The  seventh annual Cross Cultural Retreat at Big Sur was held  Sunday, Sept.  19, with 34 MIIS students from 14 countries taking  part. All the  participating American students had lived abroad. The group spoke at total of  21 languages. Led by Professor Peter Grothe, who sees the retreat as an  exercise in MIIS community-building, the students spent the day in structured  cross-cultural activities aimed at learning about the cultural similarities  and differences among  the other participating cultures.The day ended  with a long walk in the redwood forest, topped off by dinner at a Chinese  restaurant.

Typical  of the reaction from the students was this one by American Tess Harris: ” I  met so many new friends from all over the world and got the chance to learn  about other cultures, especially Afghanistan, China and  Norway.”