Retired actor, comedian, television personality and blogger Jen Deaderick forwarded this.

http://www.cambridgeportpto.org/half-a-gender-wayang-a-maya-angelou-poem-and-saffron-ice-cream/

The Multicultural Potluck Dinner, one of Cambridgeport’s most popular events, was held on February 17 in the cafeteria. Jointly sponsored by the Parents of Black Children Discussion Group and the Cambridgeport PTO, the event celebrated the unique multi-cultural vibe that energizes our school community and enriches our children’s education.

Each year the mix may be a little different, but the party is always lively and fun. Just as at past potlucks, DJ Olly spun tunes through the evening while families marked their hometowns on a big world map. This year, for the school’s 20th anniversary, organizers chose a blue-and-white color scheme and distributed a get-to-know-you Cambridgeport “bingo” game. Players roamed the room seeking signatures of those who “are the parent of a 1st grader,” “love to eat spicy food,” “have traveled outside of the US in the last year,” or “speak three languages” (for the last question the name frequently returned was “Aya,” a second grader whose family hails from Morocco). Those who completed the game had their bingo cards posted and won delicious dark chocolate mini bars, generously donated by Equal Exchange, a distributor of fairly traded and organic coffee, tea and chocolate and an organizer of sustainability-focused fundraisers for schools.

Dinner was a sampler’s abbondanza of world cuisines (see photos below), featuring dishes such as couscous, Chinese dumplings, stuffed cabbage, latkes, American barbecue, chili, falafel, jerk chicken, Indian curry, pasta with pesto, Polish bitki, and shrimp with rice and peas. Among the many volunteers who helped serve from behind the tables (and kept items organized) was a C’port parent who only a month ago moved to Cambridge from South Africa with his family (thanks, John!). It was amazing to discover just how many talented cooks our school seems to have, and how many people were happy to help make the evening a success.

Just as the mealtime wound down, the entertainment kicked into gear with a demonstration of an Indonesian metallophones instrument called the gender by Boston composer and graphic artist Christine Southworth. Christine is a member of Galak Tika, an innovative Balinese Gamelan orchestra centered at MIT. She described how two genders are traditionally played together as an ensemble called a Gender Wayang to accompany Indonesian shadow puppet plays. Galak Tika will perform in the New Music Marathon on April 15 at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium as part of MIT’s 150th Anniversary “Festival of Art, Science and Technology“. Many thanks to Christine for taking the time to share the exotic sounds of her unique instrument with our students. (For at least one family at Cambridgeport, who hails from Indonesia, they were the sounds of home.)

Eighth grade students provided the remainder of the evening’s entertainment. First, Desi C. and Ci-Ci M. gave a spirited recitation, by heart, of the Maya Angelou poem “Phenomenal Woman”. Next, Mira R. and Leyla A., whose respective families come from Lebanon and Ethiopia, presented a series of skits under the direction of Arts Committee president Jen Deaderick. The first demonstrated the three ways cultures have historically collided: they either made war, passed along disease (“achoo!”), or traded goods; the second skit described how accidents—like bumping into each other and mixing milk and chocolate—can produce a tasty new product; and the third depicted the irony of two people—one from England and one from China—arguing that their own country’s method of brewing tea was more “correct” (both oblivious to the fact that their tea was originally produced in India).

Dessert time capped off the memorable evening, and included contributions from families, a large celebration cake, and the very thoughtful donation of many hand-packed ice cream cups by Toscanini’s in Central Square. To match the spirit of the evening, Toscanini’s owner Gus Rancatore chose numerous exciting flavors for our students to try, including green tea, burnt caramel, mango, saffron, Hydrox cookie, Grapenut raisin, coffee, goat cheese brownie and one cup of a mysterious flavor labeled “wort.” The unusual-sounding ice creams presented a challenge for some students, whose faces expressed both longing and uncertainty as they decided which flavor to pick (or whether to try one at all). But for every student unwilling to step beyond his or her comfort zone, there was another in line behind who declared, “I’ll take it!” As quick as a flash every cup was gone, most carrying extra spoons. (And, at least so far as we know, the adventurous soul who tasted the “wort” survived to tell the tale.)

Many thanks, again, to Galak Tika, DJ Olly, Equal Exchange, and Toscanini’s for helping make our event such a big hit, and to the 8th graders and other upper grade students who attended and presented, and to all the parent organizers and volunteers who set up, cleaned up, and kept things running smoothly. Anyone interested in helping with next year’s Multicultural Potluck should contact Shirley Harvey at: sharvey@cpsd.us or 617-349-6587, ext. 111. It’s never to soon to say you’d like to be involved.