Asheville’s International Link Community Center: a great place for foreigners to get acquainted with the locals
In the popular mountain tourist city of Asheville, North Carolina, there is an international community center, in the heart of the historical district, set up as a non profit agency to help the region’s 30 or more different represented nationalities have a place to get together and share their food, language, culture, and experience. If you want to learn to converse in French, Spanish, or Russian, you can attend weekly lunches and pick up a few phrases as well as some exotic recipes. If you don’t speak English but want to learn about the local area, translators can help you get acquainted and make the necessary connections to find work, a place to live, and friends from your own part of the world. The International Link offers special concerts; craft fairs, and bake sales at different times of the year, to raise money for its many programs and to offer the general public a chance to participate in its activities. The International Link office is located at 87 Patton Avenue, right near the post office and the popular Irish style pub, Jack of the Wood. The storefront is usually opened for a few hours a day, and is normally staffed as many hours as possible on busy tourist weekends or during the city’s many major special events and festivals. You can drop by and pick up helpful brochures, maps, and a calendar of events, free of charge.