New Ways to Get Involved in CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs
Interested in new opportunities to enjoy delicious international cuisine or brush up on your language skills?
Thanks to some exciting developments in CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs (IEMP), there’s more ways than ever to join in and celebrate the diverse cultures represented in Columbia.
Here’s the latest!
International grocery store tours
Food is one of the best ways to learn about other cultures, and IEMP is thrilled to highlight the diverse cuisines represented in Columbia with a new series of international grocery store tours.
Our first tour took place at LA Mart to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in early October. We had an amazing time learning about Dominican culinary traditions from Brandon Morfoot — check out the video above for a glimpse into the action!
The next tour featuring Korean cuisine will be led by IEMP Program Manager Grace Chang. Grace will lead a group of 15 participants on a tour of H Mart on Route 40 on Monday, November 14 (11-11:45am). Click here to register and learn how to make three delicious Korean dishes.
Want to share your own cultural recipe? Email Grace.Chang@ColumbiaAssociation.org or Diane.Li@hclibrary.org if you have a favored Chinese, Guatemalan, Indian, Irish, Jamaican, Mexican, Turkish or other global recipe you would like to share.
New World Languages Café location
The World Languages Cafe is all about culture, connection and conversation. After 10 years as a monthly program, IEMP is excited to now offer the WLC on a bimonthly basis. It’s open to anyone in the community who wants to practice speaking a language and meet new people in a friendly atmosphere.
In collaboration with the Howard County Library System, the WLC will now meet at the Miller Branch location on the second Thursday of the month (7-8:45pm). Currently, we are offering Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean and Spanish language tables at the Miller branch. If you are interested in practicing another language that’s not offered at the moment, feel free to email Grace.Chang@ColumbiaAssociation.org.
The WLC will also continue the regular meeting time/location at the 50+ Center at East Columbia Library on the fourth Tuesday of the month (7-9pm).
Want to stay updated on the latest IEMP news? Contact International@ColumbiaAssociation.org to be added to the monthly newsletter.