Food, dancing, and beautiful colors made up a vibrant culture festival at the Language and Culture Center on Friday.
Every semester, hundreds of LCC students from over 20 countries gather together to celebrate the end of the semester and their culture. Students bring a dish from their respective countries, wear traditional clothing, and celebrate their culture through dance.
The festival draws in both faculty and students alike. Wendy Davis, a native Texan and the marketing and communications coordinator for the LCC, wore a cowboy hat and boots to show off her Texan pride.
“It’s great to see the cultures mix with each other — the dancing, the students sampling foods from other cultures,” Davis said. “Its beautiful to see the blending of cultures that and the shared identity that we have as human beings.”
The LCC is a unique part of the community, it brings in over 400 students from 20 different countries and different backgrounds, all with a common goal: to learn English. The culture festival is an opportunity for all of the learners to share their culture with one another.
The festival is also about enjoying the foods and traditions from other parts of the world. The festival had a showcase of dishes from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Congo and other countries.
Students were able to bring their spouses and family members to the festival and engage with everyone in the LCC. In line with Thanksgiving, the LCC provided a traditional Thanksgiving meal, complete with turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, so the international students could get a chance to experience American culture as well.
Idee Tezeyombi, a program assistant at the LCC and English senior, attended the event for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed the festivities.
“I get to experience different cultures. It is similar to a study abroad experience except you’re at home, so the experience comes to you,” Tezeyombi said.
The LCC culture festival gives international students a memorable experience while they are studying abroad, and it’s a great way to begin the upcoming holiday break.
“The festival is very enjoyable, and I will definitely come back next semester,” said Davoud Sahban, a first-year LCC student from Iran.
The next LCC Culture Festival will take place at the end of the spring semester.
Our culture is our identity. The expression of it is liberating