International Film Series: What would you do at 10-years old if you knew what you do today?

Do you remember what it was like to watch the interactions of the adult world as a child? Life on a much grander scale but with a simpler understanding. In the film, Mutum, Thiago sees the world with curiosity and wonder, despite the difficult realities of his family. Living in rural Brazil on a struggling farm, he sees a world colored by his parent’s unhappy marriage and his father’s abuse. Despite this context, he continues to try to understand the world of the adults in his life – his mother, father, uncle and grandmother – until an event one day forces all the complexities to the forefront. He and his brother Felipe attempt to reconcile the kindness of their grandmother and the harshness of their father in the adult world that is not yet their own.

Consider who you were and where you were when you were 10 years old. Knowing what you do now, how would you have acted differently? As an adult looking back, what do you miss about your 10-year-old self? What are you glad has changed?

Faculty, staff and students are welcome to the screening of the first film in the Spring 2010 line-up for the International Film Series. Mutum will be shown on February 25, 2010 from 4:00-6:00 PM in CHHS 281. A post-film discussion will be facilitated by Ms. Xanda Lemos, a graduate student in the Latin American Studies Program and lecturer of Portuguese.

Help for Haiti: One month later

By: Sayde J. Brais

On Jan. 12, 2010, the world watched one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world get practically reduced to rubble underneath one of the worst earthquakes in the region in more than 200 years. It is one month later and the devastation surrounding Haiti continues.

Haiti occupies an area approximately the size of Maryland, in which almost all of its over nine million residents are of African descent and speak Creole and French. Today, most of its capital, Port-au-Prince, lay in ruins. With a history of political instability, corruption, and severe poverty (an estimated four out of five people live in poverty and of those, more than half live in abject poverty), this earthquake has only added to the turmoil.

Almost immediately following the quake, initiatives all over the world began—some by well-known individuals like award-winning singer/song writer and Haiti-native, Wyclef Jean, and many by those just trying to make a difference. UNC Charlotte students along with community members participated in Haiti-focused initiatives. Some simply walked around collecting spare change while others launched full-blown projects. The Iota Rho Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated set up a table in late January to encourage donations of water bottles toward disaster relief.

Coming up is the “Dance 4 Haiti: Dance-a-thon” event presented by the UNC Charlotte Student Alumni Ambassadors on Saturday, Feb. 13. This event mirrors a traditional walk-a-thon but dancing will take place instead starting at 6:00 PM in the SAC Salons.

Also, The College of Education (COED) joined hands with Samaritan's Purse and University City Church to start the “Haitian Children’s Relief” initiative. From Feb. 1-19, donations will be accepted on the lobbies of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of COED. Donations can include new socks, shoes (no name brand), and underwear.

Students with the English Language Training Institute (ELTI) will be collecting hygiene kits in partnership with the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program. Anyone interested in contributing should bring a Ziplock bag with the items listed below to the ELTI offices on the 2nd floor of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS). Items to include in the bag are: 1 hand towel (16x28 inches), 1 washcloth, 1 wide-tooth comb, 1 nail clipper, 1 bar of soap (bath size in wrapper), 1 toothbrush in original wrapper and 6 band-aids.

Every initiative, donation, and any time spent can help Haiti. The country has a lot of work to do to bring itself back from a disaster of this caliber, and any way we can support them will get them on the track to rebuilding their beloved nation.

If your group is coordinating an initiative to assist with earthquake relief in Haiti, and it’s not mentioned here, feel free to post a comment to let others know.

Walkin' for Water- International Education Week 2009

Does carrying 5 gallons of water seem like an easy task to you? Looks and perception can be very deceiving-this was the case with Walkin' for Water.

The Gender Excellence Learning Community (Women's and Gender Studies Department) created the Walkin' for Water service project as a way to give back and change the lives of women and girls in developing countries. On average a young girl or woman carries 5 gallons of water 4 miles a day! With so much of their time being spent on gathering water for their families-their education suffers.

We then set out to make it all happen-we began planning how we would raise money that would be donated to Water1st International. Water1st International is a non-profit organization that builds wells in India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Honduras. After weeks of preparation Nov. 17 was finally here and we were all motivated to raise money!

Our first fundraising event was on Nov. 17, during International Education Week, we set up outside of Fretwell. In order to raise money we challenged people's strength and their perception by asking them to carry or run with two 5 gallon buckets-with 2.5 gallons of water in each- to get an understanding of what these women and girls go through on a daily basis to get a basic need:water. Some participants took nice calm strolls with the water in tow while others got more competitive and created a race out of it. The UNC Charlotte Women's Rugby team came out to help and challenged people to race them with the water-it was a hit! Needless to say most people were shocked at how difficult this seemingly easy task really was. This event was a success-a grand total of $102.55 was raised in 2 hours-that will build 5 wells!

Not only did we want this to be a fundraising event-but we also wanted to educate people on our cause. It is our hope that UNC Charlotte students, faculty/staff and visitors that participated-or saw the event going on-are now more educated on the cause and have a place in their hearts to help people in developing countries that struggle to get something that Americans sometimes take for granted.

Walkin' for Water will host another fundraiser on Thursday, Nov. 19, outside of Fretwell from 2:30-4:20pm. Donations will be taken and races will resume. Come out and get involved with a great cause and fun!

Thanks to everyone that participated and donated. Your help and contributions are appreciated and will help to change the lives of people across the world.

International Education Week is Here!

