Immersion Afternoon was held in the Ceddia Union Building MPR from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. as a part of Shippensburg University’s annual International Education Week on Thursday, Oct. 26.
The Department of Global Languages and Cultures hosted the event. Immersion Afternoon was advertised on the SU website as a fun way to spend an afternoon where students could come to learn about other cultures and languages, eat food and talk with Shippensburg’s culture clubs about various language learning opportunities offered at Shippensburg.
The eight booths present offered information about the German, French and Spanish language programs and Shippensburg’s Reach Out project, as well as booths that offered salsa and candy from Puerto Rico and Mexico. Reach Out is an organization run by honors students and faculty that assists in building a curricular program for the Pathways of Learning School in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It has been running since 2010.
The Latin American booth offered four different types of salsas ranging from mild to hot. In front of each bowl, the ingredients were listed in English and Spanish. Next to each bowl was also the main ingredient, an avocado for one and peppers for two others.
The French culture booth consisted of information about La Pétanque, a game that originated from France but is now played across the world, including 20 clubs dedicated to the sport in the United States. To play the game, two players take turns throwing boules, heavy metal balls, toward a Jack, a small wooden ball placed a distance away. The player who throws their boules closest to the Jack wins. There are many techniques on how to throw accurately.
As a part of International Education Week, the goal of the Immersion Afternoon and other events taking place this week is to facilitate a stronger community and make Shippensburg’s international students feel welcome on campus. Another goal this week is to educate students about educational opportunities in other countries around the world that Shippensburg students can take part in.
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