Friends of the International Center, at UC San Diego Newsletter Volume XLII, No. 2 October 2014 President’s Message Given the many changes that have Please be sure to send in your occurred in society over the last 50+ reservations for our Fall scholar- years, the founders of the Friends ship fundraising dinner featuring of the International Center are to Persian cuisine. I can assure you be commended for their incredible that you will be very sorry if you vision: the Friends mission state- miss out! ment remains as relevant today as Katya Newmark it was when the organization was [email protected] founded: The purpose of the Friends of the International Center, a nonprofit Marion Spors and Alma Coles packing up organization, shall be to support inter- boxes in preparation of our office move October Calendar national education, to foster friendship, Oct. 1, 15: Family Orientation, understanding, and cooperation within office on the south side of what is 9:15 the international community, and to sometimes called “Building B,” or create a meeting place on the UC San “IFSO,” or, by old-timers as the “old Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Wednesday Diego campus for people who share student center,” the 2-story brown Morning Coffee, 10:00-Noon these aims. wood building located directly Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31: Friends We remain hopeful that our across the street (Mandeville Lane). Friday Chat ‘n Chew, 10:00- beloved International Center build- Not only was the Friends Noon ing, with its recent reconfiguration mission visionary, but so was the of space, will continue to serve as a Friends logo: a colorful hub sym- Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28: Knit-Along, meeting place for both local and in- bolizing a moving crossroads, a hub 1:00-4:00 ternational communities for many of activity where travelers can come Oct. 9: International Cooking years to come. together to share their common interest Experience, 9:30-1:00 For those who have not recently in and knowledge about each other’s been to the International Center, countries. Careful readers may have Oct. 14: Board Meeting, 10:00 you might be surprised to find that noticed a slightly different logo: we Oct. 15: International Kitchen the Friends office is not where you have retained the timeless hub, but lunch, Noon expect it to be. We are in the process have attached to it the Friends of the of our own internal reconfiguration, International Center name, as well Oct. 23: Football 101, 4:30, but you can find a Friends office as our trifold mission: friendship, Porter’s Pub within the main IC building on the scholarships, and hospitality. We Oct. 25: Ethnic Dinner, 6:30 second floor on the west end, best hope that you will react favorably accessed from the ramp or exterior to the new logo and will continue Oct. 27: PAO Expo, 11:00-3:00, stairs to the west deck by the park- to help spread the word about who Price Center Ballroom West ing lot, AND you can find a Friends we are and what we do. Page 2 Ethnic Dinner #110: Not only does the Friends of the International Center Directory and Handbook pro- vide the names and contact information of our membership, Saturday but it also includes some concise historical material, among it October 25 at 6:30 p.m. a complete record of all Ethnic Dinners and their cost, starting ••••• with a Chinese Dinner (@$4.00!) offered in March 1973. This month, Friends will host an Iranian Dinner, and a count tells Iranian Dinner us that this event will be number 110 in a long-running series with illustrated talk by that, then as now, was conceived as an occasion to socialize, to Negin Nazarian and familiarize ourselves with different cultures, and to raise funds Alireza Sarebanha for Friends projects, most often for international scholarships. Because of a scheduling conflict, this year’s October Eth- ••••• nic Dinner will not involve UC San Diego Family Weekenders, A Fundraiser for Scholarships who are heading to the San Diego Zoo. Although Friends were asked to change our event from Saturday to Friday evening, we could not accommodate this request, since the International Center is fully booked that day. Nonetheless, we will have UCSD students in our midst, not the least several who will help with mounting the event. Also among us will be Haleh Yazdi from Iran and Chris McCarthy, newly returned from research in Mongolia, both recent Friends Scholarship recipients asked to speak to us about the meaning to them of our scholarship. Come welcome them and help us raise money for 2015 Friends Scholarships.