U.N. Day

There are so many times when I am overwhelmed by the amazing opportunities my girls have living abroad. UN Day this week at ASW just further reassured me that this lifestyle choice was right for our family. It was, by far, the most exciting day of school so far and I am so glad that I was able to be there.

The girl’s school celebrates United Nations Day. It is a time when parents spend an amazing amount of time and spare no expense in representing their home countries. This national pride offers all the students an amazing opportunity to learn about the countries their classmates come from.

The day began with a wonderful elementary assembly. The assembly started with representatives from every country parading into the theater carrying their country’s flag. It was really beautiful. Almost every student dressed in his or her countries traditional clothing. Watching them march through the doors was just breathtaking.

After the parade of flags, the students presented a representative from UNISEF with a check for almost 28,000 zloty (about $9,300), which they have been fundraising to collect. 

They went on to explain the Children’s Bill of Rights and light candles in its honor. Again, I was blown away by how meaningful this presentation was.

Parents from each country set up amazing tables where everyone can sample native dishes and learn about each countries culture. Some of the tables were so extravagant. There were so many people that it was difficult to get good pictures, but I really want to share as many as I can. I was so impressed by how much trouble everyone went to in order to have beautiful and interesting tables.

Poland

 Mexico

 Australia

 Spain

 The Philippines

 The Netherlands

 Russia

 Hungary

 Denmark

Sweden

Italy

Japan

Germany

South Korea

 France and Switzerland

Czech Republic

 Vietnam

Great Britain

China

Argentina

Venezuela

Norway

South Africa

Ireland

Israel

Finland

                                      

Portugal

India

Canada

The American table was fantastic. They used the theme: American Inventions. I actually didn’t realize how many things originated in the good ole U S of A! 

I helped by baking chocolate chip cookies, an American original. One of my awesome new Foreign Service buddies gave me an amazing recipe for making puffy chocolate chip cookies and I was so grateful. Let’s just say that my baking skills leave a good bit to be desired and I hated the thought of embarrassing my kids with ugly, burnt cookies.

Each class also has an international lunch, giving students more opportunity to learn about and try dishes that are very foreign to them. Carlie’s classmates (& their parents) did such a good job bringing such interesting foods! 

We brought Mymom’s baked macaroni and cheese and sweet tea. The sweet tea was the most popular thing of the day! I was totally shocked at the amount of students that have never had this Southern delicacy. 

Now I know what to send to every party. After lunch Mr. Benson, AKA best fourth grade teacher ever, and I even took a traditional Polish picture!

The day couldn’t have been better.