LAWRENCE COUNTY Visitors explore differences in cultures
Visitors came from Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Argentina.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- For Cecelia Costero, Lawrence County isn't much different from the region of Mexico where she lives.
A professor at El Colegio de San Luis, Costero says she lives in a province far from Mexico City, that country's capital. She was part of a nine-member delegation visiting Lawrence County through the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors.
The group spent time at Apple Castle, an apple orchard on Pa. Route 18, before heading to Berner International and the New Castle Transit Authority.
They also met with representatives from other area businesses and the Lawrence County Economic Development Corp.
Interested in NAFTA
Costero, a professor of international relations, said she was most interested in learning how the North American Free Trade Agreement has affected the area.
NAFTA is an agreement that has eliminated or reduced tariffs for exports in North America.
Others, such as Nelson Calabria of Venezuela, were interested in the region's dairy farming. Calabria, a former dairy farmer, peppered local farmers with questions about government subsidies and milk production.
The group included visitors from Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Argentina.
The International Visitor Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and its Office of International Visitors, operating under authority of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961.
Objective
The program's objective is to increase mutual understanding through communication at the personal and professional levels. Participants are established or potential foreign leaders in government, politics, media, education, science, labor relations, and other key fields.
They are selected by American embassies overseas to visit the United States to meet and confer with their professional counterparts, and to get firsthand experience in this country.