Holding signs with the names of countries that obviously were not their own, 15 international students took the stage Friday night at the International Cultural Show.

For example, a Chinese student could have held the Bulgaria sign and an African student could have held the Latin American sign.

Show coordinators tried to convince the students to find their respective countries sign, but the students refused.

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Instead, the students flipped over the signs and revealed the phrase We All Belong to the Same World.

The students left the campus with this final message of February’s International Festival ’98, celebrating 50 years of international enrollment at SIUC.

Expressing this message to the campus was International Student Council’s goal for the night said President Wan Kamal Wan Napi.

Even though we come from different countries, we still can share the same world, he said. There is so much of a difference between us, but this is still our world.

The council sponsored the International Cultural Show and the 50th Anniversary Reception at 7 p.m. Friday in the Student Center Ballrooms. More than 650 people watched the extravagant show put on by 15 international student organizations.

Traditional songs, dances and clothes filled the stage throughout the evening.

Highlights of the night included the Japanese Student Association reminiscing their homeland by singing songs. Japanese men constructed visual representations of their home using their bodies to make shapes. The most exciting was the making of Japan’s Mount Fuji. On the second try, the 15 men constructed the pyramid-shaped figure.

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Metallic beats and rhythmic drums are how the Korean Student Association brought their music to the stage. Ten percussion instruments played Samul Norre, fulfilling music played during a busy harvest.

Vibrant pink and green covered the two women’s bodies representing the Thailand Student Association. The expressive, delicate hand movements gracefully brushed the air in a classical dance performed when a girl is preparing for her first public appearance.

The Bulgarian Student Association folk danced to the sounds of the traditional bagpipe of their home country.

Through these performances, the show allowed international students and others to be aware of the diverse student population around them.

Adrian Yong, a graduate student in agriculture business from Malaysia, said the cultural show has allowed him to experience what his fellow international students do everyday.

I get a chance to meet people from all over the world, he said. At the same time that I meet them, I am able to learn about their lifestyle too.

Learning was unavoidable though International Festival ’98. Everyone who played a part in the month’s 20-plus events were able to make it a learning experience.

Ruth Saborio, ISC vice president, said she received a better understanding of the international world at SIUC.

I really learned a lot throughout the International Festival, she said. I really hope others did too. This is just one more part of the learning process. You can’t learn this much though a textbook or in class.

The only way to learn this much is by contact with the culture and people from the country.