February 14, 2013 It’s Valentine’s Day today, and though I’m no fan of the over the top commercialization of love, I’m still a romantic at heart. I couldn’t let this day go by without delving a little deeper into its history and origins and finding out how the rest of the world celebrates. It is […]
ACEI BLOG - HUMAN INTEREST
Heroes, Activists, and Martyrs: Lending their names to the streets of Tehran
January 24, 2013 When I heard the story of Granada, Spain planning to approve a measure to name a square in honor of the British punk band The Clash’s Joe Strummer http://www.theworld.org/2013/01/spanish-square-to-be-named-in-honor-of-the-clashs-joe-strummer/ I was reminded of the battery of street name changes that Iranian cities underwent immediately after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The changing […]
Mali: A country under siege; its music silenced.
January 18, 2013 Without music, life would be a mistake. ~-Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols Why They Hate Music? When the Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in Iran in 1979, he said the following: “Music is no different than opium. Music affects the human mind in a way that makes people think of nothing but music […]
20 lessons to learn from Finland
January 10, 2013 Finland’s education reforms which were implemented 40 years ago have helped place its school system at the top in all the global rankings for education systems. Despite the differences between Finland and the U.S., it continues to surpass other countries with similar size and demography. Here is a list of 20 facts […]
20 facts about Burkina Faso
January 03, 2013 Jambo! That’s hello in the Mòoré dialect. We here at ACEI wish you a very Happy New Year and hope that you had a nice holiday break. We’d like to start 2013 with a blog focusing on the landlocked West African nation of Burkina Faso. We have to give thanks to our […]
Reflection, Renewal, and Red Underwear
December 20, 2012 At the close of this year—at least in the Gregorian calendar— which is celebrated in Europe and in the Americas, I find myself reflecting on what entering a New Year means to people around the world. As I am at the end of my first year living abroad, the differences and similarities […]
20 Fun Facts About Estonia
December 06, 2012 You may be wondering why we chose Estonia for this blog. We don’t receive too many academic documents from Estonia for evaluation and have not had the opportunity to visit this country, at least not yet! But when we asked one of our staff to pick a country, he chose Estonia. So, […]
Happy Thanksgiving 2012
November 21, 2012
Celebrating International Education Week
November 15, 2012 This week (November 12-16) celebrates International Education. Rather than discussing the topic, however I find myself musing on the encounters I’ve had within the course of a week, give or take a few days, which I’d like to share with you in this blog. At the recent NAFSA Region I Conference in […]
Travel: The Bridge to Friendship
November 01, 2012 A few days ago I was at Soaptopia–one of my favorite neighborhood stores–picking up a few bars of their heavenly scented handmade soaps when I noticed the exquisite earrings the lovely young saleswoman was wearing. The earrings were round in shape and made of gold but wafer-thin, almost transparent with detailed carvings […]