Green and blue balloons hovered at the corners of booths representing countries such as Chile, China, Holland, France, England, and Spain. This was not a United Nations meeting but instead was the Office of International Education’s Study Abroad fair on the second floor of the Student Center Thursday, Sept. 11. Students traveled from booth to booth in a carrousel of study abroad pamphlets and free pens. Jannet Garcia, Director of International Education, said, “The fair is part of the marketing process and lets students know about study abroad opportunities by giving them a chance to go window shopping and learn about a variety of countries.” The main concern students have about studying abroad is finances, and Garcia said there are options such as “student’s financial aid being able to pay for classes abroad and federal and local scholarships. The fair is done so we can encourage students not to discourage themselves by thinking studying abroad is too expensive; there are a wide range of programs that will work with students depending on cost.”The various booths were manned by students who had studied in the countries they represented. “This helps get students curious about studying abroad by talking to others who have done it,” said Garcia. “This way, they can see it is possible to study abroad.” At the England booth, which was decorated with a copy of Dracula and a stuffed William Shakespeare doll, Luis Ramirez, a senior, informed students and encouraged them to study abroad by sharing stories from his experience in England this past summer. As for the best advice he can give students, Ramirez took a page from Nike’s book and encouraged students to “Just do it.” Student Raul Castro described the fair: “[It’s] very interesting and makes you wish you could visit every country. The country I’m most interested in right now is England because there is no language barrier, and it would be interesting to see where our country started.”In between answering students’ questions about studying in Hong Kong, Annalie Miravete, a senior, said, “[Studying abroad is a] great opportunity to show the community what the world has to offer. Reading and hearing about a country is superficial, but when you actually live there, it becomes real, and studying abroad is a great opportunity to network and make friends all over the world.”For more information about studying abroad, the Office of International Education can be reached at 326.2565.