Planet Emoji

By Ephraim Rudolph, Marketing & Communications Intern

I love to include emojis in my text messages, tweets, and Facebook posts. You may even have seen them creep into some of the professional posts I’ve written for The International Center on Twitter. I think that they add extra meaning to almost any message, and that they can convey a lighthearted sensibility that is often missing from written communication. Selecting the best emoji to suit a message comes as second nature to me. I barely need to think about it! Like many people, I imagine, my most-used emojis are the various smiles and hearts… but there are hundreds of emojis, and I have dozens of favorites!

It seems to me that the developers of emojis across platforms – iOS, Android, Windows, Twitter, and others – must have seriously taken into account a global perspective as they created their emoji libraries. There are many globally conscious emojis, including those representing various national flags and diverse human skin tones. Of all the the emojis with international flair, my favorites are those which compose the set of planet Earth emojis.

Shades of Brown

By Rhea Gajaria, Development Intern

Born in India and raised in America, I grew up with a strong awareness of the cultural differences between these two countries. From a young age, I began noticing subtle, but clear differences between the two nations. In the United States, nobody plays cricket on the streets. In India, there is no concept of “tailgating” at sporting events. Though the United States was a whole new world, I soon found myself falling in love with my new home, tiny differences and all. This said, I did encounter one recurring intercultural issue throughout my years in high school. My peers lacked virtually any awareness of the many distinct Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian cultural identities! I found many students around me grouping these nations together as a geographic no-man’s-land known only for oil and war. These students also often incorrectly assumed that my Pakistani and Sri Lankan friends were Indian, just based on their skin tone. Many of us felt that these peers did not understand, nor care to understand, about our differences. To many of my peers, the Middle East was defined by the fighting in Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia. This perception could not be farther from the truth. The Middle East is host to a myriad of geographic landscapes, ranging from bustling metropolises to vast deserts, and it is home to some of the most beautiful, rich, and unique cultures in the world.

No Truer Term Than "Hoosier Hospitality"!

By Moon Seung Yeon, China Project Intern

On New Year’s Day of 2010, I landed in Indianapolis for the very first time. I vividly remember when I took my first step out of the airplane. That moment I was worried about how I was going to adapt to a new continent, one that was completely unfamiliar to me. Now more than 5 years later, I am getting ready to graduate from college in December. Just like all the other international students, I came to the U.S in order to get a college degree. I have faced many challenges such as homesickness, cultural differences and language barriers. In other words, I had various forms of culture shock. Nevertheless I could have never overcome these obstacles and successfully progressed through college if it wasn’t for the kindness and hospitality of the people in Indiana!

You Don't Know What You Don't Know: Minimizing Cultural Faux Pas

By Kate McCarter, Protocol Intern

Every country is unique. It has its own customs, culture, and often language--among other things. When travelling abroad it is easy to assume that everyone approaches and reacts to things in a manner that is similar to the way in which we do in America. This is actually far from the truth! What may be completely acceptable in the United States may be taboo in another country. It is important, as visitors, to be respectful of the etiquette and customs of other countries, yet many people still commit obvious faux pas. The Office of Protocol here at The International Center tries to minimize these cultural faux pas. We provide briefing booklets to business and government officials who are travelling abroad filled with protocol and etiquette information about particular countries. These include country overview and cultural dos and don’ts.

Getting the Most Out of a Cultural Exchange

By Mallory Noble, International Visitor Leadership Program Intern 

Through traveling abroad and with my experiences interning with the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) department this summer, I have come to discover how important and valuable it is to connect and share ideas with different people from around the world. Recently, I returned from studying in Tours, France for a month, and the experiences I gained from simply getting to know the people I was living and going to school with everyday were ones that I will never forget.