November 14 through November 18 is International Education Week at UH Maui College organized by the International Club of Maui and the International Education Committee (IEC). Students and the community are encouraged to participate in events throughout the week that celebrate culture and Maui’s rich diversity.
Man plays the Erhu at last year’s International Day
2016 will be the fifth year of celebrating international education at UH Maui College. In the past events have been spread out throughout the year but primarily focused on one day. This year international education events will be happening all week long. “Every year representation is a little different,” said Liping Liu, co-chair of the IEC at UH Maui College and faculty advisor for the International Club of Maui, “Last year we had Africa and India but this year of course we focus on Asia; Japan, Korea, China and the Philippines.”
The festivities kick off on Monday with a photo contest with the theme “Capturing Cultures” that will be exhibited in the library. UH Maui College Bookstore gift cards will be the prizes rewarded to the winners; $20 for first place, $15 for second, $10 for third place and $5 for honorable mention. “There is a connection that we make by looking at the photos and the person who traveled,” said Eri Nishiyama, co-chair of the IEC at UH Maui College, “Just knowing that Maui is really diverse and international and there are people coming as travelers but we also travel so that we can experience different things internationally.”
Tuesday’s activities begin with an international music improv workshop in the Pilina Multi-Purpose room from 9-11 a.m. “The idea is that people will come and bring their instruments. If they’re not an instrumentalist they can come sing, or dance or watch or participate in any way they want to,” said Karyn Sarring, music instructor at UH Maui College, “We’re going to spend the whole time improvising and creating a magical music piece thats for Maui.” This workshop will be a chance for musicians of all cultures to collaborate, connect and share with each other through music. “It’s a coming together of the silk road of Maui meets ‘we are the world’ moment,” said Sarring.
Tuesday will also feature language lessons that will take place from 11:30-1:30 p.m. in the Library. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Spanish and French languages. Also in the library students will be able to browse children’s books from around the world.
Dancer at last year’s International Day
Wednesday is filled with performances and activities that showcase diverse cultures. Attendees are encouraged to wear traditional clothing that showcases their culture. Performances including Korean hip-hop dance and and a Erhu instrument performance will begin at 10:30 a.m. and continue until 2:30 p.m. Workshops will be taking place throughout the day which will include Japanese origami, Filipino Baybayin writing, ukulele, games and more! At 11:30 a.m. there will be a free traditional Thanksgiving lunch sponsored by ASUHMC Student Government.
On Thursday Dr. Buddhi Rai will be in front of Ka Lama building teaching students how to make traditional Nepalese Chai tea at 9am. At 3 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose room you will be able to sample Chinese tea and snacks with visiting scholar Dr. Li. The World Music Open Mic will be taking place 5-8 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose room. This event will begin with a performance from our very own college choir. The choir will be preforming America the Beautiful and Hawaii 78, (or 77 depending on who you ask) a Beetles medley and mash up of at least 7 different artists including Owl City, Maroon Five and Queen. The open mic is sure to exhibit the range of talents we have in our community. “The open mic is a good opportunity for all of our performance classes, including our drama and speech classes, to come and actually get in front of a public audience and present what they’ve learned,” said Sarring. From 5-6:30 p.m. you will be able to sample traditional Korean food.
On Friday students will be able to learn how they can be able to experience international education first hand through study abroad programs. This will take place in the Ho’okipa
Building, Wong Conference room at 11 a.m.
International Education Week is a fantastic opportunity for the community of Maui to experience, appreciate and learn about other cultures. Only through education can we become sensitive and aware of people and surroundings that are different from our own and celebrate Maui’s diversity that makes our community so special. “We are all products of international education,” said Liu.
If you would like to volunteer your time to help with International Education Week please contact Liping Liu at lipingl@hawaii.edu.
