By Billie Fouts, VP Marketing & Development
A year ago next month I boarded a plane bound for Washington, D.C. to rendezvous with a top International Center volunteer, Betty Bledsoe, along with 10 of her 11 adopted children. The occasion: They, not just SHE, were to be presented with the Lorinne Emery Volunteer of the Year award from Global Ties U.S. Global Ties U.S. is the organization under the purview of the U.S. Department of State that administers the nation’s premiere citizen diplomacy program for visits to the U.S. by delegations of emerging leaders from around the world.
When Romania Encounters Hoosier Hospitality
By Rachel O'Heran, IVLP intern
Part of what drew me into my internship with the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) at The International Center were the ample opportunities to work with the international community. Through my studies, I have worked with individuals from African and Asian cultures. Although I thoroughly enjoy my work with both of these regions, I wanted to broaden my experience and to work hand in hand with individuals from all a variety of cultures. Over the past four years, I have been exposed to many cultures that call Indianapolis home, and it has been amazing to see the international growth that has taken place in Indianapolis and to work with the organizations that are allowing this growth to happen.
Part of what drew me into my internship with the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) at The International Center were the ample opportunities to work with the international community. Through my studies, I have worked with individuals from African and Asian cultures. Although I thoroughly enjoy my work with both of these regions, I wanted to broaden my experience and to work hand in hand with individuals from all a variety of cultures. Over the past four years, I have been exposed to many cultures that call Indianapolis home, and it has been amazing to see the international growth that has taken place in Indianapolis and to work with the organizations that are allowing this growth to happen.
Dialogue Over Dinner
By Megan Watson, Marketing, Communications & Stakeholder Relations Intern
In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to do many unique and challenging things as a result of my internship here at The International Center. One of the things that meant the most to me was hosting a Dinner Hospitality (a volunteer opportunity open to anyone in the community) for international visitors from Namibia, Kuwait, and Singapore.
I was excited to learn that I had the opportunity to host these visitors and was even more intrigued upon learning that my mother & I would be hosting visitors with specific dietary concerns that would keep them from drinking alcohol, eating meat, and eating certain types of foods (mostly dependent upon their method of preparation). This challenge proved to be one we could counquer, as we decided to cook a meal that was completely vegan, in order to give the visitors an "American" meal that was also comfortable for them.
It was amusing that one guest, from Namibia, was absolutely obsessed with frozen yogurt. She first tried the sweet dessert during her time in Washington, D.C. and insisted that we stop at Orange Leaf upon leaving the house after dinner. It was funny to see just how alike young adults really are, no matter where they come from.
Upon dropping them off at the hotel, the three visitors gifted me with bracelets, accessories, and wall decor that represented their unique states. This meant so much to me, as I love collecting things from around the world. Although the visitors have left Indianapolis, I wear my "Namibia" bracelet almost every day and enjoy getting to do so. Through the IVLP Program, as implemented by The International Center, I was able to learn so much about these three different cultures and through interaction with this visitors, I opened a dialogue through "citizen diplomacy."
Want to become a citizen diplomat? Visit our website and find out how! www.internationalcenter.org!
Thanksgiving
By Yasunori Masunaga, Intern at Asian Learning Center of Indiana
Last week, I had Thanksgiving dinner with Jackie Nytes’ family and her acquaintances. Last year, should have been my first Thanksgiving, but timing didn't work out and I had to go to Japan during the week of the holiday. So this was my first time to spend the holiday in the states. I met many people from different countries including Lebanese delegates. It was really interesting to open a world map before dinner with the dinner guests from all over the world and point to each others' home countries because so many different places were represented. It was always hard for me to explain where my home city of Japan is because people usually only know of Tokyo, but this time the map helped me a lot. (By the way, my home city is Kanazawa, meaning Gold Swamp, but unfortunately there is no gold swamp there.)
A funny moment from Thanksgiving that really stands out to me was when we were watching a NFL game and one of the Lebanese delegates asked me, "is this baseball?" They said football in their culture does not mean American football, but soccer. According to them, Soccer is the most popular sport in Lebanon. I hope baseball becomes a world sport, like soccer, because it is so popular in the US and Japan.
