Tuesday, November 17th
Outside the Great Room
12-3 PM

Come talk to the Office of International Education, study abroad student alumni, faculty Study Tour leaders, and the Financial Aid office.

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The presentation will take place on Wednesday, November 2 in Schaffer 106 at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Each presentation will be approximately 45 minutes.

Check out the attached flyer for more information!

Please contact the Office of International Education with any questions!

The Office of International Education
Glendening Annex
www.smcm.edu/ie
+1 240-895-4202

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London Spring Break Study TourDavid Groupe
November 2, at 4 p.m.
Bruce Davis Theater

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Stephan Lenik and Iris Ford
October 31, at 4:45 p.m.
Anne Arundel Hall W104

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Before we even entered the museum we knew we were in for a treat. The outside of the museum is a mosaic with tons of mirrors, colored glass and other items making beautiful patterns. Since the museum is several floors, we decided to have a meeting point in an hour so everyone could take their time looking around at their own pace. Some of us wandered to the basement where we ended up with at the fart exhibit. No, that is not a typo- The Fart Exhibit. The entire mosaic told stories of flatulence and in the middle there was a button you could push to hear different sounds of…well we think you know what we are going to say! Despite the subject matter, the exhibit was very colorful and the guide told us a little bit about how he created the exhibit and that he also created a Christmas tree made of mirrors outside the museum.

Visionary artists usually do not have any formal training and are often self-taught. The cool thing about that, we learned, is that people make art from and about anything (e.g. farts)! We saw a toothpick replica of the Lusitania, Pez Dispenser art, photos of ears dedicated to the one earring all women seem to lose, but can’t seem to give up, and mannequins of all sizes and shapes adorned with various items. Needless to say, we spent more than an hour in the museum. We all spent probably about a half an hour just in the gift shop alone!

Once we left the museum, we decided we would climb up Federal Hill to get a nice view of the Inner Harbor. It was a bit of a steep hike, but well worth it once we got to the top and took some photos of the city. For some of the students this was their first time to a major U.S. city.

On the way to our next stop, The Book Thing, we stopped at Paper Moon Diner for lunch, which was recommended by a friend of our German student. The Diner seemed quite similar to the museum with colorful eclectic displays of just about everything from dolls to sailboats! The menu was just about as far ranging as the décor! Our student from Japan tried the macho nachos, while others tried crab quesadillas, salmon pasta, egg omelets and grilled cheese- there was something for everyone! Once our bellies were full, we decided to head to our final destination- The Book Thing!

The Book Thing is basically a hole in the wall, but the inside is amazing and every book lovers dream! Basically, the organization collects books all week, and then opens their doors on Saturday and Sunday to give away books, free of charge. One or 100, you can take as many as you want! Books range from cookbooks to non-fiction to travel guides and magazines! We all got a few and after about an hour we piled back into the van and headed back to St. Mary’s!

Amy Marrion, Grad Assistant, Office of International Education

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We spent about 30-45 minutes in the enormous corn maze.  At one point the group got separated, but eventually we all reunited outside the maze in the barn for some lunch. Our students from Japan and Mexico landed at a table in front of a TV to catch some of the Saturday soccer games being played around the world.  After lunch a few of us ventured to grab a sweet treat. Conveniently located next to the barn was a cupcake shop! Appropriately named “” the shop had a wide variety of cupcakes for only $2.00 a piece! We sampled pink champagne, coconut cream, devil’s food and banana cream flavored cupcakes.

Another reason for visiting the farm was to visit the pumpkin patch! As American tradition goes, children (and adults) carve pumpkins for Halloween and we wanted to give SMCM international and exchange students the opportunity to purchase and carve their own pumpkins! As a group we strolled through the pumpkin patch, but it seemed that most of the nicer looking pumpkins had already been taken. However, we were lucky because we discovered another area with nicer looking pumpkins- perfect for carving- for sale. We each selected our favorite pumpkins and purchased them for $5.00 each. One student from Germany also bought a smaller pumpkin for a fall baking venture!

Bowles Farm also had a few little rides for kids and a petting zoo, but having visited the St. Mary’s County Fair a few weeks ago, we decided we would much rather head back to St. Mary’s to carve pumpkins and drink apple cider! We planned to carve pumpkins at the International Residence, just a couple of minutes from campus. Although most students agreed that in their home countries they have pumpkins- no one had ever carved one before! So, with bags, pumpkin carving kits, markers and our bare hands our pumpkin carving adventure began! We also put the pumpkin seeds in the oven to make toasted pumpkin seeds- yum! By the end of the day we had four carved pumpkins, including two “hybrid” pumpkins that were both carved AND painted!

~Amy Marrion, Graduate Assistant, Office of International Education

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On Saturday September 26^th four of our international students traveled the short distance up Rt. 5 to experience the 69^th Annual St. Mary’s County Fair. Despite a cloudy sky and a few showers, the group had a great time exploring the culture of St. Mary’s County. If you couldn’t already tell from our surroundings, the history of St. Mary’s is deeply rooted in agriculture, and that was evident when we first stepped foot on the fairgrounds and saw tractors, pigs, sheep, cows and barrels of hay!

