It’s a small world after all

    GCSU students and members of the community were exposed to various cultures from around the world last week as the International Club sponsored the annual  International Week at GCSU, consisting of various events, including a study abroad fair, an international job fair, a salsa party, international dishes in Sodexho, and the highlight of the week, Thursday’s  International Day.
    “This is the 10th annual United Nations International Day. United Nations Day is actually on the 24th of October, but we started celebrating the whole week as International Week and we’ve been doing International Day on the Thursday for quite a few years,” Assistant Vice President for International Education Dwight Call said.
    After learning about opportunities to study and  work abroad earlier in the week, Thursday’s International Day  provided  the opportunity for students to learn about other cultures through  GCSU’s own international students, who represent more than  40 countries.  These students manned over 30 tables with displays representing their home country and were assisted by other GCSU students who have studied abroad.
    Countries represented included those from Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
    Luke Overs, a freshman business major  and international student from Sidney, Australia,  got the attention of passersby with a giant inflatable kangaroo.
    “(The response has) been really good,” Overs said. “A lot of people are coming out and having a look around and sort of learning different facts about different parts of Australia and different countries. Everybody seems genuinely interested.”
    Buchi Rapu, a senior economics major from Nigeria said  that International Day provided the international students with an opportunity to educate others about the reality of their home country.
    “A whole lot of people over here, I would say, have a preconceived notion of what they see on the Discovery channel and stuff like that, and so this is a way to show them that we have pretty things back home and show pictures that we actually live in cities and houses and all that,” Rapu said.
    The International Club also took the opportunity to expose local children to their various cultures, inviting area schools to take part in the week’s activities.
    “We’ve got a lot of community people that are  here, we’ve got lots of schools ranging from elementary to high school students and it’s just a really fun day to celebrate different cultures and for students to learn a little bit more from around the world and just see the diversity we have right here at Georgia College,” Associate Director of the International Education Center Libby Davis said.
    Ekaterina Sergey, an international student from Russia studying information systems, was impressed at the questions students were asking.
    “The little kids show great interest in Russian toys and culture and they actually ask about facts such as ‘What is the capital?’ and ‘How big is Russia?” Sergey said.
    For both  the schoolchildren visiting campus and the college students who sit next to international students in class everyday, International Week  provided an opportunity to explore the  global community beyond a textbook.
    “People become a little more aware of the world outside of central Georgia,” said Call.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 3 2006. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry