Visiting Chilean school officials are throwing the University of Oregon a party on Friday, Feb. 12, in the residence halls on campus. Guests will get a rare opportunity to see the cuica (quicka), a dance of courtship, performed and to sample Chilean cuisine at "Noche Chileña,"a special Chilean night at the UO. A delegation of 25 Chilean school superintendents and other school administrators, who are enrolled in a special program at the UO College of Education to learn about the U.S. education system, are staging the celebration of Chilean culture as a thank-you gesture. "We have learned much about Oregon since we arrived," says spokesman Juan Carlos Torres-Fernandez. "In return, we wanted to share our culture with our UO hosts." Thanks to the UO Catering Service, the Chilean hosts, in addition to music and dance, are offering a banquet-style meal for those who arrive with an appetite. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. in the Moore Dining Room and Lounge in the Bean Complex, at East 15th Avenue and Moss Street. SOURCE: David Conley, associate professor of education, (541) 346-2445; e-mail, conley@oregon.uoregon.edu; and Stefanie Wickstrom, director of the UO Chilean Educators Project, (541) 346-3203; e-mail, wichsste@darkwing.uoregon.edu.

—30—

#T-6068/Day