The Global Connections Project was started by Lo and Shawn Tuoch, both children of wars that resulted in the mass exodus of Southeast Asian refugees to the United States. After several individual trips to Southeast Asia for charitable projects, Lo and Tuoch recognized the need for humanitarian work in the country.

While in Cambodia, the group volunteered at New Life Center Organization orphanage in Siem Reap, which the Global Connections Project built in 2010. They also taught conversational English in Sonha village about 25 kilometers from Battambang.

Below are reflections from four Augsburg students involved in the Global Connections Project. To read more, visit the Global Connections Project .

Rosa Chhou Ham ’16, exercise science major

Today we got to visit the orphanage and words cannot describe how beautiful these kids are. They have a contagious spirit of laughter, joy, and excitement and they bring such a powerful energetic atmosphere! Their English is amazing and the kids were very helpful to my peers and I [sic] with our Khmer. Coming to visit and meet the kids brought a sense of encouragement and hope. It’s so hard to not fall in love with these kids; they really have captured my heart today.

Mai Moua Vang ’14, chemistry major

We arrived last night to Siem Reap. On our 6-hour train ride from Bangkok to Siem Reap, I happened to sit next to Boun Nook. He is a 16-year-old Thai boy and was heading the same direction that we were. I asked him if he spoke English and he nodded his head saying he did. The funny thing was that he really didn’t speak English. …I took out my sketch book, [and] he drew pictures in my sketch book and then pronounced what it was. I listened to every word and then tried my best to enunciate the words. He corrected me when I didn’t say it correctly. This event made me realized how much art can be used to express ourselves as well as relating to others. Also I learned that every stranger is there to help propel you forward so don’t be a stranger and talk away.

Phoua Vang ’14, general studies major

Communication with these students was difficult at first due to the language barrier and even now it is still difficult, but there are the small little things we do that gives us the bond. Laughing together without understanding one another is the beauty of building a relationship because we both know what are intentions are. I am teaching them English and at the same time they are teaching me Khmer. We are both giving and receiving and I find that to be amazingly beautiful. It’s a good feeling to hear them laugh even though they are laughing at me.

Kanee (Mee) Lee ’14, management major 

It’s been about a week here teaching the students in Cambodia. Waking up, doing chores, eating breakfast, biking to school, teaching the students in middle school, biking back home, teaching some younger students back at the center and then biking them home. These children are so bright, curious, engaged, and have brought definition and meaning to my life here in Cambodia. I know I will miss my students when the time comes, but for the time being I will focus on the time I have left here and how to use it best, to benefit my students. Although I am supposed to be teaching them, they have taught me just as much back. My relationship with them has grown and I hope to develop it even more before I leave. Besides a relationship with my students, I have grown and learned even more about my peers and advisor. Without their support and encouragement I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Penh Lo, director of Pan Asian Student Services 

I woke this morning in a strange but familiar place. The sounds of the monks chanting morning prayer echoed over the loudspeaker. I stare at the ceiling of our hotel room expecting to see our our students rush in shouting “good morning, teacher!” I slip in & out of sleep as I thought I heard our oldest daughter say “Daddy, wake up!” And I woke up with tear drops missing home, but also a smile and a sense of renewed wholeness as we begin our journey home.

It’s been an amazing journey in affirmations. I will miss the morning bike ride to school as I stare in wonder of the surrounding mountain landscape. But the most splendid beauty of this small, remote village is in its people—the smiles, the laughter, the welcoming with open arms and a sense that we are called to be of service…

The post Auggies serving in Cambodia appeared first on News and Media.

By Wendi Wheeler ’06

Walk past the student lounge in Christensen Center on any given afternoon, and it becomes clear that Asian American students make up a sizeable portion of the Augsburg student body. The lounge is a popular hangout for students—a place for them to study, relax, and connect with each other.

To hear some stories of Asian American students at Augsburg, attend the Augsburg Theater Department production of Inside Out. In collaboration with Mu Performing Arts and Pan Asian Student Services, Augsburg will present Inside Out Nov. 18-20.

Inside Out was created and is directed by Rick Shiomi, artistic director of Mu Performing Arts of St. Paul, Minn. The project began when Shiomi interviewed several Asian American students at Augsburg. Based on the interviews, Shiomi developed a series of short scenes that reflect their experiences. The performance also includes additional scenes created by students.

Shiomi said this project is part of Mu’s outreach programming and a continuation of a longstanding relationship with Augsburg. “In the last three or four years, the number and profile of Asian American students [at Augsburg] has been growing rapidly,” Shiomi said. “We wanted to create a project that would engage some of those students in the theatrical process, to understand that their stories are important, to see that they can be presented on stage, and to get some experience on stage.”

In fact, the number of students in the undergraduate day program who identify as Asian American has grown from 6 percent in 2008 to 8.2 percent in 2011. According to Penh Lo, director of Pan Asian student services, the largest percentage of students are Hmong American (41 percent) followed by Vietnamese, Korean, and Laotian. Overall, 14 different cultures are represented in the Asian American student population at Augsburg.

