International Education Week: Meet the Cultures of the World

By Lexus Yamashiro | Staff Writer

Ever wanted to travel the world and meet new people? Perhaps even learn the cultures and traditions of different backgrounds? Now’s your chance to do so; International Education Week (IEW) will be held from Nov. 14 to Nov. 17 at various locations and times around campus. 

Dr. Carl Hefner, the department chair for Social Sciences and coordinator of International Events, stated that IEW has been held annually at KCC for the past 16 years. It serves to help students, faculty, and staff to understand the different cultures there are around the world by bringing it here to KCC.

Anyone who is interested will be able to meet international students who attend KCC as they share their experiences from where they come from, their customs, and what they have brought to the Hawaiʻi to share with everyone.

The cultures that attendees will get to see and experience are China, Myanmar, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Spain, and much more.

Those who attend will also get to play games such as Chinlone, a traditional sport of Myanmar and watch a Sevillanas folk dance of Spain.

“Be surprised. Come on over and learn something about another culture,” Hefner said. “[Students] should also come over and practice their language if they are studying languages offered here [at KCC]. So we invite all students to swing by the cafeteria.” 

MONDAY, NOV. 14

HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUES AROUND THE WORLD
9:15-11:00 ‘Ohi‘a Cafeteria
ESOL 92 students will give poster presentations on health issues in China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, Egypt, Venezuela, and Brazil. Coordinated by Elaina Malm.

CHINLONE: TRADITIONAL SPORT OF MYANMAR
11:30-12:30 PM Great Lawn
Chinlone is played with a ball woven of rattan and a combination of sport, dance, and elegant movement. In Burma, the essence of chinlone is non-competitive. as the focus is not on winning or losing, but how beautifully one plays the game. Organized & played by students of Asian 100.

TUESDAY, NOV. 15

CHINA-KOREA-JAPAN RELATIONS & US SECURITY ALLIANCES
10:45-12:00 Olona 201
Guest Speaker: Captain Philip Yu was commissioned through the Naval Reserves Officers Training Corps scholarship program at Stanford University in California with a degree in Political Science, and also holds an MA degree in Diplomacy from Norwich University. After completion of Joint Military Attaché School with Korean language training, CAPT Yu was accredited as the US Naval Attaché to US Defense Attaché Office, US Embassy, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Captain Yu is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese, and works for the Pacific Command as the Division Chief for Northeast Asia Policy.

INTERNATIONAL MUSIC CONCERT
11:00-12:00 PM ‘Ohi’a Cafeteria
MUS 206 KCC Synthesizer Ensemble directed by Ms. Anne Craig Lum will perform music from Korea, China, Vietnam, Spain, Japan, Hawai‘i & the United States on keyboards, accompanied by guitar, violin and percussion.

INTERNATIONAL FILM SCREENING
6:00-8:30 PM Manono 104
Presentation of the works of the famed Japanese film director Makoto Shinkai, who is often called the “next Hayao Miyazaki”. His popular Japanese anime film “Your Name” has taken Japan like a storm and now considered a cultural phenomenon! We will be presenting Director Shinkai’s earlier works as an analytic look at a very talented Anime director in cross-cultural perspective.

“5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND”
A chain of short stories about their distance- a tale of love, coming of age, and eventual loss due to distance told in three interconnected stories. (2007, 1 hour 15 minutes) and “GARDEN OF WORDS” – A timeless story of romance, loneliness, and redemption told through modern animation and use of Japanese classic poetry book “Man’yōshū” as a motif. (2013, 1 hour). Introduction & Discussion by Kalani Fujiwara.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16

A LESSON ON GENDER & CULTURE FROM CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN CINEMA
9:15-11:30 Lama Library Alcove
Patriarchy memes, austere customs and social binaries loom behind the harsh Northern Albanian mountains in Laura Bispuri’s directorial debut “SWORN VIRGIN” (2015, English subtitles) an Italian co-production (Switzerland, Germany, Albania and Kosovo) screened at the 6th Hawai’i European Cinema Film Festival, and Nora Ephron prize at the Tribeca Film Festival. A Q&A will follow with Dr. Guido Carlo Pigliasco, secretary, and founding member of Hawai’i European Cinema.

