Students from a variety of cultures gathered at Dixon Recreation Center on Friday to showcase the world’s diversity.

Dozens of booths and stations displayed cultures from nearly every continent. The goal of the event was to teach people about foreign activities; Iran, Vietnam, Africa, Malaysia, Latin America and others were all represented.

Cheerful faces and eager teachers filled the lower gym at Dixon Recreation Center. Games and activities took place all the way up until midnight.  

“We created this event special for all students because we want to promote our cultures, to increase cultural diversity and cultural awareness,” said sophomore civil engineering student Alisha Sadouva.

Home for Sadouva is Kazakhstan, which unbeknownst to most is the ninth largest country in the world. Moreover, not many people can locate Kazakhstan on the map.

“To be honest, when I came to the United States I didn’t see a lot of Kazakhs from my country,” said Sadouva. “Because of that I really want people to know that, ‘Hey, I’m from Kazakhstan!’”

At Dixon After Dark, Alisha got the opportunity to share a piece of her home with OSU. She brought a traditional Kazakhstan instrument, called a dombra, to play on stage and teach any who asked for a lesson.

The African Students Association at OSU offered customary face painting, while the Vietnamese Students Association hosted the traditional gambling game, Bầu cua cá cọp.

“I like it when people know about our culture,” said sophomore biochemistry student, Linh Dinh. “I know that there are a lot of stereotype about how Vietnamese culture is and how Asian people are. We are all Asian, but we are really different. We all have different cultures, so it is such a great opportunity for me to come here talk about my culture so Americans or people from other countries can know more about Vietnamese culture.”

Michael Morelli, a senior studying bioengineering, is from Portland. He is exactly the the kind of person Dinh wanted to show her culture to, a willing learner.

“I really enjoyed learning about the different cultures,” said Morelli. “The games I played were fun and exciting, and the people were super willing to open up about their countries. Plus free tamales.”

However, free food wasn’t Morelli’s favorite part of the night.

“Getting my face painted probably my favorite part. I chose the colors that represented warmth and purity, gold and white,” said Morelli.