IU celebrates International Education week

This week, exploring the traditions and cultures of faraway lands like Morocco and Costa Rica has been made possible without expensive airfare, heavy luggage or even leaving Bloomington.\nInternational Education Week, hosted by the IU Office of International Services, began last Friday and continues through Saturday. It celebrates the benefits of international education and cultural exchange between Americans and the global community.\nSponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, the annual event is celebrated by universities across the nation including neighbor colleges Purdue University, University of Notre Dame and Indiana State University, according to the International Education Week Web site.\nThe Leo R. Dowling International Center at IU kicked off the week with an opening reception Nov. 10 and continued with activities scheduled through Saturday. Some of the week-long events included the International Movie Night Series, featuring the German film "Good Bye Lenin!" performances by the Moroccan Andalusian Classical Orchestra of Bloomington and the Latin American Popular Music Ensemble and a Middle Eastern belly dance lesson. Language conversation clubs in English, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Arabic and others were also available throughout the week. These programs allowed interested individuals to come together to learn and converse in a foreign language. \nSandy Britton, director of the international center, said she was pleased with the turnout of the opening reception.\n"The first activity had about 50 people. It was an invitational dinner to community people, faculty, staff and international student group presidents," she said.\nEmphasizing the importance of International Education Week, Britton said the event not only celebrates the diversity on campus, but also acknowledges how other cultures bring an important component to the Bloomington community.\n"This is an opportunity to bring awareness of diverse cultures to the campus community," she said. "It highlights the benefits we get from international education such as study abroad programs."\nLillian Casillas, director of the La Casa Latino Cultural Center, said she tries to participate as much as possible in the international events during the week, focusing on a particular group or region each year.\n"Latinos are diverse, and it's hard to show it in one week, and that is why we chose to focus on one region. This year we chose Costa Rica," she said. "We have a cooking demonstration that allows people to sample some Costa Rican dishes."\nInternational Education Week will end Saturday with international students from IU taking a trip to historic St. Louis for sightseeing.\nFor more information about international events on campus, visit www.indiana.edu/~iew.