Today I attended my first Asian cultural event— the Lunar Moon Festival! This event celebrates the Full Moon of every 8th month of the lunar calendar in China and Vietnam, but now it is celebrates in other parts of Asia as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

 

As somebody who is an Asian adoptee, I know little about my heritage and, like most international adoptees, there is somewhat of a struggle with cultural identity. The majority of my friend group is any other ethnicity but Asian, and everything I practice and learn about stems from Western culture. I thought it was refreshing to go to an event where almost EVERYONE was Asian and where everybody felt like a close community.

 

The sense of community was really strong, since we had Asians from other universities (mostly from Texas) attend! At the beginning there was an acknowledgement of appreciation for each group that represented their university. OU’s Mr. and Miss Asia were the hosts of the event, and we saw performances that ranged from cultural dances with modern flare to two friends doing covers of songs that made them happy. It was all really cute!

 

The food was okay, but there were no mooncakes! ): I was sad about that, because I heard the mooncakes were really good at another Moon Festival event on campus, and mooncakes are a popular dessert for this event.

 

I was happy I brought my best friend with me, since she loves learning about Asian culture and she doesn’t go to many international events around campus. She really liked it and felt so happy after. As a Spanish major and interest in Latin American culture, I usually go to events related to the Latino global community, but now I might go to more Asian events on campus now or discover more international group events.