While most students will go home over Thanksgiving and take a break from school, others have decided to stay in Ames and educate.

Twenty volunteer Iowa State students from 11 countries will visit elementary schools to educate younger students about other cultures during an International Friendship Fair.

IFF is a program put on by the YWCA and the Office of International Student Services for understanding between ISU international students and communities in Iowa.

The students travel to schools and communities during breaks to educate about their native cultures.

Students from France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Taiwan and Vietnam will visit three elementary schools in Ogden, Boone and Maxwell Monday through Wednesday.

“It is a cross-cultural exchange and a good learning experience for students and kids,” said Judy Dolphin, executive director of the Ames-ISU YWCA.

“Volunteers can do whatever they want in order to let school kids know more about other countries,” said Yingke Zhao, IFF coordinator and graduate student in management information systems. Some activities include playing music, games, dancing, crafts, cultural discussion and question-and-answer sessions.

The program has been successful in the past, Dolphin said.

“Elementary students just love it,” she said, adding that some elementary students keep in touch with college students by writing letters and sending pictures.

“Many people who are far from home miss having little children around,” Dolphin said. “Some students do not realize how homesick they may be until they work with someone who is the age of their brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews or cousins.”

Students are very curious about the cultures of other countries and in previous years prepared many questions before their guest speakers came, Zhao said.

“They even decorated their classrooms with some cultural stuff of the countries their presenters came from,” Zhao said.

Zhao said the international students often get a more in-depth understanding of American culture from the children they talk to. “IFF is indeed a two-way learning experience.”

Since 1990, about 280 students have been involved in IFF representing 60 countries. This is the 27th year for the program.

“Our goal is to get more communities, including schools, to host IFF and more ISU international students to get involved,” Zhao said.

Dolphin said she’s optimistic about the program. “I believe it will continue indefinitely,” she said.

For those wanting to get involved, information can be found at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~stu_org/ywca/iff.htm.