PROCTORVILLE — Vindhee Patel sways smoothly around the upper level of Fairland High School’s gymnasium. She moves her arms flowingly and whirls her hips to the Indian music blaring from a CD player.

Although she admits that her interpretation is a little less than traditional, the freshman said she hopes that the dance will serve as a tribute to her culture. Patel was born in the United States, but her parents, Jay and Sudha, emigrated from India.

Patel’s performance was part of the high school’s International Day, a yearly event aimed at raising awareness of other countries, their cultures and the lives of those who live there. Displays were part of the school-day activities Thursday, with a public performance in the evening.

“I like it because it makes me different from other people,” she said with a smile.

Patel bragged about her culture as she showed her tri-fold display and described her mother as “the best Indian cook in the world.”

FHS Spanish teacher Caroline Lovejoy is one of the organizers of the event. She said this year’s celebration was smaller than in years past because it was held at a different time than usual. It is usually held in the fall in conjunction with National International Education Week.

There were 22 countries represented at the event, ranging from England to Iraq.

“We used this as part of our classroom activities,” Lovejoy explained. “There are so many things that the students can learn through this project.”

She said many of the students and teachers have relatives that are from foreign countries or they have visited other countries. Lovejoy herself speaks several different languages and has traveled throughout the world.

“There are so many misconceptions about some of these countries. Many times the kids don’t know much about other cultures; they just know what they see on TV or what they hear. This (event) gives them a chance to see what life is really like. They can research what they eat and how they live,” Lovejoy said.

Although exchange students are usually a vital part of International Day, Lovejoy explained that they are on a trip this week to California and Florida.

She said the students realize that other countries are a lot like the United States.

“This lets them know that they have the ability to go other places. They can go and enjoy another culture,” Lovejoy said.

Lovejoy’s class was required to do their displays about the Dominican Republic, Chile, Spain or Mexico.

Brittany McKee’s display was also one that was very personal. She lived in Germany as a young child with her parents; her dad was in the Air Force and her mom was in the Army.

McKee lived in a rural city in Heidelberg from the time she was 7 years old until she was 10.

A large part of her display was a tribute to the Dauchau concentration camp in Munich. She said her parents were very adamant about her learning about the German culture and wanted to teach her about the Holocaust.

“It was one of the things that I will remember the most,” McKee said as she showed pictures of the camp. “It was very emotional for me. I remember everything about that, especially the gas chambers (where they killed many of the Jewish prisoners).”

Jayshree Shah, FHS biology teacher, is a native of Kenya, but her parents were Indian. She said International Day

“This (event) is very important. All of us need to be sensitive to others and respect other cultures,” Shah said.

She said there is a misconception that developing countries are always poor and that there are no rich people and that is not always true.

“Richness is not always monetary,” Shah said. “Richness can be cultural.”

Lovejoy said International Day will continue next year at its traditional time in the fall.