IPO brings the world to Moscow with Cruise the World event
University of Idaho Executive Director of International Engagement and Programs Susan Bender said leaving one’s home country and entering another culture has often been compared to taking a fish out of water — the fish doesn’t know its environment is water until it is removed from its native environment.
Bender said most people who move to another culture often experience culture shock. Yet, it allows people to develop an awareness of things they took for granted back in their hometown and develop important intercultural skills.
To kick off International Education Week, the International Programs Office, with a sponsorship from ASUI, will host its annual Cruise the World event from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, in the SUB Ballroom.
With nearly 80 countries being represented by 919 international students on campus, this event gives international students a chance to share their culture with the Moscow community.
Upon entrance to the event, attendees will receive a “passport,” in which they can collect travel stamps from visiting each country they visit. The cost of admission is $3 per person or $9 per family and children under 5 years old can attend for free.
Elitza Kotzeva, the international outreach coordinator for IPO, said Cruise the World is not only the main event for International Education Week, but it is a tradition for the university and the community.
“It is particularly exciting for the whole area to have this happen,” Kotzeva said. “People from all over, not only from Moscow but from the adjacent cities come and bring their kids and students with their teachers, we have school teachers participating by bringing whole classes in.”
International Education Week is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Education, where universities all over the world — particularly in the U.S. — come together to celebrate the significance of international education.
The ballroom where the event will take place will be filled with bright colors and vast set-ups for each country, made by respective international students, Bender said. Each table or culture will usually display items or food from their country and the students will talk to their visitors about the cultural meaning behind each item.
Usually, participating students will demonstrate different skills for their audiences. For example, the Confucius Institute table will have a traditional calligraphy demonstration. Most of the students tabling will also dress in their culture’s traditional outfits.
“So it will be a carnival for the eye.” Kotzeva said. “We do have lots of dances from all over the world — we even have a performance by a Libyan teacher on how to drink tea properly in her country.”
The coordinators for Cruise the World expect at least 500 people to attend this year’s event. Bender said she encourages UI students to attend this event because they should inherit “a worldly mind”.
With a community of international students, Bender said UI students and the Moscow community members have the great opportunity to meet people from around the world.
“We wish every student the opportunity to be able to go overseas to one of our 400 universities that we are connected to all over the world,” she said. “I think that what we hope for is that this is ‘a taste’ — sometimes you have to have a taste of an opportunity to test your appetite on another culture or to spark that interest.”
Emily Mosset can be reached at [email protected]