2023年2月7日
代表五个国家, 10 international students from 韦德体育app官网 recently participated in the inaugural Multicultural Festival at the Waterford Montessori Academy in Waterford Township, 密歇根州.
该活动于1月9日星期五举行. 27 and, despite inclement weather, attracted about 150 people.
“These cultural events and exchanges are crucial, especially now as not everyone is able to travel outside of the United States,佩特拉·诺奇说, international adviser with the 国际学生和韦德体育app官网 Office and 全球参与办公室 at OU.
“Events like these promote diversity and different cultures in a positive, 实践的方法,诺奇说. “They also give our international students an opportunity to share their cultures, to wear their beautiful gowns and clothing, and to be proud of who they are and their culture.”
A collaboration between 韦德体育app官网’s 国际学生和韦德体育app官网 Office, 全球参与办公室, 和沃特福德蒙特梭利学校, the inaugural Multicultural Festival featured representatives from nearly 20 different countries and cultural backgrounds, 包括德国, 意大利, 墨西哥, 约旦, 保加利亚, 沙特阿拉伯, 葡萄牙, 菲律宾, 加拿大, 尼日利亚, 乌克兰, 捷克共和国, 和台湾.
“It has been awhile since we’ve seen this many people celebrating the world together, and I am so happy that we are slowly getting back to seeing people at events like this and having our students participate,诺奇说.
The event featured several different cultural performances, including:
• A Hindi 音乐al performance by Jigyasa索尼 from 韦德体育app官网;
• Taiwanese diabolo yo-yo performed by Julia Chen, 埃里克陈, Olivia Liao and Joseph Hsiao from the 密歇根州igan Chinese School;
• 香农舞蹈学院爱尔兰踢踏舞;
• A 保加利亚n dance performance by 保加利亚ns in Detroit;
• A demonstration of a traditional Philippine folk dance (tinikling) by Jayvee Soliman;
• Arabian singing and Durbaka drumming by Nour Marwan.
“他们都很了不起，”诺奇说.
The 10 international students from 韦德体育app官网 who participated in the festival wore their traditional clothing, 为他们的桌子带来展示品, and some brought samples of traditional 食物 to share with the school and community.
“多样性超越了校园,Ahmed Alobaidan说, event coordinator for the Saudi Students Association at OU. “This was a great opportunity to learn about other cultures and meet new people.”
Ajete艾格斯, 和伊恩·艾伦一起参加音乐节的人, said the experience was “absolutely incredible.”
“We loved experiencing all of the exciting cultures as much as the kids did,” Eggers said. “Holding hands with a bunch of new people and trying to learn a new dance really made the strangers seem more familiar. Being able to share some exciting things from back home was so much fun and I really enjoyed how appreciative everyone was. It was, overall, a great experience and I will definitely be participating next year.”
Jurgen Mezinaj said he was happy to see his country represented at the festival.
“I am so happy that a lot of kids at the festival were interested to know about my country (Albania),Mezinaj说. “我认为我作为老师做得很好. 这些年轻的, smart minds now know that there is a small country called Albania next to 意大利 and Greece. 最后, I had time to visit all the tables from the different countries, and I learned a lot of history and tried the delicious 食物s like Czech cookies and 沙特阿拉伯 baklava. I also enjoyed the talented dance performances from the students.”
Damilola Alao also enjoyed participating in the festival.
“The event was well organized and gave the opportunity to interact with people with rich 食物 and cultures from countries across the world,阿劳说。. “我玩得很开心.”
Jigyasa索尼, 谁也在音乐节上表演, said attending the event was “like taking a journey around the world, 体验不同的传统, 美食, 所有的文化都在一个地方.”
“Having had the opportunity to represent my culture and attend the Multicultural Festival was a rich and exciting experience that exposed people to the diverse cultures and traditions of different communities,索尼说。. “不同种类食物的样品, 观看文化表演, 了解当地的风俗习惯, 音乐, and art of various countries definitely broadened one’s horizons to celebrate diversity, and make new connections with people from different backgrounds.”
Afeez Abdulrasak表示同意.
用我们的语言, color, 信仰, 食物, 和成长, we are different but the strengths we have as humans lied in our dynamics, 通过多元文化探索, we bridge the gap of ignorance about our existence.”
For more information about OU’s 国际学生和韦德体育app官网 Office, visit www.奥克兰.edu/isso.