International Education Week is here, and we have more events than ever before. No matter what you are interested in, you can find something you can enjoy during International Education Week. Have lunch or dinner with your friends in Crown Commons - they are hosting a week of International Cuisine from around the world. Each day offers food from a different region - Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Come enjoy the delicious food and world culture.

If you are not a foodie, don’t worry, we still have something for you. Come watch a movie - we have several award-winning movies from around the world that relate to international topics and issues.

• Sleepwalking Land is about how an orphaned trying to find his family in war-torn Mozambique. The film displays the power of imagination for surviving, and ultimately overcoming, the devastation of war.

• Nobody Knows is about how young boy in Tokyo trying manages the household and take care his three younger siblings after his mother abandons them. How the children find new ways to survive after the money runs out. Based on a true story.

• Gegen Die Wand is about two German Turks who decide to marry each other when they meet at the hospital after they tried to commit suicide.

• Trade is a story about a girl was kidnapped by underground traffic trying to escape from the brutal global underworld, and how her brother and police determined to rescue her. A socially conscious film, Trade does not look away or glance over the horrors of the sex trade, even in the most painful of details.

• A Journey to Darfur is promote awareness and education on genocide, hatred, mass violence and human right violations pertaining to historical atrocities and similar current conflicts.

If you are more of a social person, come to our international food sampler and international coffee hour to meet some new friends from around the world. Or join us for the brown bag lunch travel presentation, our presenters will share their international travel experience with you in the luncheon.

Prefer to be active? Recreational Services is hosting several dance classes; including Zumba, Salsa and Ballroom and Latin Dance over the week. Come get your international groove on.

Join us to celebrate UNC Charlotte’s global nature - history, language, film, culture, speakers, food, coffee and much, much more are combined for an exciting international experience. For the list of the events visit our website at http://www.oip.uncc.edu/IntEdWk.htm.

Eat. Drink. Learn. Think. Read. Do. Go Global.

15 ways to "go global" at UNC Charlotte

1. Participate in International Education Week
2. Join one of many International Student Organizations
3. Visit our Blog - http://ninerinternational.blogspot.com :)
4. Become a Friendship and Culture Exchange Partner
5. Study Abroad
6. Attend International Film Series
7. Join the International Club
8. Attend International Coffee Hour
9. Participate in the International Festival
10. Live in Witherspoon Hall’s International House
11. Become an International Studies Major or Minor
12. Join the Model United Nations
13. Join Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars
14. Facebook Group-Office of International Programs, UNC Charlotte
15. Attend the International Speaker Series


Right now we're most concerned with #1. The week of November 16-20, 2009 has 35 programs scheduled to reflect the global nature of UNC Charlotte - history, language, film, culture, speakers, food, coffee and much, much more are combined for an exciting international experience. The complete list of events is available online. Look for other announcements around campus - contact our office (704-687-7305) if you'd like more information or need special accommodations. Don't miss this chance to "go global."

Eat. Drink. Learn. Think. Read. Do. Go Global.

careers in international education useful web sites

As a follow-up to the earlier post about the career resource fair, here are a few links that may be useful to anyone interested in pursuing a career in international education.

www.oip.uncc.edu - our office's web page with information about our offices and various programs we administer - just to get a sense of what all goes on in an "international education focused" environment.

www.nafsa.org - the largest international education professional network. This is a great organization to be involved with for networking, understanding current trends and accesibility to resources in the field.

http://www.nafsa.org/career_center/ - the career center on the NAFSA site provides information on the field itself, expectations of professionals in the field, a job registry and useful tools for exploring or advancing your career.

http://www.nafsa.org/_/File/_/InternationalEducator/YourCareerJanFeb.pdf - an article providing an overview of the growing importance of having a masters degree for success in international education. Check page 3 of 8 (or 38 in the document) for a listing on the sidebar of available masters programs.

http://www.ncaie.org/ - a North Carolina professional organization for international education - start local, go global. Check their web site for the International Leadership Conference for students on November 14-15, 2009.

how to get the world's best job: Oct. 22

When I graduated with my undergraduate degree I was fairly certain of two things: I wanted a job on a college campus and I wanted a job doing something internationally-related. I pursued a graduate degree, got married, moved to Charlotte and was introduced to the field of international education.

Here was an entire professional trajectory devoted to "international" on "college campuses" (and beyond). So, I pulled together three part-time gigs in the UNC Charlotte vicinity - some teaching, some higher ed administration and some non-profit administration. Eventually it whittled down to full-time non-profit and part-time teaching; then it transitioned to full-time higher ed administration (in international education!) and part-time teaching; now, it's full-time, all out international education through higher ed. It was a process - still is.

So, I figured it out for now. It was perhaps the long approach and not entirely deliberate, but it got me a position in the most exciting office on campus (I'm biased, but that should be obvious)- Office of International Programs -"international" and "campus" requirements fulfilled.

On October 22 from 12-2, there will be a Careers in Student Affairs Resource Fair in the Student Union Multipurpose Room 340 A/D, and international education will be represented. I'll have information available on what you can do now (how to be international at UNC Charlotte), and what to consider when you graduate (graduate degrees and professional affiliations) if you're interested in a career in international education. There is also a panel and reception for students interested in student affairs on October 22 from 6-8 in the Lucas Room of the Cone Center.

This is a great way to get info now so you don't have to be completely surprised by career options - it's worth it.


Rebecca Vincent
Coordinator of International Initiatives