Siew Guan Lee said she remembers watching a movie before coming to America to learn about the U.S. through Hollywood’s eyes.
She said it was awkward when actors walked into a house with
shoes on and were not directed to take them off.
” … but when I came here, people went in houses with their shoes on,” Lee said.
Wearing shoes in another person’s house is a sign of disrespect in Malaysia, where Lee is from.
Lee is Chinese Malaysian and has been at the University of Idaho since summer 2010, majoring in dietetics. She said without traveling 34 hours to Idaho she never would have experienced the cultural differences between Malaysia and the U.S.
“Some people may not have a chance to go to that country but at least at Cruise the World, you can learn about it,” Lee said.
For the 14th year, Cruise the World gives UI students and faculty, as
well as the Moscow community, a chance to learn about more than 30 countries through the eyes of international students.
“The SUB ballroom never sounds better or smells or tastes better,” said Denise “Glen” Kauffman, coordinator of the International Friendship Association and Cruise the World event.
Student volunteers set up a booth to showcase and talk about their country’s culture. Lee said the Malaysian booth will share information on the geographic location of Malaysia, the Malay language and currency. She said each booth will also have stamps to punch visitor’s passports, which are provided for all guests upon event entrance.
Unique to the Malaysian booth will be a woven, rattan material ball used in “sepak takraw” or kick volleyball.
The ball was provided in a UI Culture Kit, a collection of materials representative of traditional and modern aspects of various cultures. Kauffman said there is a UI Culture Kit for every country of every student on campus and generally, items inside are donated. Cruise the World international students showcase these Culture Kit items at each country’s booth.
“A lot of people can’t travel, so they don’t really understand the differences between cultures,” said Meaghan Younger, Culture Kit intern. “By having the Culture Kits — materialized to grab — it makes it way different. It’s a much deeper experience because you’re able to understand that culture a lot better.”
Cruise the World entertainment is non-stop throughout the day, featuring dances from Nepal and China and traditional Brazilian music among other performances.
Kauffman said food is available for purchase at each booth and is served by students who attended a food safety handling class. Food includes crepes, meatballs and potato salad from Denmark, sweet beans from the Dominican Republic and more.
Lee said Malaysian food will include spring rolls, egg tarts, much like custard, and curry puffs made with curry paste, meat and potatoes, rolled in won-ton wrappers or pastry dough.
When looking through Culture Kits that will be showcased at Cruise the World, Younger said she learned about the history of each culture. Specifically, she said the detail of one pen and ink holder in the Chinese Culture Kit helped her discover how much care the Chinese put into their work. In comparison, she said Americans just have a little plastic holder for their pens.
“It opens your eyes better and helps you relate (to other cultures),” Younger said.
Cruise the World is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Student Union Building ballroom. Tickets are available Saturday at the SUB information desk and are $5 for students.
“You don’t know the aspects of your own culture until you step outside of it,” Kauffman said.
Lindsey Treffry can be reached at [email protected]