Last night, we celebrated the Holton community in the best way know how: by gathering together, celebrating each other in all our variety, and, yes, eating. While other significant events, like Convocation, the Thanksgiving Assembly, and Commencement, mark a rite of passage or a holiday, Mosaic stands apart. With parents driving the event, Mosaic focuses on families, drawing its energy from our pride in sharing our backgrounds, in the fun of discovery as we try different foods, entering briefly into another culture through flavors and textures, and in the fellowship of a shared meal. A huge thank you goes out to Co-Chairs Saima Ahmad and Mandana Moghisi for making this wonderful event happen this year.
Walking down the Middle School hallway, enticing smells forecast the feast spread across the gym – 37 countries in all, with a little cheating from the US which offered not just a general USA table laden with the likes of Twinkies and M&M's, but also Southern USA, African-American, and Native American (though we can certainly legitimately call the last a separate country). As a child I was fascinated by Native Americans, so I was especially intrigued by this table. I mistakenly thought it was their first year, but was gently reminded that I had said the same thing last year – a little embarrassing to say the least. While I may not remember the moose stew they served in 2015, I can report that this year's elk chili was a flavorful mix of beans and tender meat. Though tempted, I skipped the Twinkies, but did have some macaroni and cheese, one of my most favorite foods, at the African-American table. But I digress because by the time I got to the African-American table, I couldn't manage more than a couple of bites of anything and I still had many tables to visit.
I had actually begun my culinary journey, as I always do, at the Greek table. Those of you who've shared the Mosaic experience with me over the last nine years know I love baklava. In times of yore, the baklava would disappear very quickly, and woe to those who tarried on their way to Greece. I learned the hard way. However, I can tell you that the Greeks have finally recognized the popularity of this distinctive sweet, and this year they had plenty still available well into the evening. I stopped next at the India table where I had, among other things (it was early yet), an excellent, pleasingly light samosa.
May I note that not having the stage made navigation among the tables much easier, while not having the performances, as one person observed, made the whole event feel a less frenetic (plus we didn't have students performing while most people concentrated on the food rather than the performances). I appreciated having more tables scattered about where one could set down a laden plate, or eat something, like the delicious tamale from the Mexican table, that could not be easily eaten without a surface to support it. Many countries created elaborate cultural displays, the Mexicans setting out an especially rich one, as did the Iranians, the Pakistanis and the Brazilians. At the Senegalese table in addition to tasting Mafe, a chicken dish (virtually every culture seems to have chicken dishes), you could learn a little Wolof, the language of Senegal's largest ethnic group. We might not even have noticed the background music, but one of the Mosaic chairs created a playlist with a musical selection from every country represented that played throughout the evening.
Speaking of culture, yesterday was, of course, St. Patrick's Day, a fact that demanded a trip to the Irish table where I enjoyed some warm soda bread slathered in Irish butter, a small sausage, and a nice piece of Blarney Castle cheese. One of the great things about Mosaic is that you bounce around the world in the most unlikely order, one that would make no sense were one actually travelling from country to country. Case in point, I went from Ireland to Israel – logical only because the tables were arranged alphabetically. I chatted for quite a while at Israel, only later eating the surprisingly yummy matzo with chocolate and caramel as well as a macaroon. However, I was absolutely not allowed to leave without trying the noodle pudding, which did melt in my mouth. Given alphabetical order, you won't be surprised that Italy came next – who can resist a little Italian pasta? Then came Jamaica where the rice and beans and curried chicken (there's that chicken again) were good, but the prize was the Jamaican Champagne Cola that the Jamaicans remembered that I love. I had actually forgotten that I love it, but I don't think I will again. Elixir is all I have to say. Japan offered sushi, of course, but I tried the noodles and a bit of fried chicken (. . .) and a sweet ball of rice paste instead. By now I was already getting full, so restrained myself a little at the Kashmir and Bangladesh table where I tried a fried onion fritter-like food and at Lebanon where I had some fine tabbouleh, but resisted the savory pastries, another universal food form. The Kenya/Zambia table also had a meat filled pastry, and the Philippines featured a small pork stuffed pastry similar to an egg roll.
It's great to ask students what they have liked best as one goes around the room, and one praised the Chinese dumplings so I headed off in that direction. It took me quite a while to get there, with diversions for conversation, my foray through various USA tables, not to mention a stop at Belgium for a waffle with whipped cream. Can you imagine how full I already am? But even then, I didn't reach China before a visit to Brazil where I picked up a passion fruit mousse whose creamy texture and slightly exotic flavor was to die for, definitely one of the highlights of the evening. We can't forget, however, the small chocolate ball which apparently Brazilians have at every celebration; it is smooth and rich, like a truffle but better. Definitely addictive. I did finally reach China and was rewarded with a really delicious dumpling. This made me happy not only because it was so good, but because most other years the dumplings have been gone by the time I reach the China table. Catching up with a former student about another former student and a stop for water provided a little respite. However, the water abutted the Honduras table where I got lured in, fortunately, I would say since this afforded another highlight of the evening: a tamarind concoction that I think is supposed to be consumed frozen. It's street food sold in a solid form in small plastic bags. Mine was largely defrosted which actually made it easier to eat/drink since you tear off a corner of the bag. It tasted like slightly sweet tea and was incredibly refreshing. The perfect antidote to all that food! But I couldn't be finished because I had to try some lentils from Eritrea and beyond that sat the huge spread representing Iran. I had to have a cookie so I took a Mom's recommendation of a small clover shaped item that I described to a student a few minutes later as tasting a little like a Lorna Doone except softer, a description with which she concurred after eating one. I also had small fried ball that's dipped in a sugar syrup; I've had these before and they're very similar to an Indian pastry called a jelabi. I remarked on this which led the Mom to agree and say she thought the Pakistanis might have jelabi. I hadn't visited Pakistan yet and there was a friendly rivalry going on between Iran and Pakistan because the Mosaic co-chairs hail from these two countries. I had to go to Pakistan, though, as you might have guessed by now, it was in quite a different part of the room. Eating another thing was a challenge, but there I tried a very tasty chickpea dish. While in this area I also had a honey and almond cake from Morocco and visited South Korea for sushi and some very tender, flavorful marinated beef. And I had a meatball at, you guessed it, Sweden.
I finished yet another marvelous Mosaic at the Community Voices table. This re-imagination of our Parents of Children of Color organization aims to carry throughout the year what Mosaic does so well: celebrate and promote understanding of the rich diversity that defines the Holton community. Look for their events and I hope you'll join them with the same enthusiasm that we show for Mosaic.