06/25/2005

International visitors from six countries sample America

PHIL ROONEY , Staff Writer

McCLELLAND - Nirmala "Nancy" Sowho knows what to order for lunch at B and J's Dew Drop Inn.

"The special," she said.

The external program coordinator at the African Regional Center for Computing in Nairobi, Kenya, is a regular at the downtown McClelland bar and restaurant.

At least for a week or so.

SCOLA, the nation's leading provider of foreign language programming, is hosting seven communications professionals from six nations for 11 days of training through the United States Telecommunications Training Institute. They'll begin their journeys home on July 1.

The training includes setting up and disassembling satellite dishes on the SCOLA farm.

Lunch means the Dew Drop Inn.

"It's internationally known," said John Millar, SCOLA's vice president.

Thursday's special, a combination of rice and beef with a side of corn, was a hit with the international visitors. Sowho and Sujit Ananda Malla of Nepal, Omowumi Olaiya from Nigeria and Samantha Jayadheera from Sri Lanka really like their rice. Albanians Hydajet Kopani and Alban Karapici, and Paul Tuivanuyalewa of the Fiji Islands, also demonstrated their approval with their forks.

The group members have a wide range of religious beliefs. They are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Pentecostal Christian and Catholic. The Iowa stop is part of separate trips that also have taken some of the group to Washington, D.C., and Texas.

Becky Rasmussen, the "B" of B and J's, said she enjoys her international customers and made the rice dish specially for them.

"Everybody fits in here," Rasmussen said. "It's a lot of fun talking to people from other countries. I just wish I knew their languages."

No problem. They all speak excellent English.

"Most of our people are efficient in three languages," said Jayadheera. For the record those are Singhelese, Tamil and English.

One goal of the visit is introduce foreign professionals to America while developing new contacts for SCOLA.

"The more people we involve from other countries in that mission, the better," Miller said.

Malla, who works with state-run television in Nepal, said SCOLA can count on him.

"Any sort of help they need from me, I'll help them," he said.

Tuivanuyalewa, a lecturer in Telecom Engineering at the Fuji Institute of Technology, will be SCOLA's new contact in a country that is missing from the 80-plus nations carried by the satellite service.

Olaiya, a publication/Web assistant for the US-EDDI Community Resource Center, a project sponsored by the U.S. Embassy that is working to bridge the digital divide in Africa, likes what she's seen of America and Americans. From what she'd seen on television, it wasn't what she expected.

"We're really overwhelmed by the American people," she said. "Everybody's just beautiful."

She was especially grateful for the learning opportunity, provided in part by U.S. Aid.

"It will definitely benefit our countries when we go back," Olaiya said.

The visitors have learned the joys of American shopping. Olaiya got a deal on a new pair of sandals at Pay Less Shoes.

"Just five dollars," Olaiya said. She also thought this week's temperatures were just fine.

As time allowed, they also were learning more about America. Karapici, for one, said he likes soccer but is still trying to fully grasp baseball.

Sowho, who is originally from India, is working with the University of Texas to bring distance learning to Kenya.

"A whole society can get locked away if you don't have the information in there" she said. "To use that technology to bring that knowledge is even more exciting."

Many Kenyans don't have personal computers, but Sowho said she will help them through learning centers. She already has taught courses in Africa for Marlboro College and Champlain College, a pair of Vermont schools.

Outside the SCOLA offices the group worked on the satellite dishes, all seven grabbing an edge and moving one to the shade before taking it apart.

"No need for crane," Kopani said.

Midway through the 11-day visit that ends July 1, Millar smiled at the way things are working out.

"These are really smart folks. They are going to make a difference in their countries when they return," Millar said. "Some of these people should be teaching us."