SEMO celebrates International Education Month with a feast of events

November is International Education Month, and SEMO’s Office of International Education and Service is hosting several events to promote the sharing of culture among domestic and international students.

Executive director of the office of international education and services Kevin Timlin, said the annual month-long celebration of cultures represented at SEMO comes from the Department of Education.

“So, every year, the State Department and the Department of Education have what they call International Education Week. And it's a celebration of intercultural, international, different aspects of education. So we celebrate International Education Week all November. And the whole point is to kind of bring the world to Southeast,” Timlin said.

Kudzai Gavaza, a freshman pre-med and biomedical sciences major from Zimbabwe, claims that while she likes living in America, the most shocking part of moving is that people are less friendly.

“You can talk to one person today, and the next day they won't say hello to you,” Gavaz said.

Sophomore psychology major Samira Nowsin from Bangladesh said she doesn’t feel international students are excluded on campus but believes SEMO students often get so caught up in their own lives that not everyone has the chance to connect.

“They're [domestic students] not excluding us [international students],” Nowsin said. “If we are bonding, then it's great, but it's just everyone is so busy with their life and stuff, so you don't really get to talk with people that much.”

Throughout the month, several more events will promote the sharing of culture among international students.

One of the first events of International Education Month was “Taste the World,” which took place at the UC on Nov. 7.

“Taste the World” gave students the opportunity to try various desserts from different countries across Europe and Asia.

Negin Nezamipour Azari who works in the international education office as an admissions specialist brought Nokhodchi cookies, which she describes as tiny cookies with pistachios typically served at New Years in her home county of Iran.

Nokhodchi cookies prepared by Negin Nezamipour Azari are served at the "Taste the World" event at the University Center.Photo by Lily Niebrugge

Nezamipour Azari said the goal of all the international education events is to bring together the cultures of domestic and international students.

“We’re trying to connect our international world with the domestic students. That's why we try to have so many events and like, try to show our culture to them. And how different and how similar they [are],” Nezamipour Azari said.

The Culture Cafes will be held at the International Village on Nov. 11 and Nov. 13. Students from Bangladesh, Laos, Jordan, Tunisia, Pakistan, and Georgia will have another opportunity to share their culture through food.

Timlin highlighted the importance of trying the traditional cuisine while getting to know a different country’s culture.

“Food, in a lot of ways, brings people in. It’s one of the easiest entries into a different country or a different culture,” Timlin said.

Other upcoming International Education Month Events:

• Ladies-Only Dance Night on Nov. 12
• Chinese and Japanese Calligraphy painting on Nov. 15
• Japanese Student Night on Nov. 16
• Bollywood Movie and PJ Night on Nov. 18
• IES Thanksgiving on Nov. 21
• African Student Night on Nov. 23