Today began with a Flag Ceremony. First thing this morning, staff, students, and some parents, many wearing traditional clothing or clothing that represented their home country, lined the central sidewalk running from the parking lot to the high school soccer field. Students hailing from the United States gathered closest to the parking lot, where Mr. Collins, in full patriotic costume, was enthusiastically encouraging students to get decked out in flags, red, white, and blue leis, and (everyone’s favorite) face tattoos. From there, somewhat more subdued students from the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Thailand gathered by their respective flags, which continued in reverse alphabetical order all the way to Albania. Students from our host country, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, gathered at the front of the line, waiting to lead the Flag Ceremony onto the field. In Olympic-like fashion, each nation was announced by Dr. Gillespie, followed by some cheering and marching to the beat of the high school band. While the initial list circulated noted 44 countries, by the time the parade ended, 50 nations were represented. It’s amazing to see how we can celebrate and be unified by such diversity.
Much of the rest of the day was spent watching the clock as the much-anticipated International Lunch approached. At 11:15 a.m., older students made the traditional trek to the elementary school to meet their assigned elementary buddies with whom they enjoyed a fabulous feast. Tables decorated with patterned pagne cloth and set with napkin-wrapped utensils welcomed the students to the covered basketball court. With patience and politeness, students and staff perused the beautiful and bountiful buffet and selected samples to savor. Congolese beignets, Lebanese tabouleh, Turkish mercimek koftesi, Malagasy mofo laisoa, and… American mac and cheese were only a few of the featured foods. For almost 90 minutes, our TASOK family lingered over this mouthwatering meal. And, when it was all over, students even stuck around to serve by cleaning up.
Thank you to those who helped coordinate the lunch and prepared delicious dishes for us to sample.