—Ed. A Journey to Iran —by Katya Newmark ing English conver- The next dish to follow will sation group, where be Salad Olivieh, a very popular she learned about our cold chicken salad that research International Cooking suggests was introduced to Iran Experience classes. She in the late 1960s, but is a dish of attended several—ap- Russian origin created in Moscow preciating them all— by a French-trained chef. Ancient and was soon asked Persia was a bridge between East to offer one herself. and West and modern-day Iran, Her session featured the eighth largest country in the the cuisine of Shiraz, world, continues to serve as a Shohreh’s hometown. crossroads for many cultures. On Saturday evening, October 25, The class was a great success. I The entrée will feature two diners will be treated to an authen- was so impressed by the food and classic dishes. (1) Fesenjon polo, a tic Persian meal totally prepared Shohreh’s knowledge that I invited pomegranate, walnut and chicken by volunteers under the direction her to work with a group of us on stew, that is considered by many of longtime Ethnic Dinner chair, offering a full dinner for Friends to be one of the most delicious Liz Fong Wills, and Shohreh and guests. She graciously agreed. Persian dishes, melding tender Karimaghaei, a native of Iran, here Shohreh, Liz, and I have selected sweet and sour chicken bathed with her husband, Arya Iranmehr, the following menu. in a tangy pomegranate and a Ph.D. student in UC San Diego’s The meal will begin with an walnut sauce. Department of Electrical and Com- appetizer of kashk bademjan, an Key ingredi- puter Engineering. Shohreh, too, is eggplant and cheese dip, served ents include a trained computer engineer, but with sangak (flat bread). While pomegranate currently does not hold a permit to many have tasted eggplant dips molasses and work in the United States. from other countries, the addition fresh walnuts, Shohreh tells us that she en- of kashk, a whey unique to Iran, ingredients not joys coming to the International together with caramelized onions so commonly Center, at first participating only and garlic, gives this eggplant dip found in South- Pomegranate in the Friends Wednesday morn- its identifying Persian flavor. ern California. molasses October 2014 Friends of the International Center, UCSD Newsletter Page 3 (2) Kalam polo, rice with tiny meat- asked to move from the Interna- balls, a flavorful and aromatic bas- tional Center to the large lecture Resale Shop mati rice dish that traces its origins room in Center Hall, the neigh- —by Marion Spors to the ancient city of Shiraz. Its boring building located directly preparation, layering herbs, cab- across Library Walk, where Iranian Thanks to a terrific group of vol- bage, the tiniest of meatballs, and doctoral students Negin Nazarian unteers we have had a great sea- what I jokingly call “magic grape (Mechanical & Aerospace Engi- son. We added some nice art and powder,” yields a dish that tastes neering) and Alireza Sarebanha display pieces, and have had a unlike any other. To cleanse the (Structural Engineering) will pro- number of great donations, such as palate, we will offer Salad shirazi, vide a narrated photographic Judith Muñoz’ donation of brand a refreshing salad of cucumber, presentation on Iran: an insider’s new Clae shoes. tomatoes, onions, and parsley in a view of a country seldom visited Our monthly meetings have lime vinaigrette. by Americans. helped to improve communication For our vegetarians, we will Friends are delighted to fea- regarding everyday Shop busi- have separate plates with Kookoo ture the cuisine of Iran and to pro- ness, and allow us to get to know sib zamini, a Persian spiced potato mote a view of the country from each other and to discover hidden pancake. those who know it best. talents. We have several possible And to end the meal, diners Don’t delay making your din- new recruits and have a few things will be offered Ranginak, a typical ner reservations—the deadline is in the pipeline—working on store Persian date dessert. October 17. For ease, you will find logo, Facebook page, and Insta- Traditionally our Ethnic Din- a reservation form on p. 11 or on gram. And of course none of this ners include a cultural program, the Friends website (icfriends. would happen without our awe- and after dinner our guests will be ucsd.edu) under Special Events. some customers, many of whom come in every day. Membership We regret to note the death, at age 83, of Freeman Gilbert, emeritus profes- What: Football 101 and sor of geophysics. We extend our condolences to his wife, Sally Gilbert, whose association with our organization dates back to its very beginnings, Chargers Watch Party when a group of volunteers rented a cottage in downtown La Jolla to serve Where: Porter’s Pub, UCSD as an International Center for the newly-founded University of California, San Diego.