This April, Taylor University celebrates Asian Heritage Month. The Asian Students’ Intercultural Association (ASIA) has worked hard to put on multiple events, inviting the Taylor community to join them in celebrating their culture.
“Asian heritage month is a time for celebration,” junior Joon Lee, co-president of ASIA, said. “But [it’s] also [a time of] acknowledging our cultures [and] also being able to share it with not just ourselves and our friends, but [with] those around us.”
ASIA’s first event was the Asian Street Market on April 6. People gathered outside the LaRita Boren Campus Center for fresh food and a variety of activities, including henna artwork drawn by freshman student Carol Sundar.
To prepare, the ASIA cabinet reached out to students who cooked last year as well as to any other interested parties. The students spent two days shopping for ingredients at the Saraga International Market.
The Asian Street Market was a taste of home for some and a chance to explore for others. Attendees filled the patio, exchanging tickets for ethnic dishes of Indian, Korean, Burmese, Chinese and Filipino foods.
“The street market is something that's very common in a lot of Asian countries like Korea, China [and] India,” Joon Lee said. “You just go down the street, and you will have food stalls, vendors, the noises and smells and liveliness all kind of mixed together. I guess a lot of us missed that and just wanted to bring that back.”
The following event ASIA hosted was Voices of Asia, held on April 10. Junior Brenda Antigua organized the band and brought people together for prayer and worship. Senior Zam Muan led the band with vocals and acoustic guitar, while six other vocalists sang in their own languages throughout the songs.
Antigua said the band only had two rehearsals, and they had not practiced with the whole team before the event. Despite the trials and hiccups, she said it went well. Antigua told her team not to worry about the number of people that showed up. She said that anyone who attended would be blessed.
In between worship songs, students mounted the stage to pray for the different countries in Asia. The audience was invited to meditate and participate as well.
“I was serving, of course; I was coordinating the whole night, but I felt that I could worship,” Antigua said. “I was telling the people that were going to pray, like, ‘now you go, now you go,’ but I know for sure that the Holy Spirit was there, and I know he was working in me, and I know he was working in so many people too.”
Aside from big exterior events, ASIA also hosted an interior event: the Asian Gala. Sophomore Sarah Lee, co-president of ASIA, said they served Thai, Chinese, Burmese, Korean and Indian food. The speaker for the night was Li Chieh Lu, an assistant professor of biology.
Students were invited to dress in formal attire or their country’s traditional garb. They also had a photo booth set up to capture the memories. Sarah Lee said they played games and had an afterparty with karaoke.
“It's really fun to see people expressing [themselves] because they don't really get a chance to show that here,” Sarah Lee said.
Sarah Lee said one of her favorite parts was seeing all of the Taylor students so excited to come to the events. She added that they loved last year’s events and wanted to participate in this year’s. Lee hopes to carry on the good work of past co-presidents for the next co-presidents.
The last event ASIA has planned is Art and Boba, which will be held on April 24 from 6–8 p.m.
There will be different flavors of boba, including brown sugar, taro, matcha and more. Additionally, there will be multiple forms of art, including origami and painting. Sarah Lee said they thrifted vinyl records to paint on as a fun addition to normal paper and other supplies.
Throughout the preparation for all the events, she noticed God’s fingerprints.
“The Lord has provided in crazy ways this year,” Sarah Lee said. “In every way—financially, emotionally, physically—[God] has shown up in so many ways. Our cabinet has prayed a lot over this, over planning, over funding, and every time, right on time, the Lord provides, and it is so cool to see it. We're just so grateful for it.”
