Students bring international dishes for a football tailgate

Troy’s International Student Services held an International Food Potluck for its second tailgate of the football season last Saturday morning in front of Pace Hall. Students were able to sign up through a QR code to bring a dish of their choice that would represent their country. 

For this tailgate, the organization partnered with Fort Rucker’s International Military Student Office.  

“Our collaboration is important because it helps us to know each other better and fosters community,” said Fort Rucker’s International Military Student Office Field Studies Program Specialist Andres Ramos. “It's amazing seeing everyone come together because it unifies people and unity helps with cohesion.” 

Some of the dishes that were cooked and presented at the tailgate included beef bulgogi with butter buns (Korean-style grilled beef with vegetables), pancakes, grandma’s pasta salad (pasta, garlic bologna, which includes both beef and pork, peas, corn, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard and paprika) and sandwiches.  

Students were also reimbursed up to $50 for the dishes that they made.  

“It's actually special because a lot of students are from another country, and football is a very American thing, as well as tailgates, so this is definitely a great chance for international students to experience American culture,” said International Student Advisor for the International Student Office Sarah Bai. “While it's about learning the local culture and connecting with the local people, we're also trying to connect everyone together.  

“We believe if you know more and if you understand each other more, then you will love each other as a whole.”  

As students and guests tried the food, games were made available for everyone to take part in while getting to know new faces. The games that were played consisted of jenga, cornhole, soccer and cards. 

“I feel like it's an American tradition to show up early before a game and go to a gathering of people, get some food and enjoy the vibe,” said Pierre Boerkey, a junior sports management major from Germany. “It's like a nice way to get together and then go to the stadium. 

“I'm a transfer student, so it’s very cool for me to connect with people from different places from around the world, and I love the campus. It's kind of hard to get to know each other and learn the language, so it really helps to just meet everyone since the people are very friendly and open.” 

Looking ahead, Troy’s International Student Services plans to put together another tailgate for the next home football game on Oct. 4, when the Trojans will take on South Alabama.  

“We encourage all the American and international students to come here because it's open to everybody,” Bai said. “We hope to have more American students come here to talk to our international students since that is why we're doing all of these events.”  

For more details on this tailgate, visit @troyuniversity_int on Instagram.