Evening of International Poetry & Song

For students abroad, shared cultural experiences, such as reciting a common folk song or poem can instantly break barriers between foreigners and native speakers. They create a bond based on common experiences, which encourages further interaction.

Fostering these experiences is the goal behind the evening of international poetry and song. Students are asked to perform or recite songs, poems, and prose from their target language's cultures. Popular folk songs and poems are selected by the students themselves. Over the course of four weeks, these are rehearsed and then performed during the last weekend of the program. Instructors take an active role in helping students prepare for this event and often join them in the performances.

In summer 2008, performances included Japanese students singing "In the Thousand Winds"; a skit based on a Chinese pop song; a bajan and bassoon performance of Prokofiev's "Romance"; and a performance of the Jordanian "Dabke" dance.