Students rehearse a modern Chinese song, Sun. May 17, for the upcoming International Night

Learn about Western student's cultures from all over the world

Dancing, music and food from different cultures will be shared at the 29th annual International Night

By: Tiffany Hendrix

Posted: 5/20/09

The international office hosts International Night every year, and on Saturday, May 23, International Night will take place at 5 p.m. in the Pacific Room. The night will feature new talent this year, as well as some veteran performers.
The dinner is being served and catered by Soba, an Asian bistro in Salem. Adria Zampich-Gibbs, one of the International student advisers, said the food will include, "Korean, Japanese, Filipino and Chinese, among other" types. While enjoying the catered meal, students can watch traditional and modern African drumming and dancing, several music students singing in Chinese, a fashion show and a modern Japanese dance with props.
Masaki Ikeda, senior, choreographed the Japanese dance and has four of his friends performing it. Ikeda said at the first rehearsal, "This is our first rehearsal, but we have been practicing for quite a while." Many students helped with each part of the performance, and student volunteers helped organize the event and will be doing everything from taking tickets to helping with the food.
Julia Bai said, "I'm helping to organize everything," and when asked how it is going she said, "Good and busy." This was demonstrated by the swarm of students, who she was helping get organized with sign-ups for being in the fashion show and volunteering for various duties.
The International Night has been planned for months and practices have been occurring for weeks. Countless hours have been spent and many Western students have contributed to this night. International students' parents will be able to see the performance through live streaming and during intermission they will even be able to watch a personal message from their child. For $5, Western students will be able to attend as well, enjoy a catered meal and see what the hours of work have created.