In the spirit of National Dong Hwa University’s 24th Anniversary, the Office of International Affairs presented 2018 International Culture Night at the Performance Arts Hall located in the Student Activities Center. This yearly event showcased the rich and diverse cultures of the foreign students at Dong Hwa.
The program was hosted by Indian-born student Miss Bharti Arora and Taiwanese student Miss Zoe-Shui Lin (林弱水) in English and Chinese respectfully, along with the opening greetings done in six languages.
The President of National Dong Hwa University, Dr. Han-Chieh Chao, delivered a speech on behalf of the teachers and staff, thanking all international students for choosing National Dong Hwa University to advance their education and careers. With students’ recognitions and participations, NDHU had expanded its culture richness and abundances. He continued to share Dong Hwa’s rankings in Taiwan, Asia, and the World, and to affirm Dong Hwa’s commitment for the steady progression. Finally, he invited all students to congratulate Dong Hwa by shouting “Happy Birthday” in Chinese as the show commenced.
The Culture Night featured classic dances from various countries such as India-Rhythms of India, Kyrgyzstan-Nomads_Kg, South Pacific Islands-Islanders, Vietnam-VSA NDHU, Mongolia-NomadZ, and Indonesia-Indonesian Student Association.
To encourage the culture integration between foreign and local students, Dong Hwa Fire Dance Club and Hot Dance Club were invited to participate for the first time and won the enthusiasm from the audience. Mongolian students showed their unique traditional throat singing called “Hu- Mai” 呼麥（圖瓦語：Хөөмей；蒙古語：ᠬᠥᠭᠡᠮᠡᠢ，鮑培轉寫：kögemei，西里爾字母：Хөөмий）. The show finalized with the traditional dance called the “Salman Dance” by the Indonesian students, which was recognized by the United Nations as the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Members of the audience were invited to participate in the performance making a perfect end to the festival.
The performed students showed off their traditional clothes, music, body languages, and national flags. Even those who didn’t take part in the performance also wore their traditional clothes and flags to identify themselves.
The NDHU’s International Cultural Night has been held every year for the past seven years. With increasing international student populations and nations, this event has become the most anticipated cultural event for both international and domestic students in Dong Hwa campus. The hope for the future is to see more variety of cultural performances in the various activities and communities in National Dong Hwa University continuously.
翻譯者：國立東華大學資訊工程學系 Djavan Kayode Martin