After that it was time for dinner. When dinner was ready we sat down around a big table. I ate more Turkey at dinner than I ever have in my whole entire life (further, I was given the remaining Turkey in a large box to take home and I ate it the next day.)
After the dinner, we walked around Jackie’s house where she explained about the communities that she is engaging in to improve the lives of people there. For example, there were used books in a small box beside a school bus stop, where students could freely borrow the books and return them another day. It really impressed me that people donate books to the community so that everyone can have a chance to read. I really enjoyed the time and had a great experience learning about this traditional American holiday. I am really thankful for all of my experiences here at The International Center.
Last week, I had Thanksgiving dinner with Jackie Nytes’ family and her acquaintances. Last year, should have been my first Thanksgiving, but timing didn't work out and I had to go to Japan during the week of the holiday. So this was my first time to spend the holiday in the states. I met many people from different countries including Lebanese delegates. It was really interesting to open a world map before dinner with the dinner guests from all over the world and point to each others' home countries because so many different places were represented. It was always hard for me to explain where my home city of Japan is because people usually only know of Tokyo, but this time the map helped me a lot. (By the way, my home city is Kanazawa, meaning Gold Swamp, but unfortunately there is no gold swamp there.)
A funny moment from Thanksgiving that really stands out to me was when we were watching a NFL game and one of the Lebanese delegates asked me, "is this baseball?" They said football in their culture does not mean American football, but soccer. According to them, Soccer is the most popular sport in Lebanon. I hope baseball becomes a world sport, like soccer, because it is so popular in the US and Japan.
After that it was time for dinner. When dinner was ready we sat down around a big table. I ate more Turkey at dinner than I ever have in my whole entire life (further, I was given the remaining Turkey in a large box to take home and I ate it the next day.)
After the dinner, we walked around Jackie’s house where she explained about the communities that she is engaging in to improve the lives of people there. For example, there were used books in a small box beside a school bus stop, where students could freely borrow the books and return them another day. It really impressed me that people donate books to the community so that everyone can have a chance to read. I really enjoyed the time and had a great experience learning about this traditional American holiday. I am really thankful for all of my experiences here at The International Center.
A valuable experience
By Yasunori Masunaga, Intern at Asian Learning Center of Indiana
In addition to my main projects, I have had opportunities to further appreciate different cultures. Last Friday, I had dinner with Austrian delegates who visited the US to observe the US election processes, hosted by the volunteers of the International Center, Mr. and Mrs. Hovee’s family. We talked about cultural differences between the US, Austria, and Japan. I was just impressed that the Austrian delegates felt the same way about the US that I did. We both feel that American people are so interested and actively involved in politics and that we thought we should model our own countries as democratic.
It has been about two months since I started my internship at The International Center. I have experienced far more things than I expected. In this internship, I am responsible for two projects. The first one is research on the business relationship between Indiana and Japan. I am collecting data and interviewing people who are involved in business with Japan. I guess many people would not know that Indiana has a strong relationship with Japan. The state government has actively invited Japanese firms to invest here since the 1980s when the US was in a deep recession. The government’s relationship with Japan ended up locating more than 200 Japanese companies in Indiana with 40,000 Hoosiers employed by those Japanese companies. By the way, Indiana is the only state that has three Japanese automobile factories.
Another project I am working on is the study of Japan and the Japanese language in Indiana. I have interviewed teachers and students in universities and high school who are teaching and learning Japanese. It was so interesting to me as a Japanese to interview them about why they started learning Japanese and what they want to do with the language and knowledge.
In addition to my main projects, I have had opportunities to further appreciate different cultures. Last Friday, I had dinner with Austrian delegates who visited the US to observe the US election processes, hosted by the volunteers of the International Center, Mr. and Mrs. Hovee’s family. We talked about cultural differences between the US, Austria, and Japan. I was just impressed that the Austrian delegates felt the same way about the US that I did. We both feel that American people are so interested and actively involved in politics and that we thought we should model our own countries as democratic.
It is hard to believe that there are only less than two months left for our internship. Before this internship ends, I hope to participate in as many new activities as possible.