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International Education Week allows students to experience aspects of diverse cultures represented on campus.

WSU’s International Students’ Council presented the international foods bake sale and free henna tattoos event on Monday, Sept. 19 and yesterday, Sept. 20 in the CUB. This event shared how diverse foods and art forms relate to different cultures.

One of the most important traditional stories in the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival surrounds a couple, Hou Yi and his wife Chang’e. In the story, Chang’e drinks an elixir of immortality to protect those she cares about from a tyrant becoming immortal. She then chose to reside on the moon, and to honor her sacrifice, people offer her gifts on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.

This celebration is often referred to as the Moon Festival or the Harvest Moon Festival, because it celebrates the worship of the moon. Mooncakes, a pastry generally filled with a red bean filling, are often served between friends during this festival. WSU students Yunge Xiao and Shang Wang sold these cakes during the bake sale.

“The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is similar to American Thanksgiving,” Wang said. “In China all of the family comes together to eat a big meal, just like Thanksgiving.”

WSU’s chapter of Alpha Pi Omega, a Native American multicultural sorority, presold Native American tacos during the bake sale. Unlike Mexican tacos, Native American tacos use fry bread instead of tortillas.

“The fry bread was developed when Native Americans were on reservations,” said MyKel Johnson, a member of Alpha Pi Omega. “They’d be given flour and (other ingredients) from the federal government. It’s traditionally something made for celebrations,”

Alpha Pi Omega Vice President Kyra Antone said that the sorority spreads information about Native American culture to those on campus. Everyone is very supportive about being so far from home, she said.

“Because we’re a Native American sorority, we do things together that we usually only do back home,” Antone said. “Having other people who share the same culture as you is great because we can do a bunch of cultural things together, like make Indian tacos.”

Ramneet Kaur, a member of the WSU Sikh Students Association, has been practicing henna for two years. She offered free henna tattoos at the bake sale.

“My favorite part about this event is getting to interact with the people who get the tattoos,” Kaur said. “They all come from different backgrounds and have little to lots of knowledge about henna. Letting them know about the culture and our traditions is my favorite.”