Cruise the World features booths from more than 30 countries and provids Moscow residents and students with the the opportunity to experience various cultures in one place. The event will be Saturday from 11 a.m.-5p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.
Rachel Hill, a University of Idaho senior, was not aware the average citizen of Uzbekistan speaks more than three different languages, including Russian.
Hill said she believes most UI students don’t realize many of the less mainstream facts about countries around the world. This was just one of the reasons she accepted the opportunity to be in charge of promoting the annual International Programs Office event, Cruise the World.
With the assistance of ASUI, the IPO will hold the event from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, in the Student Union Building Ballroom.
“Normally, this event is held in the spring,” said Tammi Johnson, manager of International Student, Scholar and Faculty Services. “However, International Education Week is Nov. 11-15. International Programs decided to change the annual event dates to fall to kick off International Education Week.”
International Education Week comes from initiatives of the U.S. Department of the State and Education.
Students can purchase tickets for $3 on Saturday at the SUB information desk. Tickets are $9 for families (up to two adults and three children), and children under the age of five get in for free.
Once in the ballroom, tickets are exchanged for cultural passports, and at each booth visited, a participating student will mark the passport with unique pictures representing their country.
The 2013 theme for the event is Harvest Festivals. Campus and community members will have the opportunity to learn from international students about harvest traditions and celebrations from more than 25 cultures. There will be chances to try on exotic clothing, play traditional games, learn cultural dances and more.
“Many of the tables will have traditional food items for visitors to purchase,” Johnson said. “This year, there will be foods from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Mexico, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.”
She said live entertainment will take place on stage every half hour, and performances include traditional singing and dancing from Brazil, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and more.
Junior Lazizjon Toshniyozov is an international student from Uzbekistan participating in this year’s Cruise the World event. He will give a presentation on Uzbek lifestyle that will include information about his culture, traditions and national cuisines.
“I didn’t know I would make so many friends here, both boys and girls,” Toshniyozov said. “So I will bring gifts for my presentation from Uzbekistan for both boys and girls. Also, I am cooking my national dish, Palov. I’m so excited. I will try to do my best to impress people. Not every American knows about current life of Uzbekistan, so the presentation will be cool for people that don’t know the small things.”
Last year was the first time Rachel Hill attended the event. Hill said it was a crazy and awesome experience for her because she got to see all sorts of different cultures in one room.
“I think when you go to things like these, you learn that there are so many smaller, low profile countries that aren’t China or India that don’t constantly get acknowledged in the media,” Hill said. “We have students from those countries, and we can learn things about them, they exist. If you want to travel and you haven’t had the opportunity for it, this is the event for you. Students get the chance to travel the world in a day.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]