Students Tavel to Botanical Gardens
On Saturday, international students took part in a trip to Fayetteville organized by the International Program. First stop was the Airborne & Special Operations Museum; and after that was a relaxing trip to Botanical Garden
The International Program organizes several of these trips for international students, this being the fourth trip since the start of the semester. The previous trips include a visit to the movies, Myrtle Beach and a local farm. The opportunity to travel helps introduce international students to the local attractions and culture while also allowing them to see what our country has to offer outside of Pembroke.
The trip to Fayetteville had a total of eight students, which is far fewer participants than the previous expeditions. Even with that being the casea, multiple countries and cultures were still represented. They were supervised by Qi Liu, also known as Larry, the Asian Program Coordinator and Kateryna Forynna, ESL Specialist, English Language Institute.
After leaving slightly behind schedule the first stop was the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.
The students split into two small groups, one heading to the museum where they gained some extra insight into American History, while the other group spent some time exploring Fayetteville. Georgina Feasby, an International Student from England, described the trip as a fun day out and a great chance to see Fayetteville.
The Botanical Garden was the next stop after lunch. The two attractions have rather little in common. While the focus of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum is on conflict and war, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden is all about peace and tranquility. A good change of pace for students in the first wave of exams and papers. Student Favour Odoemena said, “I liked the Botanical Garden because I like nature and I like the calm atmosphere.” One thing the two locations do share however is a maze-like structure that allow for groups to split off easily. For two hours the students were free to get lost in the beautiful Botanical Garden either accidentally or on purpose.
One of the highlights of the trip was a wedding taking place at the Botanical Garden. In the idyllic setting next to the lake a young couple said their vows while the International Students watched from a nearby patio, enjoying the romantic atmosphere. Larry got to know some of the wedding party and relayed the couples story to the students. This led to a interesting discussion on different wedding customs as well as personal preferences and experiences.
Some things are universal across all cultures and women talking about weddings seem to be one of them. Arrival back at Pembroke was slightly delayed, but then again one cannot leave in the middle of a wedding.
