Every third week of November, California Lutheran University celebrates International Education Week in various ways, including its annual World Fair, which occurred on Wednesday, Nov. 16.

International Education Week is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education, said Linda Boberg, assistant director of International Student Services and Multicultural Programs at Cal Lutheran.

“Our goal is to showcase our international students and those students who have studied abroad. We hope to present the many different cultures that are represented on campus both by the booths, entertainment and education,” Boberg said.

Although the World Fair has happened annually at Cal Lutheran for the past 17 years, the event is still changing and improving.  This year, the event took place in the Student Union instead of the gym where it has been held in previous years, Boberg said.

“I liked it better in the Student Union because everything was closer so the whole event seemed more cohesive,” said Kaitlyn Domingues, a junior at Cal Lutheran.

International students were offered the chance to have booths in the World Fair to share their culture with other Cal Lutheran students, Boberg said. The Norwegian, Chinese and Salvadoran booths were all run by international students who wanted to represent their home countries.

“I’m an international student from Norway and when I was asked to have a booth I thought it would be a great way to have people learn more about Norwegian culture,” said Ina Marie Svanes, a Cal Lutheran senior.

Svanes’ booth included the Norwegian flag and a game which featured popular Norwegian celebrities.

Other booths served food and had guessing games about their countries.  The Chinese club also displayed clothing representative of the culture.

The fair also included performances from Taiko drummers, a tradition originating in Japan, which has not happened at the event for nine years, Boberg said.

Boberg said that this year, those hosting booths were asked to include more interactive approaches and to have something the students could do to help them understand the various cultures.

Students in attendance were offered a pin upon entrance and were given the option to choose what country’s flag they wanted to wear.

Students were also given a passport which they could take to different booths, and after learning about a culture, the booth would stamp their passports. Once students got eight of 10 stamps, they were able to enter a raffle for various prizes, Domingues said.

“All the booths were great and I feel like they keep getting better every year.  I like how they incorporate the passport because it gives you that extra push to wanting to learn more about the different cultures,” Domingues said.

For more information on International Student Services or Multicultural Programs, email Linda Boberg at [email protected].

Anne Mukai
Reporter