Lan Truong was on a mission Sunday at Global Festival 2005 in the Union.
The supply chain management junior was so busy having her "passport" signed by representatives from the more than 25 campus international groups that she had to get a second one. The "passports" included basic information about the countries or cultural groups at the event and acted as goals for participants to visit every informational table.
"I wanted to learn more and I ran out of room," Truong said. "We traveled around the world today."
Aside from having "passports" filled out with information about different countries, participants were able to sample 20 different kinds of international foods in the Global Café, have their faces painted and visit the World Gift Shop.
Various community groups and student associations comprised the 14 performances during the event as audiences sang and clapped along.
The event has been held for more than 20 years and draws in many members of the community, including families, said Stacey Bieler, co-director of Global Festival 2005.
Bieler said the festival is an opportunity for the 3,293 international students at MSU to showcase the rich cultures they come from.
"One of the greatest things about travel is getting to see things, but what is better is to meet people," she said. "You can go and look at buildings, but you aren't there just for them. What you would like is to talk to people and learn about the culture from a friend."
Bieler said the festival was unlike other cultural events this semester because it was bigger and allowed the different cultural groups to mix.
Preparations began in the spring for the five-hour event, which was sponsored by the University Activities Board and Community Volunteers for International Programs, Bieler said.
The World Gift Shop was composed of international gifts such as paintings, cultural artifacts, housewares and clothes that were collected throughout the year. Each item listed where it came from on the price tag, and all proceeds contributed to providing scholarships for spouses of international graduate students.
This fall, three scholarships were awarded from about $6,000 collected from the shop, Bieler said.
French freshman Jen Burstein said she attended the event because she plans to travel and wants to know what to expect.
"I just love other cultures and I plan on going to study abroad in France," she said. "I want to take advantage of more exotic study abroad opportunities to experience different cultures and ways of the world."
Bhushan Ekbote, graduate director of events for the MSU International Students Association, participated in the festival and said being immersed in the cultures of both his native India and the United States broadens his perspective of other cultures.
"Being in (both of these) cultures has made me more accepting and able to understand other countries better," said Ekbote, who also is a mechanical engineering graduate student. "I don't know a lot about Japanese culture or European culture, and it will help me to wander the booths, see the pictures of different cultures."
Before filling out her passports, Truong sampled crepes from France and Rogan Josh, a dish made of mutton with spices from northern India, at the Global Café.
"It's so different," said Truong, who also is a resident of Vietnam. "You don't get to eat this every day."