Shiomi said he has been impressed with the enthusiasm of the cast members and with the wide range of experiences they worked with in the production. “Certainly there are the challenges of the immigrant experience, but there are a whole number of issues that came into play in this production, like dealing with mixed race parents, dealing with racism, and establishing an identity.”

Lo believes allowing students to tell their stories is a powerful way to connect them to each other. “Whether the stories are similar or different, there is a connection. It is people telling others, ‘This is how I came to be,'” he said.

One of the actors is Mai Choua “MC” Thao ’11 [above right], a business major and a Hmong woman who said she has always had a passion for acting. “What I have been stressing to my friends is that not a lot of Asian Americans are out there telling stories about their personal lives,” she said. “This will be a good way for others to hear the voices of the everyday struggles that Asian American students are going through.”

This production is part of the Theater Department’s move to explore ways to engage the entire campus community and to establish relationships with Cedar-Riverside neighborhood organizations. The department has created a statement expressing its intention to “engage with our diverse campus community in regards to the representation of culture, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socio-economic class, religion, disability, and age on and off stage.”

Performances are November 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. and November 20 at 3 p.m. Go to the Theater website for tickets.

Photo by Stephen Geffre

The post Asian American students share their stories through theater appeared first on News and Media.

Penh Lo, director of Pan-Asian student services at Augsburg, started the leadership survival camp last year as a way to give Augsburg student leaders a unique opportunity to discover nature and also to gain insight into their roles as leaders.

From Thursday to Sunday, students canoe, hunt and fish for their food, and participate in some challenging survival simulations. In one drill, they capsize a canoe and learn how to tip it back up. “In the midst of this,” Lo said, “I go out and tell them I can save one person who they pick.” After the simulation, the group talks about why they saved the person they chose. “This leads to discussion about why we choose people to work with us and about relationships and leadership,” he said.

On the last day, participants do a 20-30 mile canoe trip navigating with a map and compass. “They have to find me or else they don’t have lunch because I take the food with me,” Lo said.

All activities wrap up with discussion about what went well and what didn’t, about how the group worked together and what they could have done differently. Lo said he has been taking many males, mostly first-year students and students he meets in his work. “So we also talk about what it means to be a man and about developing as responsible individuals.”

At the end of the journey, the participants reflect on their last academic year and set one goal for the coming year. “We say it out loud,” Lo said, “because once we say it publicly, that’s where the accountability comes in.”

Zong Her was one of the students who attended this year. He wrote, “This trip challenged me physically as well as tested my mental will and ability to work together effectively in a group. With the honest feedback of my supporting peers I learned more about myself as an individual, a teammate, and a leader.”

Houa Lor, the Day student body president for 2011-12, reflected on his experience. “No food, no water, no dry clothes, lots of ticks, fatigue, dehydrated, no shelter, dangerous bears, and miles away from civilization on a secluded area. Survival Camp was not just all about surviving on limited food…. I was transformed by the relationships I made over the weekend, discovered a part of myself, and learned how one’s role can influence the lives of other people.”

See more photos from the 2011 Leadership Survival Camp on the group’s Facebook .

The post Leadership lessons in the Boundary Waters appeared first on News and Media.

The Lunar New Year is not celebrated solely by the Chinese; different Asian communities each have their own traditions for celebrating this festival. It comes from the lunar calendar and falls on a different day each year. Additionally, each year represents an animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle of 12 years.

The co-chairs of Augsburg Asian Student Association (AASA), Issei Kashima and Nikki Yang, hope the celebration will expose Augsburg students to the diversity of Asian cultures as each culture brings its own unique beauty to enriching this College’s community.

“I find it beautiful that though some students have lived in America a long time they still keep their traditions alive,” Yang said. The Lunar New Year event is a time of renewal and of family and friends, and AASA welcomes their Augsburg family to participate in this meaningful celebration.

Penh Lo, the advisor of AASA and director of Pan-Asian student affairs, relates this to Augsburg’s mission statement, which involves educating students to become “informed citizens.” He hopes this event will lift up the presence of the Asian communities here and better inform the student body that there is a significant number of students who do not come from a Lutheran and/or Scandinavian background. Currently Asian students make up the second largest population of students of color at Augsburg.

The event is free and will include food, Chinese calligraphy, a traditional Vietnamese dance, and a great opportunity to enjoy time together. There will be Lion Dances, which represent a god coming down to earth to chase away bad omens; this is a way to bring in the blessing of a new year. A fashion show will also be held, showcasing the traditional outfits of various Asian cultures. Events will be held in the commons of Christensen on Friday, Feb. 4 from 5-8 p.m.

Article by Katelyn Danelski

The post Lunar New Year is opportunity to learn about Asian culture appeared first on News and Media.