A Parade of Cultures and Languages Was Held at Kuzbass Polytechnic University

On April 28 "Parade of cultures and languages", organized by the Department of Foreign Languages and the Department of International Cooperation of Kuzbass State Technical University was held on the basis of Kuzbass State Technical University.

Students from China, Africa, Egypt, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and India participated in the event. The parade started with a festival of national cuisine, where the students presented traditional dishes of their native countries and peoples, which they prepared themselves as a treat for other students.

Representatives of the People's Republic of China treated parade participants with truly exotic dishes. For example, the students presented a side dish called Kele Ji Chi or Chicken in Coca-Cola. The chicken wings in a marinade of soy sauce and the well-known soda drink made an impression even on the most experienced gourmets. There was also a lot of dishes featuring egg on the table of our friends from China. And this is not surprising, because egg products have a special place in Chinese cuisine. Eggs are put in salads, made into snacks, added to hot dishes with rice, noodles or meat, and even served in caramel for dessert.

The main dish of the national cuisine festival was plov. The representatives of Tajikistan prepared a huge kazan with rice and meat following a special recipe, which is rooted in their national tradition. The guests of the festival highly appreciated the taste and flavor of the main dish of the peoples of Central Asia.

“Among dishes that I tasted today, I especially liked the dishes of Chinese cuisine, as well as plov, which was offered by representatives of Tajikistan. It's great that our university organizes such events! It's really important that representatives of different nations get to know each other, communicate and learn about each other's traditions”, – noted Nazar Zverev, a student of the Mining Institute.

Certainly, the festival did not go without Russian national cuisine. The students offered their guests a choice of pancakes with condensed milk or sour cream, meat kulebyaka, and pickles with pickled tomatoes.

There was also plenty of Oriental sweets on the tables. Baklava, rahat-lukum, halva, sherbet - the national desserts, which the participants of the event happily enjoyed with a cup of hot tea. For each dish they liked the guests could leave their tokens, which will later be used to determine the most delicious cuisine of the festival.

After the "culinary" part of the parade, a large concert and competition program was organized. The students performed artistic numbers in the Student Theater " Lodge". In a cozy atmosphere of a small room, representatives of different cultures and peoples demonstrated their dancing and vocal performances, which reflected the identity and national character of each culture.

The girls from Africa performed for the audience a rhythmic song in English called "African Girl," while the students from Egypt performed a rap composition. A student from Kazakhstan performed a solo melody, which he played on an acoustic guitar. As for the representatives of Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, they presented several artistic numbers at once. A Russian folk song was performed by a female musical trio, and a dance group presented a number to the song "Oysya, you oysya". Students from Tajikistan impressed the guests with live instrumental music and compositions in their own language.

During breaks between performances the students participated in contests and quizzes. Thus, students became the heroes of an improvised fairy tale and demonstrated their knowledge in the field of regional studies. In the contest on the knowledge of cultural traditions and customs of other countries the students were guessing the names of countries by the associations and stereotypes which are deeply rooted in society. For example, Big Ben, tea and roses represent England, matryoshka, balalaika and brown bear represent Russia, etc.

The organizers of the event note that such events help to form intercultural competencies of Russian and foreign students, as well as to introduce them to the traditions and customs of other cultures and peoples. Such meetings help to develop a tolerant attitude to cultural values of different ethnic groups and nationalities.