Cruise the World, an annual cultural showcase put on by the University of Idaho International Programs Office, can bring families together – the El-Tawir family, for example, have participated in the event representing Libya for the last four years.
“The beginning years, we were the help,” said Taha El-Tawir, the eldest son of the family. “This year since we”re one of the only Libyan families in Moscow, we started running it.”
Irish Martos | Argonaut
Students, faculty and community members learn about different cultures and countries represented at Cruise the World. The event, hosted by International Programs Office Saturday, filled the International Ballroom in the Bruce Pitman Center.
Taha said that he thinks it is important for his family to represent Libya because to many it isn”t a very well-known country. The El-Tawir family continues to practice Libyan culture at home, and Cruise the World has given them an opportunity to share it with their community.
The El-Tawirs weren”t the only people who displayed their national pride Saturday in the International Ballroom. Dozens of international students jumped at the chance to discuss their culture with guests.
The students dressed in traditional clothing, and many of the booths sold traditional foods from their country. The booths were decorated with colorful pictures of each country, their national currency, religious items and books. The students also performed traditional dances and musical pieces from their countries. Children were offered treasure maps that encouraged them to visit each booth and have their map signed in different languages.
Erin Rishling, the outreach coordinator for the international programs office, said that one of the goals of Cruise the World is to create a sense of community between both domestic and international students, as well as the Moscow community.
“I hope people get excited about the world, about traveling, about experiencing different cultures, different countries,” Rishling said.
Toby and Andrea Sauer attended the event and said they were surprised by how many international students attend UI. They said they enjoyed learning about each country and trying the different foods. They also said they were impressed with the sense of camaraderie among the students despite their vastly different backgrounds.
“In the papers we see just strife all over the place,” Toby said. “To see everybody getting along was a very unifying thing.”
Rishling said the event was an educational experience, and through all the music, languages, clothing and traditions, there was one lesson from the event that stood out.
“We”re not that different,” Rishling said.
Marisa Casella can be reached at [email protected]