International NorQuest College students were introduced to pumpkin pie and other Canadian holiday staples on Friday. The Stanley Milner Library hosted a joint cooking session for members of the school’s Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program and community members, who walked the former through recipes using pumpkin, as well as potato soup and zucchini-and-beet fritters. “I like it for English. I’m learning new words (and) skills,” said Malek Adouli, a LINC student who moved to Canada eight months ago from Syria. He said he had never cooked in a large group before and found it very fun. “Obviously, the food’s great, but I love meeting new people, learning about their cultures, learning their stories of where they came from,” added community member Jerry Aulenbach. “You’re working together toward a mutual goal and then we sit down around this huge table and enjoy the meal. It’s very rewarding.” The LINC program provides newcomers with support learning English. But, as NorQuest College’s community connections advisor Natalia Jimenez pointed out, events like Friday’s cooking class are about more than language practice. “Think about it as a first date. It’s like, what are we going to talk about? But food is something super easy that anybody can talk about. What’s the name of this in your country? How do you utilize it?” Jimenez said. “They become friends. They’re now talking about their families. They’re talking about things that are important to them. It’s really nice to see that ice break.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Sean McClune
