UWP's Village Series to promote understanding
PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Multicultural Educational Resource Center will host a Village Series on Thursday, Dec. 11, hosted by Pusaporn Tabrizi, academic coordinator, MERC. Tabrizi's Village Series will allow students to immerse themselves within a first-hand account of the adaptations to a new language, a new way of thinking and a new culture.
Tabrizi, who was once an international student from Thailand pursuing her master's degree, later immigrated to the United States and began a family. In Thailand, Tabrizi said she studied English and had strong skills in writing and grammar but was without proper conversational ability.
"There wasn't a place to become a better English speaker," Tabrizi said.
Tabrizi said there were definitely barriers that needed overcoming after she became a citizen of the United States, but combining her native culture with an American way of life was difficult as well.
"It's just paperwork that makes me American," Tabrizi said. "Combining two cultures doesn't just mean learning the language, but everything." Tabrizi said that each culture acts, speaks and expresses ideas differently so she would like to bring to light some of the differences between her two cultures so that there can be more understanding between people.
Tabrizi's Village Series will take place in the University East and West rooms at the Pioneer Student Center on the UWP campus from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, contact Tabrizi at (608) 342-1506 or tabrizip@uwplatt.edu.
Contact: Pusaporn Tabrizi, academic coordinator Multicultural Educational Resource Center, (608) 342-1506, tabrizip@uwplatt.edu Written by: Jason McGraw, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, mcgrawj@uwplatt.edu