Before exploring the livestock area, we visited the local Sheriffs table which presented a prime opportunity for photos and tinkering with handcuffs and other police gadgets. As we continued, we explored exhibits jam packed with goods submitted by local residents.  Goods on display included beautiful photos, many depicting the prized Maryland Blue Crab, gorgeous baked goods, fruit and vegetables. As part of the fruit section, there was a contest for the largest watermelon and first place weighed in at a whopping 82 lbs! When we finally made it to the livestock area, we noticed that the bunnies had been ranked and learned that they are judged on a variety of criteria, including ear type and eye color! Who knew?

In addition to the local agricultural exhibits, there were also tables set up for local businesses, churches and political parties. We found the Republican table particularly interesting because they were offering candy corn to place in the mason jar of your favorite presidential candidate.

And, of course, a fair would not be a fair if there weren’t rides! There were dozens of rides and happy children running around despite the dreary weather. A few of us decided to try out the “Round Up” which sent us in circles from every angle possible …and by the end I knew that was my first and final ride of the day! However, two other students, with apparent stomachs of steel, opted to try out the bumper cars, the drop tower and more! The rest of us wandered around the grounds and contemplated the many food options!

After the two thrill seekers got their ride fix, we regrouped to grab some food. Having learned that “stuffed ham” is a specialty truly unique to St. Mary’s County, we started with a free sample. There was a mixed reaction to the spicy ham treat; some thought it was too spicy, while others enjoyed it. However, I was the only one who actually purchased a sandwich to take with me! Following our savory sampling, we moved on to the true fair goodness- fried foods! We tried funnel cake sprinkled with powdered sugar and fried Oreos, which are an American tradition and favorite at county fairs. We also learned that in Slovenia, where one of our students is from, there is very similar treat to funnel cake!

Submitted by Amy Marrion, Office of International Education Graduate Assistant

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Passport Fees

Money Orders / Personal Checks made payable to US Department of State

Adults:

• Books – $110.00
• Cards – $30.00

US Postal Service Fees

• $25.00 Execution Fee

Passport photos are available on site – $15.00

Please Note: Payments for Execution Fee & Photo’s will need to be in the form of a check or money order made payable to U S Postal Service)

Identification

You must bring these two forms of identification:

• Certified Birth Certificate (Include official seal)
• Current Driver’s License or State Identification Card

Or

• Naturalization Certificate (If naturalized Citizen)
• Current Driver’s License or State Identification Card

And

• A photocopy showing the front and back of the applicant’s ID made on plain white, 8½ x 11’’ standard paper.

Photocopies must contain images on only one-side of each page (not on the front and the back).

If copies cannot be made on the same side of one page, the applicant may present two separate pages; one displaying the front of the ID and the second displaying the back of the ID.

All applicants must appear in person, including minors.

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Traveling with a group of nine students we set off for Baltimore early Saturday morning. Our goals were to go to the American Visionary Art Museum and The Book Thing, a free book shop, but the trip became so much more!

After parking we decided, or rather our inability to follow directions, had us walking through some gorgeous streets in Baltimore and through Freedom Park on our way to the museum. It was a great little adventure to start out our day. We had a beautiful view of the harbour and all of the movement down in the city. From the park we were able to see the museum and almost sprinted down the hill in excitement.

The museum was filled with wonderful art collections and pieces that are made by self-taught artists. These artworks range from funky, cool, vibrant, scary, and beautiful pieces that captivate the viewer into another world. Even for some of us, who know little about art, it was captivating and amazing to see. We didn’t want to leave.

Pauline Mulin, a Fulbright teacher’s assistant for French, stated, “This day in Baltimore was a blast. The Visionary Art Museum was like entering an awaken dream, colorful and unexpected. Once you walk in, it’s another temporality.”

After seeing the first building of art work, we walked outside to discover there were two more buildings, one with a huge installment piece on the ceiling! We walked out into a garden with a wooden tree-house like structure.

After we finished with the museum, our group walked down three blocks to get lunch at an outdoor shopping center. After walking around for most of the morning, we were glad to get something to eat and sit down!

Once we were done, we tried to navigate through the one-way streets of Baltimore to get to The Book Thing. Their mission is to take unwanted books and give them to people who do want them. The volunteers worked hard to get their donations out on the shelves, because it was busy that day. The store sectioned the books off into categories: Cooking, Sports, Film, Music, Classic Literature, Poetry, Foreign, Children, and more! Everyone in the group was able to find something special to take home with them.

When we were done, we decided it was time to come home– we were all tired. Everyone agreed the day had gone well. We drove off into the sunset, literally. We were able to see the sky turn from a light blue and pink to a fiery red. Once the sun went down, the students fell asleep, happy that their day was so productive and fun!

Written By: Allison Clayton and Adriana Rossel – IE Office Student Employees

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