Montana's 20-year partnership with Japan will be the focus of Montana State University's International Education Week set this week on the MSU campus.

Plans for the week include speakers, a Japanese film festival, a Japanese cooking class, a Zen meditation workshop, study abroad opportunities in Japan, and a Japanese cultural presentation by interns from Japan on MSU's Long Term Educational Administrative Program (LEAP). Activities will include participation from the nearly 150 students currently enrolled in Japanese language and history classes at MSU, Japanese interns from Japan, incoming students from Japan, and other interested community and campus members.

MSU students will also learn about the MSU Study Abroad program. MSU students can study at more than 200 universities in 50 countries around the world in programs that vary in length from short-term summer and semester to yearlong programs. In Japan, Montana State currently has active relationships with Kumamoto University, Kumamoto Gakuen University, and The Prefectural University of Kumamoto as well as with Kansai Gadai University in Osaka. This year marks the 20-year anniversary of the relationship between Montana and Kumamoto, Japan.

Material about Japan will be displayed at both Renne Library and the MSU Bookstore throughout the week.

For more information about International Education Week please contact the Office of International Programs at (406) 994-4031, or for study abroad opportunities at MSU, please contact: Deb Earl, Study Abroad adviser at (406) 994-7151 or e-mail her at dearl@montana.edu.

A calendar of MSU International Week activities follows:

Monday, Nov. 18 -- Study abroad and employment opportunities in Japan, noon in the Northwest Lounge of the SUB; Japanese film, "Dr. Akagi," 8 p.m. Linfield Hall.

Tuesday, Nov. 19 -- Origami workshop, noon, Northwest Lounge of the SUB; Japanese film, "After Life," 8 p.m., Linfield Hall.

Wednesday, Nov. 20 -- Japanese language workshop, oral and written forms, noon in the Northwest Lounge of the SUB; Zen meditation workshop, 7 p.m. SUB 276.

Thursday, Nov. 21 -- Chopsticks workshop, tradition and use, noon in the Northwest Lounge of the SUB; "Extinct Wolves of Japan," a slideshow and lecture by MSU Japanese Studies professor Brett Walker, 7 p.m. SUB Ballroom A.

Friday, Nov. 22 -- Japanese cooking workshop, noon in the Northwest Lounge of the SUB; "Women, Youths, and Men: The Age/Gender System in Early Modern Japan," lecture by Gregory Pflugfelder, 4 p.m. SUB 275/276.

Written by Carol Schmidt and posted 11/18/02.