Next week (November 18-22), Saint Louis University will participate for the first time in International Education Week (IEW), a joint initiative between the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Education. Celebrated in more than 100 countries, IEW was founded 13 years ago to promote international understanding and build support for educational exchange.
The week-long affair at Saint Louis University, which is sponsored by the university’s Center for Global Citizenship, will include a number of activities. A kick-off event with Governor Jay Nixon’s official proclamation of support, panel presentations, films, and a Pecha Kucha Brown Bag session (Pecha Kucha is a 20-second presentation) should appeal to the intellect, while the food-related programs will both satisfy the appetite and introduce eaters to new tastes and cultures.
Beginning Tuesday, a different food truck serving international fare will park outside of Pius Library (on Lindell, near Grand), between 11 AM and 1 PM:
Tuesday: Bombay Food Junkies (Indian)
Wednesday: Hot Aztec (Latino)
Thursday: Slice of the Hill (Italian)
Friday: Guerrilla Street Food (Filipino)
As part of the IEW Instagram Photo Challenge, participants can post pictures of themselves enjoying the food trucks’ comestibles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to compete for a prize.
Through videos, every day of IEW will also feature a different restaurant in the South Grand area—a business district well known for its international food. The videos, produced by Eric Miller, an admissions counselor at the university’s School for Professional Studies, and Scott Fetters, an international counselor at SLU’s Office of International Services, show South Grand area restaurant owners telling their stories—stories of immigration, influence, and inspiration and how food intersects with family, community, and St. Louis.
Chris Sherman, for example, the owner-operator of Gelateria Del Leone, explains that his desire to open a gelateria in St. Louis was born from his study abroad in Italy. Sherman, thus, as a product of global educational exchange, is living one of the goals of IEW. Other restaurants featured in the videos will include Wei Hong, Pho Grand, Café Natasha, and Grbic Restaurant. Look for videos here as they’re released next week.
SLU Madrid will also participate remotely in the IEW events. On Thursday, November 21, the third installment of the “Cultural Tastes” series at the Center for Global Citizenship’s café will offer free samples of churros and Spanish hot chocolate, showcasing the university’s partner campus in Spain. Finally, Saint Louis University’s dining services, operated by Chartwells, will serve food highlighting a different country each day during IEW.
All International Education Week events are free and open to the public. Consult this web site for the week’s schedule of events.