HONOLULU PASSPORT AGENCY
10:00-2:00 PM ‘Ohi’a Foyer
Representatives of the Honolulu Passport Agency will be here to provide information on obtaining a US Passport.

CULTURES OF ASIA
10:00-1:00 PM  ‘Ohi’a Cafeteria
Enjoy Asian cultural presentations, games and food by the students of the Asian Studies 100 class.

KCC KOREAN CLUB
10:00 -2:00 PM ‘Ohi’a Cafeteria
Enjoy cultural presentations by the students of Korean language.

KCC CHINESE CLUB
10:00 -2:00 PM ‘Ohi’a Cafeteria
Enjoy cultural presentations by the students of Chinese classes, exploring the language and culture of China.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUES AROUND THE WORLD
11:30-1:00 ‘Ohi’a Cafeteria
ESOL 92 students will give poster presentations on health issues in China, Japan, the Philippines , Macau and Indonesia. Coordinated by Elaina Malm.

THURSDAY, NOV. 17

PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE OF THE PHILIPPINES
8:30 -9:45 AM Lama Library Alcove (The Bayanihan Club will be hosting the talk by Dr. Patricio Abinales, Professor of Asian Studies from UHM in the Lama Library Alcove.)
Guest Speaker: Dr. Patricio Abinales is Professor of Asian Studies at the School of Pacific and Asian Studies, and the Director of UH Center for Philippine Studies. Since the election of Rodrigo Duterte last May, the Philippine relationship with the US and with its own people has been changing. He has launched his own war on drugs and drug addicts, and told President Obama to clean up his own backyard. Rodrigo Duterte has also said he wants an end to joint military operations with the US. But is this hyperbole and bluster or something more?

KCC Student Clubs
10:00 -2:00 PM ‘Ohi’a Cafeteria
KCC INTERNATIONAL CLUB International Club fosters intercultural understanding, friendship, and student leadership across diverse cultures.

KCC CHINESE CLUB Enjoy cultural presentations by the students of Chinese classes, exploring the language and culture of China.

KCC BAYANIHAN (FILIPINO) CLUB The Bayanihan Club sa Kapi’olani Community College seeks to promote and preserve the Filipino culture and values.

KCC FRENCH CLUB Visit the French Table and sample bread, cheese and other French products presented by the students of the French language classes.

KCC ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS CLUB Come and help support the EBC, which provides economics peer tutoring and hosts many speakers from the community for all students to attend.

KCC SPANISH CLUB Enjoy cultural presentations by the students of the Spanish language classes.

THE RICH TRADITION OF SEVILLANAS
11:00 -11:30 AM ‘Ohi’a Cafeteria
Enjoy Sevillanas folk dance with KCC students of Spanish.

ETHNOMUSICOLOGY : A GLIMPSE INTO WORLD MUSIC
11:00-1:00 PM ‘Ohi’a Foyer
Try out various world musical instruments from Hawaii, Sub-Sahara Africa, Indonesia, and China. Presented by Beryl Yang and students of MUS107.

KCC STEM GOES INTERNATIONAL!
2:00-3:00 PM Koki‘o Building 2nd Floor STEM Center
Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics students will present their recent international experiences. These include KCC’s year-long environmental science collaboration with Kansai University in Japan (Kai Yama Program), summer research programs in Costa Rica (NAPIRE) and in New Zealand (Mahina International Indigenous Health Research Training). Students will reflect on how international collaborations & cultural experiences have broadened their understanding of STEM, including lots of great photos! International experience opportunities in 2017 will also be shared.

For more information contact Dr. Carl Hefner at hefner@hawaii.edu or call (808) 734-9438.