You can't judge a book by its cover.
The College of New Caledonia's Global Living Library delivered an interactive learning experience Wednesday.
The event had readers borrow a living book - an individual expert on a particular topic - for a 10-minute conversation.
With 13 live books to choose from, readers were able to ask questions fulfilling their curiosity and interest and in turn were able to share themselves from the perspective of their book title.
"This year, globalization is the theme," said Kathy Plett, library director at CNC.
"We have 13 people here from all over the world."
According to Plett, living libraries have been making their mark for about 10 years.
"This is people instead of books and you can sign them out like a book. Anyone can talk to them in 10 minute slots before moving on," Plett said.
And readers were definitely interested asking questions about various customs, traditions and even the weather.
"The goal here is cultural understanding. There are so many stereotypes and of course every country has their own diversity," Plett said. "And learning about this happens when you talk."
The live books were from countries including India, Mexico, Poland, Trinidad/Tobago and Uganda. CNC exchange student Michal Ramdas represented her country Suriname.
"See that little dot in South America? That's where I am from," Ramdas said.
"People don't really know anything about it so it's quite nice to come from a country like this. I always have a story to tell."
Rose Tohme was thrilled to share information about Syria.
"People only know about the war in Syria. But they do not know about the beautiful country it is," Tohme said. For Romana Pasca, international project planner at CNC, the event was designed to create awareness about global connections.
"You can discover new and amazing perspectives on cultures, beliefs and lifestyles while challenging your own biases and perceptions," Pasca said.
"Nothing can bring better awareness about diversity, countries, cultures and lifestyles than chatting with real people about real stories from their countries."
