Erasmus student Victoria, from Germany, recounts her experience of the Fairtrade Formal, which was held recently in Leech Hall.
For the St John’s Fairtrade Formal, 15 Erasmus students from different Durham colleges had the chance to see what formals are like at St John’s – arguably the best college! Students from all around Europe sat together at one table for a very special evening. For some of them, it was their first gowned formal and, of course, the association with meals in the Great Hall at Hogwarts came up. However, the theme of the evening was not Harry Potter, but Fairtrade.
Fittingly, we had a delicious three course menu consisting of a cheese scone with chilli jam, a beef dish as the meat option, or a curry made with Fairtrade bananas for the vegetarians, and Ben and Jerry’s cookie-dough ice-cream for dessert.
In between the courses, we were challenged by a Fairtrade themed quiz that we had to complete in teams. Did you know that the word banana originates from the Arabic word for finger? This and other questions contributed much to our entertainment, as well as the engaging and informative speech from Richard Adams, one of the pioneers of the UK Fairtrade movement and a former St John’s student. The evening was full of great conversation about different cultures, food, wine and of course, Fairtrade.
After the formal dinner, the Erasmus students ended the evening together with two students from the ESN executive committee in St John’s bar, to provide our international guests with the real St. John’s experience. Thank you very much to everyone who made this evening possible!
John's Chronicle 