In order to help enrich the cultural activities of the international students who are studying in China and enhance their cross-cultural experiences, on the afternoon of December 27, 2018, the first COHD Cross-Cultural Carnival (4C) was held successfully in the CIAD auditorium under the well organizational planning of the college. Over 60 international students coming from 29 countries attended this event. At the same time, Mr. Gong Li, the Deputy Dean of the college, Prof. Liu Yonggong, Prof. Zuo Ting, Prof. Qi Gubo, Prof. Wang Libin, Prof. Wu Huifang, Prof. Tang Lixia, Prof. Lu Jixia, Associate Prof. Wang Yanlei, Dr. Zhao Xuejiao and Dr. Liu Chaoqun, the class advisors of the international students, and Ms. Zheng Yuyang, the Foreign Affairs Secretary of the college, all attended the event. The carnival was held by Ms. Zheng Yuyang and Alhassan Baba, who is a PhD student in Rural Development and Management Studies. The student representatives from 6 countries gave presentations of their own cultures respectively.
At the very beginning, Mr. Gong Li, the Deputy Dean, made a short speech for the event. He pointed out that COHD had always been enjoying the biggest number of foreign students among all the colleges of CAU. For COHD, the ultimate goal of international student cultivation is not only to help them accomplish their academic mission, but also to make sure that they are fully integrated into their new life in China and get enough respect and attention to their own cultural identities as well. Therefore, to guarantee sufficient cross-cultural communication and interactions among the international students and their Chinese peers and teachers is definitely necessary and meaningful, and that is the reason why the COHD Cross-Cultural Carnival (4C) is born. He also indicated that 4C will be made into series to build a brand at the college level, and in this way, an accessible platform would be provided continuously for all the teachers and students, both Chinese and international, to enjoy the sparkles of cross-cultural encounters.
The first presenter is Judith Kahamba, a PhD student who comes from Tanzania and has been studying in China for 2 years already. Through PowerPoint presentation, Judith introduced the geographical environment, economic development, cultural traditions and ethnic costumes of Tanzania to the teachers and students present. Moreover, with a highlight on the special food of her hometown, she showed her anticipation that more people would like to go to Tanzania to experience its local culture.
Lemi Chala, representing Ethiopia, gave his presentation in the second place. As a postgraduate student of 2017 grade, Lemi has already got a certain understanding of Chinese culture and therefore would like to help more Chinese and international students from the other countries learn about Ethiopia. He started from the geographical environment and economic overview of Ethiopia and then made an emphasis on the introduction of its customs and specialties. It is worth mentioning that Lemi gave the speech in the traditional costume of his country in order to provide the audience with a more intuitive understanding of Ethiopia. He also brought the Ethiopian coffee for everyone to taste and told the story of making the handmade coffee.
As the representatives of South Sudan, Akon Paul and Reath Gech gave a brilliant presentation in the following part. Similarly, wearing the traditional ethnic costume of South Sudan, the two international students showed their unique and impressive dressing culture. Besides, Akon Paul introduced the economic development scenario of South Sudan after its independence and indicated that his nation is carrying out strong measures in terms of economic construction.
The fourth presenter is Hnin Mar Htay from Myanmar, a postgraduate student of 2017 grade. On behalf of the 3 Burmese students in COHD, Hnin Mar Htay focused on the introduction of Myanmar’s cultural traditions and costumes after giving a general overview of its geographical environment and economic development scenario. During the presentation, the 3 girls from Myanmar showed their traditional dresses in bright colors and shared their traditional meals and tea with the audience.
As the representatives of Malawi, Chikondi Kadongola and Andrew Nhlane introduced their country in a question-and-answer format which came out to be quite impressive. Malawi's unique geographical location makes it different from the other African countries with less water in terms of geographical environment. Therefore, Chikondi Kadongola gave a special emphasis on the presentation of the cultural and food diversities resulting from this difference. In addition, they also presented Malawi's distinctive traditional costumes by wearing them in person. Their unique way of presentation and sense of humor made a strong impression on the audience.
The presentation of Chinese culture was given by Gao Zichen, the assistant of international students. She started with the introduction of the four great inventions of China and then came to the elaboration of several frequently used expressions in the typical Chinese social networks such as “mianzi” and “gaunxi”. Since Chinese culture has been known by an increasing number of people in the global community in recent years, Gao Zichen gave a special highlight on the presentation of Chinese traditional tastes that have spread to many other regions of the world. At last, she emphasized that Chinese culture is extensive and profound, and she encouraged all the international students could come into contact with more specific and splendid Chinese cultural elements in their following life in China.
After the presentation part, the event came to an end. One after another, the international students took photographs with their Chinese peers and teachers. The successful holding of the first 4C paves the way for the subsequent development of this series activities. According to the feedbacks from the teachers and students present, such a feast of cross-cultural communication not only gives them fascinating insights into different global cultures, but also enhances the cultivation of their own cultural cognition and sense of belonging.
