Today was International Day at QPS, an annual day to celebrate the school's vibrant international community. Impressively, 30+ nationalities are represented at QPS.
Taste of Nations
The main part of the day's celebration consists of food stalls. Parent volunteers make food typical of their culture and kids are able to purchase food in shifts.
I debated what American food to bring that could be relatively easily made, not have to be reheated and be something that kids would be keen to eat.
The answer? Rice Krispie treats! They were my "go-to" sweet when the girls were able to bring birthday treats into their NYC classrooms in years past. My NZ version was tinged pink because the marshmallows here are flavored strawberry & vanilla. Yuck to me, but yum to the kiddos who devoured them :)
Our food stall was a North American one, filled with sweet goodies like rice krispie treats, s'mores and cinnamon buns from America, and maple chocolates & maple butter cups from our Canadian neighbors. Our older kiddos got to skip class and come work the stall with us. I hadn't realized that beforehand, so it was a surprise to Paige when I popped into her classroom & asked if she wanted in. She was so excited! I think she felt like a legit "upperclassman" that day ;)
Of all the tasty, global food in the hall, the best (no surprise) were the Asian ones (Japan, China, Thailand in particular) and India! Yum, yum, yum.
Before the food festivities kicked off, the school choir sang a Maori greeting and there was a blessing of the food & school community in Maori. No idea what either of them said, but they certainly were a lovely cultural touch!
All day there was an exciting buzz to the Hall as world music piped through the speakers and kiddos milled around, trying new & favorite foods. Kids were asked to dress to reflect their culture. P&S wore "normal" clothes (they looked American in them!) and we put some red & white stars and USA writings on their checks. The majority of Kiwi kids were dressed in black, proud All Blacks rugby fans :)
Parade of Nations
International Day culminated in a Parade of Nations. Kids lined up behind their country flag of origin. Surprising to us, we're one of only two American families!
The school Maori choir did a "haka" welcome. The haka is a ceremonial Maori dance, usually performed in a group. It's a display of a pride, strength and unity, and typically includes a loud chant plus foot-stamping, tongue protrusions and rhythmic body slapping.
One by one, a teacher then called out the name of each country and the kids ran out to the field, cheered on by all the seated Kiwi spectators. By the looks of it, Japanese & Brazilians are two of the biggest international contingents at the school.
Closing Thoughts All in, it was a really nice day. I'm pleased & impressed with how well the four of us have integrated into the QPS family and met so many people. You'd never guess the girls had just joined six months ago! I'm really grateful Doug & I have the ability to volunteer at so many school events and get a close-up look at all the neat experiences the girls are having with classmates & staff. It feels really good to be part of this NZ school community :)
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