Cultural artifacts covered the walls, music filled the air and smells of spiced chicken, fried dough and vegetables filled the senses as the "island paradise" of Mauritius came alive, far away from its Indian Ocean home.

The International Hospitality Council (IHC), with Kovilah Veeraragoo, a native of Mauritius, hosted a traditional lunch and cultural presentation at the Mt. Nittany United Methodist Church yesterday.

The IHC holds a cultural lunch featuring a different country on the third Wednesday of every month.

"Mauritius is a country unknown to many Americans," Veeraragoo said.

Parama Veeraragoo, Kovilah Veeraragoo's husband, described the island as a paradise that represent unity and diversity.

"It's a way for us to give internationals a chance to share their culture and educate us," IHC Director Merrill David said.

Recently, the IHC hosted lunches featuring cuisine from South Korea and Ghana.

International volunteers cook and prepare an ethnic meal followed by a presentation relating to that culture.

The monthly cultural lunch is one of many programs hosted by the IHC.

"We act as a bridge from the university to the community," David said.

The council also organizes women's intercultural book groups, world affairs forums and speaking events by international volunteers at rural area schools.

One of the oldest core programs sponsored by the IHC is the International Friendship Program (IFP), in which international individuals, couples or families are matched with local families to eat a meal or attend an IHC event together.

However, there is no housing involved.

Because Penn State and the surrounding area are becoming more and more internationalized, the program is constantly in need of more American hosts, David said.

"The program is a way to bring internationals together with the local community," David said.

"It is hard to go out and meet someone from a different country," she added.

She said the program aims at fostering intercultural understanding because even simple things, such as what to bring to a dinner party or whether or not to take off your shoes when entering a house, differ from one culture to another.

Internationals who are interested in the program are currently on a waiting list.

Rita Graef, client development manager for Penn State's Outreach Program, hosted a family from China last semester through the IHC.

"One of the wonderful things about living in State College is that we are so close to the university and its diversity," Graef said.

"The IHC is a great way to open up in awareness to other cultures and to get to know where they are coming from," she added.

To better understand and introduce each other's culture, the Graef family and their guests went to the polls together on Election Day and exchanged meal recipes.

"We are new to the State College area and we already have friends thanks to the IHC," said Barbara Ballenger, host and IHC book group organizer.

"It has been a positive experience learning together and benefiting from one another's perspective," Ballenger said.

More than 100 women participate in the book group program, where internationals have a chance to practice their English in a mixed dialogue setting.

"We [IHC] believe that such friendship and such sharing of each other's cultures is a way to create peace in our community and our world," David said.