COMMUNICATE feature groups were assigned the task of creating an encyclopedia. Each letter of the alphabet was used in the encyclopedia. The entries under each letter described something of that particular group’s culture in an effort to provide their counterpart school with greater understanding. Culture Box To aid with understanding the groups’ cultural differences, each group brought a box to the classroom. The students put items in the box that related to culture of the region. After all the important and pertinent items were collected, the students photographed each item and wrote an explanation or created a short videography of the item. Then the information and the items were carefully gathered into a box and shipped to the other group.
Cooking Together The idea of cooking together appealed to both the Bulgarian and Covington County students. Each group created a video to send to the other group. The video was designed to demonstrate the steps involved in preparing a unique cultural dish. The Covington County Teacher Academy students made Oreo balls because, as Easterling said, “Everyone knows that Mississippi is the junk food capital of the world.” The Bulgarian students demonstrated how to prepare a Bulgarian salad.
Future Plans Regarding the project’s success, Easterling said, “This has been a wonderful experience for me and my students. We have learned a lot and hope to learn more as the project progresses. My students have connected with the Bulgarian students on Facebook and Instagram. Kalina and I communicate almost daily and have become really close friends. We have made a connection that will not end with this school year but hopefully last a life time.”
ABC’s In order to demonstrate a language’s role in culture, both
People To People International Formerly known as The President’s People to People Program, PTPI was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Red Cross Building. It is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that still supports Eisenhower’s original goals and ideals. Tolerance and understanding are the primary tenets for this organization. The organization promotes understanding of different cultures through direct communication. The group is comprised of private individuals from 160 countries volunteering their time and energy from around the world. The United States’ PTPI headquarters is located in Kansas City, Missouri. The headquarters for Europe is located in Berlin. Many famous people have been involved with PTPI since its founding. These celebrities include Walt Disney, Bob Hope, Charles M. Schulz, Joyce C. Hall, Rafer Johnson, Gary Sinise, and Laura Hillenbrand. Sinise and Hillenbrand have worked with PTPI since 2004 through Operation International Children, an organization founded by Sinise and Hillenbrand, to help children in Afghanistan and Iraq have school supplies. PTPI has also worked with eliminating landmines efforts in 2002 and Sri Lanka tsunami victims in 2004. More information regarding PTPI can be located at the PTPI website at http://www.ptpi. org/. Spring 2014 CONNECTIONS 9