By CANDACE MIERS

Contributing Editor

Nepal, France, Ethiopia and Japan were all under the same roof last Tuesday.

The International Students Association held its International Days in the Student Center, Main Floor, for students and the community.

"International Days is a great way to contribute to the international students at Tech and the community," Dan Erickson, the director of the International Student Office, said.

Tech international students and foreign language organizations put up booths in the Student Center that represented their countries. They also sold food and memorabilia that depicted their countries.

"I am very excited to be able to experience a different culture and other countries' lifestyles," Christen Reinowski, a senior accounting major, said.

"I think it is a wonderful opportunity for students to get together and learn a little something about one another's cultural differences."

Nouha Salim, a former Tech student and a native of Lebanon, said the events that occur on International Days embrace all nations so that each student can feel comfortable.

"Tech really tries hard to include every student, no matter where they are from, to make them feel at home and comfortable here," Salim said.

"I think International Days has such a positive impact on Tech, showing that this college can include everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from."

Everyone was invited, including the local children.

"This is the second year Tech has brought kids from the local elementary schools to come and enjoy the booths," Erickson said.

The Japanese booth made origami helmets, complete with horns, out of old newspapers, in addition to their food.

"It's great to see 300 to 400 kids walking around with Japanese origami hats on," Erickson said.

The Jamaican and Nigerian booths did not have hats, but they did have music and dancing.

All the entertainment and browsing was free, but for those who wanted food, there were tickets. Tickets for the food cost 50 cents.

Other tickets included raffle tickets for $1. The first place prize was a new computer donated by Hi-Tech Computers, located at 730 W. California Avenue.

"International Days is the one big fundraiser for the ISA every year," Erickson said. "This is how they support the international fund to keep more students coming to Tech."

He also said there are around 750 international students from about 70 different countries at Tech.

"I think it's amazing that people from all over the world find Tech to be their home," Erickson said.

People from all over campus found their way to the booths between 4 and 7 p.m.

There were up to 1,000 people at International Days to help support the cause and munch on French cheeses, chocolate-covered strawberries and Chinese food.

Erickson said the food is usually gone before 6 p.m., but the ISA keeps the booths up another hour just in case people want to browse through different cultures and maybe learn a thing or two.

Erickson said, "This is a great opportunity for American students to take advantage of different cultures here at Tech."