A GATHERING OF NATIONS TEACHES STUDENTS ABOUT WORLD CULTURES

JACKSON -- When a college student from Panama suddenly had to drop out of A Gathering of Nations, a West Lane Elementary student volunteered her own mother to tell fellow grade-school students about life in Panama. Her mother, Ara Hoffman, is from Panama, too.

Southeast Missourians who are natives of Saudi Arabia, Panama, Japan, Taiwan, Russian, Guatemala, Korea, Germany, Nicaragua and France spoke at the event Friday. Their intent was to give the fourth-and fifth-grade students some understanding of their countries' traditions and cultures.

Most of the speakers were students at Southeast. But others simply live in the region.

Saudi native Pamela Abdulaziz' daughter Shamma, a sixth-grade student at the R.O. Hawkins Middle School, wore traditional Arab female dress and explained why Muslims fast from sunup to sundown for a whole month each year.

"They fast so they can help poor people and feel what they're feeling," she said.

Annelte Pellauder, a German studying English and Spanish at Southeast, taught her class the song "Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken!", which translates to "My hat, it has three corners!."

Holiday traditions were a popular subject.

Southeast student Thierry Vivier told the children about Christmas in France and taught them how to say "Ouvrir Les Cadeaux," which means "Open the gifts."

University student Helen Makarova played a recording of a Russian Christmas carol and described to the bemused listeners how children knock on the doors of neighbors on Jan. 1 and throw in rice or wheat when the doors open. The gesture is a wish for happiness and prosperity.

Yumi Kamimura, who teaches English, said the tradition of Christmas gift-giving was imported to her country from the West even though most of its residents are Buddhists. "It's just for fun," she said.

The students may have been as interested in Shuryo Fujita's appearance than in his country's customs. The Japanese criminal justice major's hair is dyed a brilliant red.

The elementary school students assembled a list of questions they have about people who hail from other countries. They included:

-- What do houses look like in other countries?

-- Do people have pets?

-- What does it feel like to live in a country where war can erupt at any time?

-- After spending time in the United States, do you want to go back to your country?

In the question and answer sessions that followed each presentation, some students wanted to know what name-brand clothes are available in foreign countries. Others were curious about sports, and were glad to discover that Germans like soccer, too.

One boy wanted to know if Korea has any superheroes? Jackson resident Susan Park, who was born in New York but whose parents observed Korean customs, admitted she doesn't know.

When they discover she is from Russia, most Americans want to talk about Communism or perestroika, said Luda King, who works at Dana Corp. Instead, she talked to the students about Christianity.

Guatemalan university student Rueben Mazariegos says U.S. students have access to many learning tools, such as computers, that students in his homeland lack.

"They are lucky and they need to take advantage of it," he said.

A Gathering of Nations was organized by school counselor Judy Statler and Parents Always Love Students, a new parent group at the school.

PALS members prepared a meal for the international guests beforehand.