Three Countries, One Culture
Author and photographer: Vira Kravchuk
Editor: Mariia Lysikova
Katherine and Sam Handal from Honduras raise the flag of their country.
Presenting cultures from around the world by emphasizing their uniqueness and cultural richness
is the main goal of Cultural days at LCC. Representatives from Kyrgyzstan, Japan, and Honduras
performed on the recent Intercultural event on January 20th.
Only seven Kyrgyz people, two Honduran sisters, and one Japanese study at LCC. These numbers of students are too small to allow students to prepare a one-hour presentation of the whole country; therefore, the Intercultural team made an unusual decision to combine the celebration of three countries together.
“We combine them, but we anyway want to highlight every nation,” said Anna Chubatiuk, а member of the Intercultural team.
LCC is an international university with student body from more than 50 countries. The Intercultural team helps to fill the gap of knowledge about cultural diversity. Each semester the team organizes events aimed at broadening awareness of cultural differences in traditions, beliefs, and mindsets.
“Intercultural team members help with the organization of the cultural day from A to Z, starting
from letting countries know the date of the event to having meetings with the group and asking
them about their vision of the event,” said Anna. “Often they have amazing ideas that we try to implement”.
Yoshiyuki Miyasaka, the only student from Japan, showcases Japanese national clothes during the Cultural Day.
The cultural day of Kyrgyzstan, Japan, and Honduras gathered Neufeld auditorium full of
students and faculty who enjoyed learning about other cultures and trying traditional food.
Cultural Day is particularly significant for the representatives of the chosen countries. Students get a chance to share a piece of their homeland with some who can be completely opposite in their views and customs. Each representative tries to express their national identity through clothes, dances, songs, and games.
“National identity is about politeness, caring, and empathy for me,” said Yoshiyuki Miyasaka,
sophomore Psychology student from Japan. Living in the melting pot of cultures is influential for
Yoshi because every day he is exposed to various perspectives from people around the world and
it helps him to understand cultural mindsets and become a psychologist in the future.
“International university is really meaningful for us to cultivate the better humanity,” said Yoshi.
The fact that Yoshi is the only Japanese person at LCC inspired Honduran sisters Sam and
Katherine Handal to create an idea of shared performance. Yoshi and Handal sisters broke some
common stereotypes about their countries together and then encouraged students to free
themselves from rooted beliefs about some nations with an adapted song “Let it go” from
Frozen, accompanied by piano performance.
Students also develop teamwork skills because they prepare for the event together or can even
collaborate with other countries to create an impactful and engaging show.
“We had a lot of ideas but we needed to pick only the best for the performance. It caused some
misunderstandings,” said Elchibek Duishobaev from Kyrgyzstan. Despite some obstacles in the
preparation process, all three nations opened doors to their cultures full of unusual but
meaningful traditions, euphonious songs, charming dances, and surprising flavors of national
cuisine.