On March 17, Darlington hosted the International Fair. Students from all over the world made presentations to teach people about their country.

Junior Lina Nguyen, from Germany, said, “I did it because I thought it would be interesting for other people from other countries to learn more about Germany. I especially wanted to clear up any typical stereotypes.”

Some people were very short on time when preparing.

“It was a very last minute decision to join,” junior Xiya Burton, who represented Guatemala, said. “I had two days to finish all my stuff.”

Sophomore Eunsong Lee, representing Korea, had a similar experience. “We got the presentation board only two days before.”

These people worked hard to present their countries with fun activities.

“Rayna, another person from Korea, brought a Hanbok, and I wore it and introduced myself to people,” Lee continued.

Burton shared that “I went to Walmart and bought 38 bananas in order to make chocolate covered bananas.” 

“We planned what kind of activities we had that we could connect to the culture of China,” junior Taylor Zhang, from China, said. “We had paper-cutting, card games and some snacks for the people.”

Students shared their opinions on visiting the booths at the fair.

“I really liked the booths that had a lot of interactive stuff,” junior Kimberly Johnston said. “For example, with Serbia, there was a section where you could write your own name in Serbian.”

“I know with Jamaica they had Jamaican hot chocolate, which was really cool. And Korea had Dalgona, which was really tasty,” Johnston continues.

“I really loved them all. I remember Mexico had a lot of food and colorful things on their table and on the poster,” sophomore Alli Robinson said. “All of them were beautiful.”

Everyone learned a lot of new information about different countries with some sharing that they wish to participate next year.

“I learnt a lot about countries I only knew surface-level stuff about,” Johnston said, adding that she liked “getting a better understanding of the people that go here and their culture and what is important to them. I think it would be fun to help out on someone else’s project and also learn a lot more through the process.”

Sophomore Anna Nguyen, from Vietnam, said “The International Fair was a place where I could show my national heritage, and I wish to have the same opportunity next year.”