Gary Lee, an ambassador for Welcome To Australia, helped to bring The Welcome Dinner Project and The Couch together. "The Welcome Dinner Project is a fantastic initiative that connects newly arrived people with established Australians in the comforts of a home setting. It's a great way for international students to make new friends, savour new delicacies and learn more about another culture. What better way to celebrate Cultural Diversity Week than with a delightful smorgasbord of delightful conversations, new friends and delicious food," Gary said.
The facilitators for the event made sure everyone received a warm welcome. The first thing we were asked to do was to fill out a name-tag. On our name-tags, we were asked to write down our passion, which some guests found this easier than others. Later, we were told this was to direct conversation away from the usual small talk of people's careers or where they were from.
We all then gathered around the table to introduced themselves and the food we had brought. There were garden salads made with homegrown vegetables. There were home cooked dishes from different cultures. Other people, less adventurous in the kitchen, brought in meals that their friends had helped them cook, or that they sourced from their favourite restaurant. You don’t have to be a skilled chef to join a Welcome Dinner!Perhaps one of the items with a more interesting back-story were the cookies brought in by Alex. They were made from a secret family recipe that her grandmother had taught her, and they were delicious! No matter how much we asked, Alex would reveal no hints.
Finally, it was time to eat! Everyone helped themselves to the delicious dishes on offer and then found a place to sit and eat and talk. It was a very informal dinner, and people roamed around freely.
At the end of dinner, everyone wrote down one word to summarise the evening. The summaries included words like 'Hopeful', 'Beautiful', and 'U beaut!' There was a very positive vibe about the whole experience!
"The dinner introduced me to people I would not ordinarily have a chance to have a conversation with. I would definitely go again," said Helena, a recently arrived International Student studying in Melbourne.
So, if you’re interested in joining the Welcome Dinner Project, don’t let anything hold you back. People of all cultures are welcome, and you can always visit your favourite restaurant if the thought of cooking fills you with dread. People are there to make friends and converse with strangers, so there’s no reason at all to be shy! It’s a genuinely warm, uplifting and most importantly, welcoming experience!
More photos in the album.
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