St. Basil goes around the world in two hours

By Katie Williams
Collegian Editor
March 28, 2007

You don’t need to study abroad to learn about world culture when you can experience 12 different countries in less than two hours. Students can wander from Asia to Africa and back to America again all in one night at “Around the World in St. Basil’s” March 30 from 8-10 p.m. Spotlight! caught up with Melinda Massaro, International Education Coordinator, to find out more information.

Spotlight: How will this be structured?

Melinda Massaro: Each lounge will represent one country, and there will be 12 countries total. The students will arrive and get passports, then go around to each lounge. There they will get food, learn a bit about the country and get their passports stamped. Later, they can turn in their stamped passports to be put into a raffle to win two roundtrip Southwest Airline tickets to anywhere in the country, or a Nintendo Wii.

S: What countries will be represented?

MM: China, the Philippines, Lebanon, India, Ireland, Mexico, Tanzania, Nigeria, Italy, Guatemala, Trinidad and Turkey.

S: Who will be running each lounge?

MM: Students who have been to each country.

S: Will there be anything else for students to look forward to?

MM: There will be traditional Indian dancers performing at the end of the evening, right before the raffle. There will also be Chinese Falun Gong demos throughout the evening, as well as fashion shows and other traditional dancers.

S: Can you tell us a bit about the photo contest?

MM: There is an international photo contest before Around the World begins where students can submit their photos from their time abroad to me. The student with the best photo will receive a $50 gift card.

S: What are your goals with this event?

MM: First, we wanted to give students an outlet to share their study abroad experiences. Usually people don’t have places to talk about what they did or learned, so we wanted to give them that opportunity. Secondly, we wanted to educate students about these different countries. This event falls at the end of Hope, Acceptance, Love and Tolerance (HALT) Week, so we hope that it keeps with that diversity theme. And thirdly, we hope to encourage more students to study abroad.

williamsk1@lasalle.edu