International Day

Last week Friday -- yep, life goes fast -- Simon and Thomas' school, the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) celebrated International Day. More than 50 countries were represented and for each country, a flag was carried across the stage. After the flag parade and some performances, the kids did activities related to the varous countries.

It might be interesting to know that the school definitely has a lot of Chinese kids (lots of cheers for the Chinese flag), but a Chinese kid can only attend the school if one of the parents has a foreign passport. "Real" Chinese children have to go to the regular Chinese schools with a government-controlled curriculum. Because WAB is an international school it can use a different curricum and align its teaching with international education standards.

Here are some pictures of the event:

The flag parade.

Dutch representation.

"We are the World" - or a song with a similar meaning. Definitely too cute though.

"Koekhappen" - A traditional Dutch game where you try to eat a cookie hanging on a little string. ("Not with your hands, Thomas!")

Koekhappen goes international.

The "koekhappen" master in "traditional Dutch outfit".

Yes, we introduced "Spijkerpoepen" (I cannot translate other than "nailpooping") to the kids in pre-K. In this traditional Dutch game you have a string around your waist with a nail hanging off it. Just try lower it down into the bottle....

International lunch in Simon's class. My "hutspot" (a traditional dish of mashed potatoes and carrots) was not as popular as the little pancakes from Norway. Surprise surprise... Next year I am bringing poffertjes.

Mr. International, also in traditional Dutch clothing. Note the hutspot... oh no, little pancake he is eating...

In het Nederlands: Vandaag een paar foto's van "international day" op Simon en Thomas' school. De kinderen deden allemaal leuke spelletjes en andere activiteiten om over elkaar's landen te leren. Overigens zijn er wel Chinezen op deze international school, maar zij (of hun ouders) moeten dan wel een international paspoort hebben. WAB, de school, heeft een internationaal lespakket en reguliere Chinese kinderen moeten gewoon het Chinese lespakket volgen op een Chinese school.