Every year in January, RMA’s World Language teachers host an international lunch for the upper school students and school staff. On January 16, French teacher Ms. O’Brien’s and Spanish teacher Ms. Bolivar’s students brought in a variety of dishes for everyone to sample.

Most of these dishes were from Spanish-speaking and Francophone countries since RMA offers French and Spanish, but several dishes were also from other countries. Many students with diverse cultural backgrounds brought dishes from their families’ home countries. For example, junior Aahad Chaudhry brought aloo tikki, which is a dish from Pakistan, and sophomore Ethan Kim brought mandu (also spelled mandoo), which are Korean dumplings.  

Although international food is the main focus of this yearly festival, the community aspect of having everyone contribute in some way is also a big part of why RMA offers the event. Each grade is responsible for contributing to the luncheon. The freshmen and sophomore classes are usually responsible for bringing utensils and plates and setting up Proctor Hall; it’s a process that takes all morning! Many ninth- and tenth-graders also contribute dishes, which they’re not required to do, just because they want to! For example, sophomore Olivia Dickson brought tacos, and freshman Julianna Moss brought focaccia bread. The juniors and seniors usually bring some sort of dish. These dishes are usually homemade, but students are not required to make the dishes themselves.

Now, for the dishes that were brought for RMA’s 2025 International Lunch! Ms. O’Brien likes to say that everyone is getting “a taste of Rocky Mount Academy” on this day. She says this because of the diverse cultural backgrounds that some students have which they like to bring dishes from those countries. This year, some of our foreign exchange students brought dishes from their home country or a neighboring country. For example, Olivia Rapp (who is German) brought crepes from neighboring France, Mario Ruiz (from Spain) brought tortilla Espanola, which is a Spanish egg and potato omelet, and Dennis Ding (from China) brought a sushi platter.

RMA is lucky to have a day where you can try new foods that you may not have had before. We cannot wait to see what dishes will be back and what new ones will be featured in RMA’s 2026 International Lunch!