Olivia Love
Staff Writer
Africa, Trinidad, Saudi Arabia and Nepal are just a few of the many countries represented at ISU’s International Night on Saturday, March 12. The International Student Association at ISU is excited to highlight a variety of cultures centered around the theme, “No Passport? No Problem!”
Damara Marshall, secretary of the international student association, explained the theme.
“We’re just saying that if you don’t have a passport, it’s fine. You are still welcome to come and travel the world with us,” Marshall said.
This is a chance for the community of both ISU and the Pocatello area to experience a night of performances, food and other aspects of various cultures that are represented within the student body at ISU.
This is an exciting time for the international students because they get to be surrounded by and share their culture.
The International Student Association has been planning this night since last semester and working out all the details from the perfect date to the perfect location.
They also plan out the food and decoration for the night as well as coordinate with the different international clubs as to what they are planning on doing at the event.
“I organized performances and then also booths of countries,” Marshall said. “It’s so we could do little things like put out countries’ passports, write people’s names in different languages and other things.”
Though not every country might be performing, there will be a booth displaying information about the countries and about the culture and traditions of that specific country.
There are going to be 12 different performances at the event. From traditional songs to modern dances, countries will showcase something from their culture.
“In Africa, it was just our culture. Now we get to share it with a huge variety of people,” said Stella Ochek, who will be performing an African dance on the night of the event.
The event is designed to spread awareness of the different aspects of culture. The goal is to share what people from different countries around the world typically do, how they dress and what they eat.
The booths are there to educate people about the little details about the culture and give them the chance to learn about many different countries.
“A lot of us are miles, hours, plane rides away from home. So we just get excited to be in our own zone. It’s our night to be like ‘Here we are,’” Marshall said. “It brings us closer to home.”
The international students are proud of where they came from and take any opportunity they can to share with others about their homes.
So if you’re looking to venture to countries from all over the world, International Night will take place on March 12 in the Pond Student Union Ballroom. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the event officially kicks off at 7 p.m.
