Allora oggi . . . one final exam down and two more to go before the grading frenzy begins.  Allora yesterday the international tourism class final was scheduled.  After the students turned in their last paper we held our own version of Around the World in 80 Plates.  It was more like 33 plates because each student brought a potluck dish that reflected the food culture of their chosen country.  At the beginning of the semester all students identified a nation where they wanted to travel.  Based on the students’ preferred country, they were grouped into geographic regions.  Every written assignment and oral presentation integrated specific tourism and cultural concepts presented during lectures and drawn from the textbook.  Students subsequently applied the ideas to their respective country.

Okay back to Around the World in 80 Plates affair.  The students grouped into their geographic regions and coordinated efforts resulting in an international culinary tasting of an assortment of dishes during the potluck.  As a class, we traveled from region to region (table to table in a herd) while the students shared stories about the food and provided samples of their efforts.  We tasted Brazilian lemonade, which is actually made from limes and condensed sweetened milk.  There was a curry pickled melon dish from India, Ethiopian coffee, pupusas, fried plantains, pho, meat pies (German and Australian), corned beef and cabbage, baklava, Irish soda bread, crepes served with Nutella and a yummy British fruit and bread pudding kind of thing.  Part of being a gracious tourist requires an understanding and appreciation of other cultures including food.  As a group we embarked on a culinary adventure around the world in 33 plates . . . and I think learned a little as well.