In Honor of Black History Month Bushwick Families Open Their Homes to International Students from Around the World

Bushwick, Brooklyn - Members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Bushwick will open their homes to international students from around the world for a two-day cultural and educational exchange experience. Participants include Fulbright scholars and other international students from India, Armenia, Pakistan, Japan, and elsewhere. The overnight weekend visit is timed as a celebration of Black History Month and will take place Saturday & Sunday, February 23-24, 2002.

Members of the church, predominantly Caribbean immigrants, are organizing the exchange with Metro International, a nonprofit educational organization that creates global learning opportunities for students, educators, and the community in New York City and beyond.

The twin goals of the organizers are to provide international students an inside view of the richness of Caribbean & African-American life and customs, and to give the Bushwick community a keener awareness of New York City's inextricable links with the rest of the world. In the aftermath of September 11, this person-to-person diplomacy is more important than ever.

The weekend exchange will move participants beyond stereotypes to provide an experience rich in family, religion, food, music and most of all, friendship. Additionally, Bushwick residents will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with these international students and help shape positive attitudes toward our city and our country which students will carry with them on their return to their home countries.

In addition to sharing in African-American family life during an overnight stay in homes, participants will visit the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History, attend a "Cultural Extravaganza" featuring local artists and performers, and join members of the St. Thomas congregation for a Sunday church service.

Following the Sunday morning service, the international students and congregation will participate in a celebration of world cultures featuring food, music and fellowship.

For more information, please contact Virginia Shuford at (212) 431-1195 ext 24.

Schedule

Saturday, February 23, 2002,
11 am - Students arrive St. Thomas Church (1405 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11207).

11:30 am - Tour Historic Weeksville (1698-1708 Bergen Street, (Between Buffalo & Rochester Avenues) Brooklyn, New York.)

1:15 pm - St. Thomas Church (lunch, neighborhood tour, host and student introductions)

4:00 pm - Cultural Extravaganza ­ St. Thomas Church Hall (address above)

5:45 pm - Depart for Homestays

Sunday, February 24, 2002
10 am - St. Thomas Church Service (1405 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11207)

About Metro International (www.metrointl.org)
Metro International Program Services of New York, Inc. creates global learning opportunities for students, educators, and the community in New York City and beyond. Metro's array of educational services and outreach programs promote interaction between international students and the residents of New York in settings as diverse as local neighborhoods, school classrooms, business, and cultural institutions. Metro serves as the officially-designated coordinator of enrichment programs for visiting Fulbright students and scholars in the New York area and is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in providing substantive and innovative educational programming.