Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
by Suchi Rudra
For Asian Americans seeking to deepen their understanding and connection to their roots, or non-Asian Americans interested in Asian culture, here’s a round up of organizations and institutions in the Washington, D.C. area offering classes in various Asian languages, arts, dance and more.
1. Chinatown Cultural Community Center
616 H St. NW Suite 201, Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202.628.1688, Email: info@ccccdc.org
Web: www.ccccdc.org
From paper beading workshops to language learning to gu-zheng music courses, this institution in the heart of Chinatown has it covered. Email for detailed information about dates and registration.
2. Japan-America Society of Washington DC
1819 L Street NW, Level 1B, Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-833-2210, Email: jaswdc@us-japan.org
Web: www.jaswdc.org
JASW offers the largest school for Japanese language classes for several levels, and also has calligraphy (shodo) courses for beginners. You can also find plenty of workshops round the year, including kimono dressing and sushi making.
3. India International School
Web: www.indiaschool.org
If you want to immerse yourself in the spirit of India, look no further than the India International School. Rich in musical offerings, this school offers convenient weekend classes in tabla, singing, sitar, Bharatnatyam, Bhangra, and Bollywood dance (and choreography), but is also strong on language courses with Hindi, Sanskrit, Malayalam and Tamil, and still has room for yoga instruction. Classes are held at two locations, Chantilly and Fairfax, VA. Fees are $600 for a full year, with a minimum of 34 classes.
4. Cooking Classes at Thai Basil Restaurant Chantilly Park Shopping Center
14511-P Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Chantilly, VA 20151
Tel: 703.478.3666, Email: thaibasil@verizon.net
Thai Basil’s chef and owner Nongkran Daks lends you her years of experience with Thai cuisine for an afternoon of creating authentic Thai dishes and discovering the best sources in town for proper ingredients.
5. Thang Long Vietnamese Language School
4901 Powell Road, Fairfax, VA 22032
Tel: 703.764.1916, Email: tvnthanglong@yahoo.com
Providing courses in Vietnamese language, as well as literature, music and history, this nonprofit cultural organization generally serves students between the ages of 6 to 18. Fee for entire school year is $250.
6. King Sejong Institute, Korean Cultural Center at Korean Embassy
2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: 202.587.6168, Email: AWOJ@koreaembassy.org
This language learning sector of the Embassy’s Korean Cultural Center holds 6 different levels of Korean language classes. Fee is $250 for a course of 12 lectures.
7. International Language Institute
1337 Connecticut Ave NW #4 Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-686-5610 ext. 105
Want to improve your Japanese but don’t want to waste time with a basic beginner course? Not to worry—ILI has 10 different levels of Japanese language classes to choose from. Tuition for a 10 week course is $340, with discounts for early registration, and you can take a 5 week Traveler’s language course in many languages for $160. A helpful bonus is that ILI awards Continuing Education credits and certificates to students upon successful completion of a course. Other Asian languages on offer: Korean, Hindi and Mandarin Chinese.
