410-715-3162
E-mail: International@ColumbiaAssociation.org

The mission of CA's International Exchange & Multicultural Programs (formerly known as the "Sister Cities Program") is to foster international understanding and to celebrate the diverse cultures of Columbia. CA's International Exchange Program's expanded its goals and objectives include developing new exchanges with Columbia's two sister cities, Cergy-Pontoise and Tres Cantos, and creating new Sister City relationships in other cities and nations. CA also develops multicultural programs, such as the International Book Club and Culture Cafés for the community.

Columbia International Day: Will not be held summer 2013.

World Languages Café at Wegmans

Whether it is in English, en français, en español, or in Arabic, Farsi, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, or Russian, there can be a table with friendly faces and good conversation at Columbia Association's (CA) World Languages Café.

The World Languages Café provides monthly evenings of conversation and culture for people to speak a language they know or are learning, increase their fluency by speaking and listening, meet others who enjoy learning languages, pick up useful phrases to use when traveling - or even to recall a childhood language.

These gatherings are free and are appropriate for adults, as well as college and high school students (who should be in level 4 or 5).

They will be held on the fourth Wednesday of the month year-round - upcoming dates are May 22, June 26, July 24 & August 28 - from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Wegmans Café, located at 8855 McGaw Road in Columbia.

People are invited to come upstairs and join the language table of their choice, whether they want to drop in or stay the entire time. On their way up, participants can purchase a drink, snack or dinner to bring with them.

Language tables are hosted by native and/or fluent speakers who will facilitate conversation; these gatherings are not grammar or vocabulary classes.

If we do not have a language table host for a language, we will still have a table where speakers of that language can get together to chat! If you would like to be a native speaker table host, please contact Laura Smit. We have guidelines for table hosts as well as conversation starters. For more information, contact laura.smit@ColumbiaAssociation.org or call 410-715-3162.

Language tables for May 22 are as follows:*

Arabic
English
Chinese (Mandarin)
Farsi (Persian)
French
German
Hebrew
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
Portuguese

* While we do our best to have native speaker table hosts for each language, in some cases native speakers are not available due to illness, travel, or other commitments. In some cases table hosts will be "fluent speakers", not "native speakers." If a table host is not available, community members will still have a table to get together and speak with others learning the same language.

Columbia's Sister Cities - International Exchange Programs

Experience a different culture and travel abroad! The International Exchange Program offers exchange opportunities for adults with Columbia's Sister Cities, Cergy-Pontoise (France) and Tres Cantos (Spain.)

Cergy-Pointoise (18 miles outside Paris): The sister city relationship between Columbia, Maryland, and Cergy-Pontoise, France, was established in 1977 and reaffirmed in 2002, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the relationship. The Columbia/Cergy-Pontoise Proclamation

Tres Cantos (13 miles outside Madrid): The relationship between Columbia, Maryland, and Tres Cantos, Spain was established in 1990. The Columbia/Tres Cantos Proclamation

Tema, Ghana (16 miles from Accra): Columbia may soon have a third sister city. The CA Board of Directors approved a proposal to develop a new sister city relationship with Tema, a planned community in Ghana. CA's Tema Sister City Committee works with the International Exchange & Multicultural Programs Department to help establish a formal Columbia-Tema partnership. The Committee will lay the groundwork for international exchange programs for youths and adults in areas such as art, music, business, sports and education. Three members of the Tema Sister City Committee are traveling to Ghana on personal trips from Columbia in July 2012 taking a "Friendship City" Agreement with them for signature by the Mayor of Tema. For more information, please contact Program Manager Laura Smit at 410-715-3162 or international@columbiaassociation.org for more information.

TYPES OF EXCHANGES:

• Cuisine Exchanges: From October 12 - 21, 2012 Columbia residents can visit Columbia's Sister City Cergy-Pontoise for a week of cuisine lessons, dining at local restaurants, visits to a farm and a cheese festival, markets and sightseeing. Participants will live with host families. Space is limited to 10 people for the 2012 Cuisine Exchange. For more information and the 2012 Application, click here. NOTE: The Application Deadline has been extended to September 14. For more info, please contact Laura Smit, Program Manager at 410-715-3162. Previous exchanges include an October 2010 visit to France by Columbia Residents and an April, 2011 visit by French visitors from Cergy-Pontoise for a week of "Maryland Cuisine & Culture."
  
