Humber College celebrates International Education Week with food, music and games in the Lakeshore Commons Building today.
This year featured countries include Italy, Nigeria, Japan and England. International students at Humber volunteered to distribute food and teach others about the country, even if they’re not from that country themselves.
Activities this year included how to write their names in Japanese, make origami, dress in Nigerian clothes and play card games like brisqula and scopa. Musicians played steel pan drums and an accordion. Some of the food was made in restaurants while other food was made in the homes of the student volunteers.
Kristina Mathias, the International Student Advisor at the Lakeshore Campus said it’s the biggest festival of the week and different activities are available each week to celebrate the communities students come from. She hopes that other students learn a bit about each country.
When asked if the event will increase studying abroad, Mathis said, “We hope that it will help open that door and conversation for domestic students who didn’t realize we do a study abroad program.”
Russian international student Olga Menshikh volunteered at the Japanese booth. She said the process for picking countries is determined by the countries of the people who work at the international centre. In order for students to volunteer at a booth they must have lived in the country or must be very knowledgeable about it. They want to make sure that people know about the country, otherwise they can volunteer to organize the event, order food and make the different decorations.
Apoorpva Chauksey, an international student from India said that she volunteered because she wants to learn about other cultures. She was stationed at the Nigerian booth, serving exotic dishes to students.
Chauskey said, “I’ve met a lot of people, so I’ve learned a lot about the Nigerian culture at this event.”
Valerie Igeorva, an international student has learned that there are lots of different cultures in the world. “Every culture is beautiful in its own way, so I had an opportunity to try each culture as well.” She says it’s a great chance for people to learn about other cultures and become a part of them. Due to the pictures showcased at the Italian booth, she now wants to visit Italy.
