Western Courier

Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Tony Aldridge Hana Yoo (left), recreation, park and tourism administration major, and another student attend the 35th International Bazaar.

Western Illinois University kicked off its 35th annual International Bazaar this past weekend in the Grand Ballroom of the University Union. More than 400 people gathered throughout the weekend to interact with international students presenting exhibits for their respective cultures. A total of 15 countries were represented by way of food, clothing, cultural dances, artifacts and historical background.

The festival had a competition where judges surveyed the exhibits of the different countries and decided on the most appealing presentation. The criteria for first place were primarily based on booth design, representation of country, presentation of food and participation in entertainment. The judges announced Saudi Arabia as winners of the best presentation of the festival, including best taste in food.

In addition to the 15 countries on display, the Peace Corps also had its own booth. For food, the group prepared a dish of Jamaican rice with kidney beans and a Chinese dish named going boj ding. The group had hopes of supplying information and personal experience for students who developed an interest in international affairs or who were looking to join the Peace Corps.

"We are hoping to just inform people about the benefits of joining the Peace Corps," said MBA student Kyle Turk, who was stationed in Mexico since 2004. "Apart from the few years of living abroad and experiencing another culture, different benefits are like full-ride scholarships or a stipend at the end of your service for relocation. Most of all you will get the satisfaction of just helping the less fortunate, and you can't put a value on that."

Many international students spoke about the transitional period they went through to somewhat conform to the America culture. The disparity between individuals' family values in comparison to those of Americans became a reoccurring theme for many of the students, who believe that more time is spent working than associating with family.

"In my country of Poland, friends and family really stay together, and that will be really evident if someone was to go there," said senior clinical lab science major Agnieszka Tyl, who has lived in America for two years. "I get a sense that family is a lot more separated around here because people spend a lot of time working trying to get something extra. Even in universities in Poland, people are so much closer regardless of how big the school is. That aspect is a big difference between the two countries, and I sometimes miss the collectiveness of my country."

"Guatemala is one of the poorer countries, so a lot of people there don't really have much," said senior bilingual bicultural elementary education major Pricilla Villagran. "People there tend to rely and help each other more often over there, so families and friends tend to bond better because of that."

With Spring Break arriving, students from different countries are planning how they will spend most of their vacation time. Since airline tickets are usually expensive when traveling overseas, many international students are planning road trips to warmer settings to have somewhere to go over break and escape the harsh winter.

"Me and my friends are probably going to take a road trip to Florida and stay in some hotels for the week," said Raad Altharthi, accounting major. "It's a lot of money to travel back to Saudi Arabia, especially for only one week."

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