  
• Cultural & Business Exchanges: From time to time, CA organizes cultural and business exchanges. In the past there have been exchanges of people and information involving artists, musicians, student athletes, senior citizens and business leaders. Residents from Howard County travel abroad for one week hosted by our French or Spanish counterparts and participate in activities selected for the particular exchange (e.g. art shows, soccer tournaments.) A reciprocal exchange may occur in the following year.
  
  
• Home and Hospitality Exchanges: CA will assist Howard County residents interested in doing a home exchange by making contact with an interested partner in Tres Cantos or Cergy-Pontoise. In a Home Exchange, participants swap houses for a given period agreed upon by the participants. The Hospitality Exchange is a reciprocal home-stay exchange, in which participants from Columbia stay with their exchange partners in their home for a given period of time and vice versa.
  
  
• State Department International Visitors Program: Columbia families can host an international visitor who is part of a planned State Department or USAID study group. These visits are coordinated by the World Trade Center Institute in Baltimore. Families who are interested in hosting can send an email to international@ColumbiaAssociation.org

The Columbia Association is a member of Sister Cities International.

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MULTICULTURAL PROGRAMS:

• International Book Club: CA's International Book Club meets monthly to explore multicultural and international themes. All books are selected by participants. Through a partnership with Howard County Library, the book selections are reserved each month at the East Columbia branch. All books are in English. Some of the books read to date include: Balzac & the Little Chinese Seamstress (China); Things Fall Apart (Nigeria); How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent (Dominican Republic); The White Tiger (India) Finding Nouf (Saudi Arabia), The Year I Smelled Like Milk: Stories from Beijing and Beyond (China), and Brick Lane (Pakistan/UK) and Shanghai Girls. Upcoming books are Love in the Time of Cholera (July) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia); Cutting for Stone (August) by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopia) and War Dances(Sept) by Sherman Alexie (Native American) . Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd Wed of the month at CA Headquarters. For more information or to join the International Book Club, please call 410-715-3162 or e-mail International@ColumbiaAssociation.org.
  
  
• Culture Cafè: Culture Cafè is an initiative of CA's International Exchange and Multicultural Programs that recognizes the many cultures from around the world that make up Columbia's diverse community. Culture Cafè events are free and open to the public. The next Culture Cafè, organized in collaboration with the Howard County Library System, will be the South Asia Culture Cafè - Sunday, November 4, Miller Branch. A Free Event for the whole family, celebrating the countries of South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

To learn more about any of these programs, call Laura Smit, Program Manager, at 410-715-3162 or e-mail International@ColumbiaAssociation.org.





• Columbia International Day: Will not be held summer 2013.
  The event, first held in 1995, highlights and celebrates the cultural and ethnic diversity that distinguishes Columbia and provides an opportunity to meet the visiting French and Spanish students and chaperones from Columbia's two Sister Cities. Students who have traveled to France and Spain provide information about the summer student exchange. Columbia International Day includes live music and dance performances representing a variety of cultures, international food and crafts vendors and children's activities. Additional information will be posted here as available or contact dale.wasmus@ColumbiaAssociation.org. Visit ColumbiaCalendar.org for schedule of events.
  
  
• International & Multicultural Advisory Committee (IMAC): The mission of the International & Multicultural Advisory Committee is to inform and advise CA staff and volunteers on community needs, interests and concerns as they relate to international exchange & multicultural programs. The goal is to enhance international understanding through people-to-people relationships. Members come from the community, with some members representing Columbia Villages and others being at-large members coming from Columbia/Howard County. Advisory Committee members assist in developing new projects, disseminating information, stimulating understanding and interest in other cultures and peoples, and offering volunteer assistance at events or programs.

To learn more about any of these programs, call Laura Smit, Program Manager, at 410-715-3162 or e-mail International@ColumbiaAssociation.org.

Programs for teens are also offered.

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