Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Joy Lewis Nadia De Leon of La Plata, Argentina, performs her solo belly dancing routine during the International Education Week event yesterday in the lobby of Downing University Center. Events showcasing study abroad opportunities and international activities will take place throughout the week.

The capital of Algeria isn't New Delhi, and the Chinese flag has stars instead of a moon.

Students got to test their knowledge of other countries at Downing University Center Monday as part of International Education Week.

Students played games, voted for the best study abroad photograph and listened to faculty presentations on personal study abroad experiences.

Carmelita Andrew, a senior from Oceanside, Calif., played a game in which she matched countries to their flags in DUC. She said that cultural awareness was very important for students.

"If you only know this, if you only know about America, then you're going to be ignorant," she said. "All I knew was that pandas are in China, but at least I knew that pandas were in China."

International Education Week started on Monday and will last until Thursday.

Reed Vesey, the director of study abroad and global learning, said he believes the event will promote internationalization and celebrate the international diversity already happening at Western.

Western's International Education Week corresponds with the national International Education Week, according to the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.

Yasar Tekin, a graduate student from Istanbul, Turkey, also helped out with the study abroad photography contest.

Tekin is a graduate assistant in the study abroad office.

He said he was there to encourage students, especially Americans, to study abroad.

He said that Americans should take a chance and study abroad because the continent is geographically closed in between two oceans, and it's harder for them to travel and experience different cultures.

"It's an amazing experience being alone in a foreign country," Tekin said. "You have to deal with everything good and bad. It makes you grow," he said.

Nashville freshman Clay Cunningham said that he would like to study abroad if he can find the time.

Cunningham played a game in DUC Monday in which he was asked to identify countries and their corresponding capitals for a prize.

"It makes you realize how much you don't know about the world," he said.

Chief International Officer Cornell Menking said that Monday was just one example of Western's push to be truly international.

Menking is the first chief international officer at a Kentucky university.

"For students here, it's so outside their imagination that they would live abroad, and when they do, it changes their life," he said.

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