If you're an inhabitant of this quiet, calm place called Ilmenau and you are reading these lines right now, we start by apologizing for disturbing your usual peaceful Sunday.
The uproar on Sunday was due to ISWI – day 3, which started about 10 a.m. with the International Brunch at the well known Wetzlarer Platz. An event meant to get us together and meet each other's culture as well as possible. How else can you get to know someone else rather than by knowing his closest customs? Besides, we kind of are what we eat, afterall.
So, leaving aside philosophy and moving on to the event, some threatening clouds scared some of us, but by 11 a.m. the sun was up, the flowers and the trees were blooming and people were happily eating all sorts of great dishes. Participants all over the world set up little stands with traditional food, drinks, clothing, jewelery and other traditional objects. You had to stand in line and wait for the queue to shrink in order to taste anything, but once you managed to reach the delights, every bad feeling you had before would fade. The food was for every taste and diet regime, from chicken dipped in nut sauce and spicy Hungarian salami to Romanian rum chocolate, Russian candies or Turkish delight.
As for the drinks, the offer could have been wider(too bad for that bottle of Russian vodka which was never opened ), but the ISWI participants were quite sensible and decided not to mess up the whole day by getting people drunk in the morning. We started with tea & coffee, then got to the Georgian wine, Ukrainian vodka, then again Romanian wine and some German Radler. Quite enough to get you to talk languages you had no idea you could speak, but not enough to get you sleepy or dizzy. So just about the right way.
The stage hosted artistical performances from every participant country: dances, hymnes, songs. We had there, one by one, performances from Nigeria, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Georgia, Indonesia etc. One fine moment was the traditional Indonesian dance, when some beautiful girls danced a very simple and calm, yet elaborate dance, while other three Indonesians were accompanying them by singing. The artistical programme of the Nigerian guys was also one highly appreciated. Their bouncy tunes and enthusiastic attitude made everyone danc with them, whether it was on the grass, on the concrete sidewalk in front oft he stage or up there with them. By the time they had finished their programme, we were dancing all together and singing, no matter the song, the rhythm, the outfit, the moves. One big great party, one big happy ISWI family.
What i personally liked most: the Georgian cheese and bread, the plantain chips from Guyana, the Nigerian stage party, the sunny weather, the Ukrainean vodka, the Romanian meat balls rolled in cabbage, the Brazilian sweet nut dessert, the documentation group meeting on the green grass and overall that cosy feeling of "i'm so happy to be here today and i know you are too".
Every two years, the International Brunch manages to be one of the most appreciated events of ISWI. It brings us together more than the workshops or the lectures do, through its very human-like nature. In the old days, when someone came to your house – whether it was planned or by chance – the first thing you did was offer him something to eat. That’s how you showed your friendship. And pretty much, that’s what the International Brunch does: puts a smile on your face, whether it’s because of the exotic new taste you just tried, or because of the smile you were offered together with the dish.
Here's the photostory, thanks to our dear photographers - Lisa, Christiane and Wolfram:
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