Diversity Class 101

SPOKE in a Community Education class in UMD with two other international students, Finland guy (his name is hard to pronounce and so I can't remember it) and Pramod from Mauritius. I can probably say the three of us got something out of it because it is always nice to talk about one's home country and to remember what you like about it. Finland guy rhapsodized about long, unhurries meals. Pramod reminisced about the many festivals and traditions in Mauritius that have influences from India and France. And I talked happily about siestas and the November 1st parties for the dead.

We couldn't have been talking to a more catatonic group of students though. There were some questions from them, upon the teachers prodding. But the girl who asked the questions had a somewhat dead expression. No matter how much we told them about our food and traditions, we failed to get a spark from most of the students' eyes. And yes, most of the questions were asked by the professor who kept them coming one after the other, perhaps a little out of embarrassment. She kept repeating the phrase "These lovely people have taken time out to be with us to answer OUR questions..."

I feel for the students. There must be a better way to ease them out of their comfort zone and to spark their curiosity about other countries. If we had more time, it would have been a good idea to bring pictures or to present something on wide screen. We international students are so used to being temporary ambassadors of our countries that I am sure most of us have a powerpoint file about our countries somewhere.

I also wondered why they didn't ask many questions about community health. Because it was a class on community health. Hmmmm...