International Night

Leah C.

April 18, 2010 - 10:51 PM

Tonight I attended International Night, hosted by the International Student Association. If I were to compare this culture show to Hong Kong Night, I-night was more diverse in their food and performance since ISA represented a variety of groups from around the world. From India, Africa, Spain and many more, tonight's show shone a spotlight onto a diverse group of performances.

The food for I-night was plentiful and was served before the show. A buffet style dinner was set in the EMU Fish Bowl where a dozen or so dishes from around the world were served. I had so much piled onto my plate that I forgot what was what. I remembered eating Japanese curry, African Peanut Sauce...with beef (?), Hawaiian coconut pudding and a bunch of other random stuff. Random in a good way since everything was delicious. A small pamphlet was handed out while we waited in line for food. Each dish included the name, country and recipe. I kept it folded in my pocket the whole night, but sadly I misplaced it! I really like the coconut pudding and had plans to make a batch of my own. It reminded me of a childhood dessert I had a long time ago. It was very light and yummy dessert!
After two hours at the Fish Bowl, everyone was escorted up to the ballroom where we were welcomed with a giant mural of hand drawn characters, people and scenes from around the world. Stepping inside, I took a seat with some of my friends near the back row. Instead of round tables like we had at Hong Kong Night, chairs were placed in rows facing the front. There were three mc's hosting the show, starting with the UO Jam squad. In regards to what culture they represented, it was American style hip hop! Following the hip hop performance, there were many more traditional performances provided by different organizations in the Eugene community. I watched several dances performed by the Eugene Chinese School. Little kids pranced around in bright costumes holding decorative firecracker props and red Chinese knots. After that there was a Tai chi performance performed along side the Guzheng. The Guzheng is a Chinese instrument that is played by plucking the strings. Following that there was Taiko Drumming, and a variety of different dances.

Unfortunately I left before the event ended. I had too much work to do and it was already 9 o'clock. ISA is a really large student group, a home for all the international students and anyone interested in learning about different cultures. They also host coffee hour every Friday with free food and drinks for the student body. I am fortunate to have gotten to know a few ISA members this year and I must say they've done a great job putting the night together. I really can't wait to go to next year's performance!