By TIFFANY MERRITT
Editor: MICHELLE DANNER
October 14, 2016: the lights were low and the stakes were high. Agents from around the world entered the UNCG EUC Alexander room to represent their countries. The laughter and smiles from participants seemed surprisingly genuine despite the pressure everyone felt to put on their best poker faces in order to win the grand prize, a $25 gift certificate, bottle of martinelli’s sparkling apple cider, and heaps of Dove chocolate. Some agents were distracted by the food spread including Sarah Barker’s famous red velvet cupcakes with handmade marshmellow dice, gold painted Oreos, cherry cheesecake cups, BLT finger aperitifs, and cucumber tea sandwiches. Some of the boldest agents displayed their courage by playing jelly bean roulette, which involved picking up and downing a cup of jelly beans. The flavor of the jelly beans could be sweet and fruity like cherry or blueberry, or it could be nauseating like trash can, toothpaste, and stinky socks. Two of the agents were in a heated poker match trying to beat the other for first prize. In the end, Rachana of China won the grand prize by one ticket over Ben Thompson of America…..
Was the New Mind Casino Royale a scene from a new James Bond movie? Not quite, but anyone walking by could have been fooled! Even though the 44 participants were not secret agents representing different countries in a poker game, they represented multiple groups including UNCG alumni, the current UNCG student body, INTERLINK language center student body, and New Mind Education. The first eight participants to arrive received New Mind Education water bottles filled with top secret backpacks, spy magnifying glass pens, and Chinese tea.
Upon arrival, participants visited the bank table manned by New Mind Education intern Melanie Yang to receive fake money and chips. Then everyone joined various poker games, gambling the fake money and enjoying the refreshments provided by New Mind Education interns Tommy, Kevin, and Melanie. Food included red velvet cupcakes, BLT stacks, cucumber tea sandwiches, golden Oreos, cherry cheesecake cups, and of course virgin cranberry punch martinis–shaken, not stirred. In one corner guests could play darts, while in another they could watch Casino Royale projected on the wall, In a third, they could test their bravery by playing Jelly Bean Roulette.
This event fostered engaging conversations between all participants regardless of their native languages. New Mind Education students especially enjoyed chatting with Americans. Students Xiaowen Guo and Chenlu Luo plan to connect with one of their new American friends on Facebook and take her out to coffee to practice English. New Mind Education proudly creates events like this for the purpose of helping international students make friends with their American school mates at UNCG. We hope to see even more participants at next year’s event!
