more than 1,000 attendees and this year brought in nearly 3,000 because of the combined classes.
Maj. Musa Salmane, an officer in the Nigerian air force, is attending ACSC. His family came to stay with him in the United States, and it is their first time in the country. All of them participated in the event.
“This is a unique opportunity to showcase our traditions,” Salmane said. “I am overwhelmed with the reception we’ve received here and we have nothing to take back to our country except this feeling of goodwill and friendship. Honestly, this experience has changed my perception of America and positively changed the way we think toward America.”
Salmane’s wife, Hadiza Mohammed, served a hibiscus flower drink, called Zobo, kabobs and chicken.
The event aligns with one of Maxwell’s missions of building partnerships with foreign allies. Every year, the International Officer School at Maxwell graduates dozens of high-ranking officers from within other country’s militaries. After becoming adjusted to American culture and classrooms through IOS, international officers join the classes of AWC and ACSC.
Source: www.montgomeryadvertiser.com