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Nov. 14, 2005
Marshall’s International Festival: Huntington’s Own Little United Nations
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
Huntington, WV (HNN) -- Once a year the International Festival turns
Marshall University's Memorial Student Center into “our own little United
Nations,” explained Dana Sutton, Presbyterian campus minister and director
of PROWL (People Reaching Out With Love) .
The 42nd annual International Festival crowded hundreds of students and
townspeople into the Don Morris Multi-Purpose Room for three hours of
pageantry, songs, dances, fellowship and introductions.
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After Dr. Choi received his commendation, the Vietnamese Student Association took the small stage for both a fashion show and a bamboo dance. Resembling limbo sticks spread out across the floor area, the couples must together navigate the course while maintaining musical rhythm.
Buong Nguyen, a member of the association who helped introduce the performers, explained that “when we dance together, it’s a sign of unification.” Describing bamboo dancing as “popular” in Vietnam, he added that the women wearing long dresses with high heels have little trouble learning the dance. “All of Vietnam is like a mountain,” he said. “It’s like Huntington.”
Khaled Manouri, who’s studying English prior to entering an Information and Technology major, chose to come to Huntington from Saudi Arabia. “I have my cousins and friends here,” Manouri said. He praised Americans for treating him so that “I feel like I’m [still] in my country.”
Saudi Arabian mother, Thereeb Zagvoog, came to Marshall to finish her Ph.D. She too consulted with friends who recommended the school. “I was looking for a small city so I can study and raise my child at the same time,” Ms. Zagvoog explained. Calling Huntington “nice and safe,” she favorably compared it to her native Jedda which is “an open city” in her country.
Visitors could sample food from countries as diverse as Russia, Turkey and Cameroon to more recognizable dishes from China, Japan, Korea and India. Among the restaurants that provided foods were Nawab, China Super Buffet, Magic Wok, China Garden, and Rio Grande.
Dana Sutton summed up the experience as “one of my favorite events of the whole year. I see people I only see once or twice a year and I eat food here that I only get to eat once a year.” He described the festival as a “great event for people who have traveled” the world and similarly for those non-travelers an opportunity to “experience a slice of the world.”
