Blog

Canada In Canada, there is no federal department of education or integrated system for education. Instead, each individual province or territory has departments and ministries responsible for education, which are led by elected officials. These departments and ministries provide administrative support and financial management for educational institutions. Funding for Canadian public education comes directly from provincial or territorial government (i.e. taxes). Regulations are set up to provide grants to schools based on number of students, special needs, and location. Most provinces or territories mandate public school attendance for all children aged 6 through 16. Approximately 98% of elementary  school students go onto secondary education: high school. Secondary
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France Baguettes, cheese, and wine comprise a basic French meal. Fresh ingredients are a must, & meals are prepared with care. Lunch is 2 hours long. Some businesses close for as long as 5 hours because of lunch. Most famous French dishes are regional specialties. Ingredients used in special dishes vary by geographic region. All great French cuisine is premised upon the careful preparation of fresh ingredients. France’s most essential traditional dish typically consists of bread, cheese, and wine. In France, individual meal portion size is generally much smaller than it is in America. The French widely consider breakfast to be the least important meal
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Halloween, as it exists today, evolved from Irish and Scottish cultural traditions over the course of the last 200 years. It is most popular as a commercial and cultural holiday in the United States and Canada. Though some North American Halloween customs have taken hold in European and Asian nations throughout the past two decades, most other countries do not celebrate Halloween to the extent that the U.S. and Canada do. Instead, many countries have their own special cultural celebrations of ghosts, skeletons, and the deceased. With Halloween just around the corner, we thought it would be interesting to share a little
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Democratic political dynasties are families in which successive generations have been elected to high political office by popular vote. The family members in question may be parents, children, spouses, or siblings. They function differently from monarchies and dictatorships, in which individuals are not elected to political office by popular vote. On Monday, October 19, Justin Trudeau was elected to the office of Prime Minister of Canada – an office which his father, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, held from 1968 to 1984. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party victory gives Canada its very first political dynasty. We were inspired by this week’s Canadian election to
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Earlier this year, The International Center was invited to work closely with France’s Bolloré Group and the City of Indianapolis to help launch BlueIndy, Indianapolis’ electric vehicle (EV) sharing service. BlueIndy is America’s largest electric car sharing program, and we love the mass transportation solution it presents to Indianapolis residents! Car sharing is a safe, efficient, and environmentally-friendly transportation option, and the 100% electric BlueIndy vehicles are poised to decrease pollution and facilitate mass transit in Indianapolis. Vehicle sharing services are a global phenomenon, and BlueIndy has many terrific international peers. We’ve done some research on these services, and
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This past Tuesday evening, The International Center hosted a gala at The Indiana Roof Ballroom to present its International Citizen of the Year Award! This year’s recipient was Dr. John Lechleiter, who serves as President and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, and also as chairman of the U.S.-Japan Business Council and United Way Worldwide. Inspired by the International Citizen of the Year Award, we decided to put together a list of international activities that everyone can partake in. You don’t even need to leave home to bring the world to your world! 1. Be Aware Of Diversity, So You Can Embrace It Every person, every
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All throughout the world, there are millions of people saying millions of things. Some of the things some of the people are saying are wise things. Some of those wise things said through the ages have been considered so wise, they have become “proverbs” – colloquial sayings specific to certain cultures. Every country in the world is home to a collection of unique national proverbs. We’d like to share with you 10 of our favorites from countries around the world, which may bring a smile – or even some inspiration! 1. Petit a petit, l’oiseau fait son nid. This saying comes
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    I love to include emojis in my text messages, tweets, and Facebook posts. You may even have seen them creep into some of the professional posts I’ve written for The International Center on Twitter. I think that they add extra meaning to almost any message, and that they can convey a lighthearted sensibility that is often missing from written communication. Selecting the best emoji to suit a message comes as second nature to me. I barely need to think about it! Like many people, I imagine, my most-used emojis are the various smiles and hearts… but there are hundreds of emojis, and I
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Born in India and raised in America, I grew up with a strong awareness of the cultural differences between these two countries. From a young age, I began noticing subtle, but clear differences between the two nations. In the United States, nobody plays cricket on the streets. In India, there is no concept of “tailgating” at sporting events. Though the United States was a whole new world, I soon found myself falling in love with my new home, tiny differences and all. This said, I did encounter one recurring intercultural issue throughout my years in high school. My peers
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On New Year’s Day of 2010, I landed in Indianapolis for the very first time. I vividly remember when I took my first step out of the airplane. That moment I was worried about how I was going to adapt to a new continent, one that was completely unfamiliar to me. Now more than 5 years later, I am getting ready to graduate from college in December. Just like all the other international students, I came to the U.S in order to get a college degree. I have faced many challenges such as homesickness, cultural differences and language barriers.
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