International talents come together
The LDS Student Association will take USU students to the corners of the globe with its International Talent Show and World Expo Friday.
The expo features booths featuring cultures from all over the world — Asian, European, African, Oceanic and South American countries, said Isaac Allred, the LDSSA international vice president.
There will be 29 different countries’ booths as well as 24 different acts for the international talent show, he said.
“One issue that our campus has is the integration of international and domestic students,” Allred said. “That’s our primary objective — as a campus we can work together and help everyone feel welcome, regardless of their background.”
Last year, Allred said, roughly 600 people attended the talent show and expo, and this year he’s hoping to get more than that. The number of booths in the expo representing various countries has grown from 15 to 29, said Amy White, an LDSSA member spearheading the World Expo.
While international and domestic students alike are performing in the talent show, expo visitors can also explore the different countries represented by booths.
A passport will be provided that patrons can get stamped while sampling a variety of ethnic food, including food catered by Tandoori Oven as well as homemade salsa, fruits, cheeses and breads, Allred said.
“There’s no way you could do justice representing a country in a matter of hours, but this is an opportunity where people can get a taste of different cultures quickly and make new friends,” he said.
White said many different international students, domestic students and student unions are trying to do their best to represent countries they come from, have lived in or studied in.
Students will share cultural experiences from the Ivory Coast, France, Mongolia, Argentina, Brazil, China, Taiwan, Somalia, Australia, Russia and more countries around the globe.
White said anything students have that represents a certain country will be present at the booths.
“One guy who is representing Scotland is going to wear a kilt,” White said. “Anything that truly represents that country will be there.”
Paul Urzagaste, a graduate student studying plant science, participated in last year’s talent show and manned a booth for his native country Bolivia. He said he wanted to make sure he shared exactly what his heritage was with his fellow students.
Urzagaste said he welcomed the curiosity people share toward the traditional instruments he brought to his booth, because he doesn’t get many chances to transmit his culture.
“You see that people put a lot of effort into their performances,” Urzagaste said.
Everyone should learn about different cultures, Urzagaste said, because sometimes people don’t see the differences between countries such as those in South America.
He said through the World Expo, people can learn how different Latin American countries, like Argentina and Bolivia, really are. He hopes that people can see how different South American countries are even though they look the same.
Not only will other countries be represented in the talent show, but things from the U. S., such as Native American cultures as well as elements of contemporary American culture. The World Expo is meant to be a celebration of our diversity, Allred said.
Allred said the talent show will last an hour and 20 minutes and the booths will be open before and after the show. The LDS Institute Building is where the World Expo will be, in the multicultural hall at 7:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3.
Allred said he hopes everyone will feel welcome, because members of the entire local community have contributed to organizing the event.
“In addition to (being) a lot fun and entertaining,” Allred said. “People really realized the significance of it, where you had people coming together and putting aside their differences. They have a desire to become one as a student body — become one as a community.”
– lizzie.carson@aggiemail.usu.edu