Exploring countries in International Bingo
Play Bingo or travel the world?
How about both?
On Thursday night, the Student Events Team hosted Bingo Around the World in the Ostrander Auditorium where students played a classic game of Bingo but with a twist: they got to travel and learn about different countries across the globe.
Student Events Team’s vice president and junior Atlas James said this Bingo was about involving unique countries around the world.
“We wanted to do a Bingo involving the countries as different rounds so this is a Bingo around the world event, just showcasing 10 different countries for each round. We wanted to pick up different countries that spanned a lot of global measurements,” James said.
James shared the process of putting an international Bingo together with his fellow members in the Student Events Team.
“It was a lot of fun. I worked with my advisor, Jack Wheeler, on this event pretty closely because we got to look up the prizes and learn about the individual countries together. We actually go through and find facts to showcase during the bingo so that people can learn with us as they play as well. It goes into just learning about the countries and we really had a lot of fun,” he said.
The countries involved were Ireland, Sri Lanka, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Nigeria, Japan, Argentina, Canada and New Zealand, and James shared what countries were his and the team’s favorites.
“We had a lot of fun with Japan,” he said. “But my personal enjoyment was New Zealand. I actually spoke with someone who lives in New Zealand currently about it and what was popular music-wise. So it was very fun to have those conversations.”
James shared how the Student Events Team partnered up with Global Education to “learn about different students that have experience in these countries and went maybe on an abroad program to certain countries featured in our program here on Bingo.”
“It ties into the kind of the diversity of what our students get to do, where they get to go, where they’re from,” he said. “We got to talk to different students who actually are currently attending school here about the countries that we’re highlighting to learn more about them through someone that’s actually from that country and it really just showcases just the broad amount of people that we have here at MNSU.”
Students competed for various prizes; from popular Legos to an argentinian snack box to a sample perfume from Gucci.
“I enjoyed the event. I thought it was really fun and I really liked the theme. It would be cool for it to be a yearly thing but they should switch where the prizes are from so it’s not the same every year,” first-year student Julia Dai said.
The concept of “Around the World” has been a popular theme around campus for but has not been used in a format of a Bingo and James shared how “it would be a great program to see continue.”
“Doing a theme even similar to it or partnering with the international organization in the future as well; bringing them into the project as well would be really interesting to see for the future vice president,” he said.
For more information on upcoming events, visit mnsu.edu/StudentEventsTeam
Write to Anahi Zuniga at anahi.zuniga@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: The Student Events Team hosted Bingo Around the World in Ostrander Auditorium Thursday. Students played bingo while learning about countries. (Dylan Long/The Reporter)