World Languages CaféWorld Languages Cafe Meeting

Join us at the 50+ Center at the East Columbia Library on the 4th Tuesday of every month!

CA’s monthly World Languages Café offers free evenings of conversation and culture. It’s a place to practice speaking a language you know or are learning, converse in a friendly atmosphere, meet new people who enjoy learning about other cultures, increase your fluency by speaking and listening, pick up useful phrases to use when traveling and recall your childhood language.

World Languages Café is held once a month, year-round on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 7-9pm in the 50+ Center at the East Columbia Library, located at 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia 21045.

Come in and join the language table of your choice (indicated by signs on the tables). There is no need to RSVP. Language tables are hosted by a native or fluent speaker who will facilitate conversation. Languages include American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish Gaelic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

Participants and table hosts are welcome to bring food and beverages and may bring treats from their culture to share with their table. Children under the age of 13 should be accompanied by an adult.

To find out if there will be a native speaker of the language of your interest, to request that your email is added to the World Languages Café email group, or for more information, please contact us at International@ColumbiaAssociation.org

Tours of International Grocery Stores

International Grocery Store Tour

Calling all foodies and cooks! To connect with community members who share interest in all things with food, culture, and cooking, CA’s International Exchange & Multicultural programs in partnership with Howard County Library System are offering monthly tours of international grocery stores in Columbia/Howard County.

Volunteer tour guides provide recipes highlighting their national, cultural dishes and explain what the ingredients are and where to find them in the grocery store. Along with the tour, participants will receive a list of resources related to that culture, including history, literature, travel information and culinary traditions.

For more information and to register for the upcoming tour, please contact us at International@ColumbiaAssociation.org.

We are also seeking volunteers who are interested in sharing their cultural recipes and to lead a tour of a grocery store. If you have a favored Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, El Salvadorean, Guatemalan, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Indian or other global recipe you would like to share and lead a tour, please contact International@ColumbiaAssociation.org or Diane.Li@hclibrary.org (410-924-2226).

We welcome all and everyone to celebrate the wonderful, diverse foods and cultures represented in Columbia and Howard County!