International Day at Luanda International School

The International Fair set up… 

Remember school fairs? I had pretty much forgotten about them until I was properly immersed in one, and it was great! Last weekend my friend Lina and I stopped by the Luanda International School to take a look around International Day.

(EMS/Semi/Elgin friends - there is a cameo of one of our Peninsula rugby players at the 5-minute mark of the video in that link… what a blast from the past that was! I didn't know he was here!)

As an aside, because Pablo and I don't have kids (yet), and certainly not grade school level children, it's always sort of a trip to go to a school. (I went to Lina's son, Nico's school the week prior, and I was amazed at how cool the classroom was for four year-olds). LIS is set up for all grades, and the campus is pretty spectacular - at least by my high school standards… they have a full sized pool, fields, a gigantic gymnasium, and I'm sure the classrooms are cool too; I just didn't see them. 

Ladies from Azerbaijan - they had such a beautifully decorated booth!

I really like the vibe of the international community here, and it was well-represented at the fair. Because Luanda is a hub of Oil and Gas, we see a very diverse set of nationalities represented, and, naturally, this is reflected in the school as well.  In any case, cruising around there (even though it was a roasty toasty day) was really fun. I think my favorite part was the fact that every country there had a really great booth with their nationals (parents and students from the school) fully immersed in representing their homelands. Warm and fuzzy moment… sigh.

Another fun thing to see was the drivers all really getting into the event. They were sampling all the food, and hanging out having a great time. I like when they get to be a part of things. Our main driver, Emiquilson was off for the day, but he was there along with Alberto, our relief driver. 

It's interesting because I've been to several of the countries in the fair, and, as an example, I think Emiquilson has only been to Portugal - not even any other countries in Africa, so it's really fun for all of the drivers to get to taste all sorts of food from other countries (well I think it is at least!).

I'm hoping my sister can help me with the names of these foods… soooooo good!

Each country represented had a booth/table set up that showcased its food, culture, traditional dress, or other interesting aspects. Iran served some amazing falafels, babaganouche, etc (I am almost certain that this is NOT what it is called in Iran, so maybe my sister or brother in law can help me with that). Right next door, Israel was serving some yummy chicken, cucumber, tomato, and parsley stuffed into pitas. 

(Notice I'm only two booths in and already at about 400-500 calories?)… 

Next was South Africa, which had a huge booth, and a little sponsorship from South African Airways. A few of our neighbors were serving sausage from the brai, and some sort of shot called a Springbok the website linked calls it a springbokkie (a little springbok).

Lina and KC enjoying the South Africa booth! Notice the fried goodness that Lina has in her hand!

So Lina and I tried one (delicious once, but I can imagine a rugby game where things could get really rough really fast with more than that).  Add 300 more calories after that table - I wasn't counting in the first place, and based on the list below, no one should!

There was a little bit of rhyme and reason applied to the logistics, as there seemed to be a distinct area for various geographies. Additionally, the gym was hosting a talent show, where the kids performed their traditional arts/dances/etc, and the bleachers were packed!

A rattled-off list of countries that I can remember and the treats they offered:

Africa and Europe/Eurasia were bunched together along with some island outliers:

Portuguesas in traditional garb

• Angola - out front with local crafts being sold
• Nigeria - with some local food - which I tried when I was in Lekki - and that was enough.
• Namibia - with yummy dried oryx and springbok (not the drinks, the real meat!) - see the picture below (I couldn't agree more with the slogan - what a cool country).
• Cameroon - with a delicious and tangy juice made from a local flower the folks manning the booth were in beautiful African dress
• Portugal  - with DELICIOUS sangria and little pastries
• France - serving crepes and madeleines
• Azerbaijan - with ladies in full dress serving delicious dishes
• Russia - with nesting dolls, full dress and I think perogies, but I was full at this point...
• the UK - serving Pimms Cups - I saved my room for the Sangria (note that drinking at school is allowed without question? US School Boards are so…. meh.)
• Trinidad & Tobago - dressed in Carnaval clothing - super fancy
• Australia - with some dude playing the digeridoo

I agree! (Interested in why I think so? Then take a peek at the Windhoek blog series I did last weekend)

Serving hot dogs while serving their country - probably a nice
respite from Marine Corps day to day.

Then the Americas…..

• Bolivia - I wish I could remember what was there….
• Mexico - guacamole - I learned something new! didn't realize if you leave the pit in, the stuff stays greener longer! 
• Colombia  - was inside the cafeteria and was serving arepas too - I'm bummed because we only found out after we left that the were there!
• Venezuela -  with arepas partying down with a DJ super latin style
• Brazil - preparing for the World Cup
• Canada - with Nanaimo bars, a little plastic hockey table and a mountie poster in back
• the US - with hot dogs served up by the armed forces (notice the difference between my two home countries?)



The Venezuelans partying on…





Brasil was super great with its World Cup
chocolate!

I haven't had a Nanaimo bar in years, and I'm sure I haven't seen one of these since grade 3 or so.

And finally, beautiful Asia

• India - serving yummy samosas
• Thailand - serving delicious rice and summer rolls
• Japan - sharing very tasty candies wrapped in soy paper
• Indonesia - decorated with beautiful batik



This woman was absolutely gorgeous,
and she was dressed so elegantly!




Someone got their carve on for this…
I think it might have been my neighbor
from across the street!

I'm sure there were more (there were some in the cafeteria that I learned about after we left). I keep hoping that when we have kids, we have an opportunity to be on overseas assignment when they are growing up so that they get these types of experiences. Thanks to all the moms, dads, kids, and teachers that helped pull this all together!