On December 2, 2010, I attended my second Parent’s Day celebration at my primary school. This is my favorite celebration because the “kitchen ladies” let me help cook. We feed over a thousand people on Parent’s Day and everyone is invited to help. Specifically, they let me help chop and wash dishes! It’s weird… The women here in South Africa cut their vegetables into tiny, tiny pieces. I’m used to leaving everything large and chunky, so they continually come behind me to encourage me to “make my pieces smaller.” I love too, to be outside with the women under the cooking shed watching the women stirring meat and bagobe (stiff corn porridge) in huge cast-iron pots.
Usually an educator will come drag me inside—with other educators—as I suppose I’m breaking the “caste system.” I should only be chopping with fellow educators and not mingling with the kitchen help. Eish!
I opted to be the “staff photographer” for the kids and had my camera on so long it got hot! I found myself too, yawning and yawning and wondered why. I found out why—when we finally concluded with all the festivities and doled out the food, it was 5:00 pm! I hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast!!
For our World AIDS Day celebration, the school gymnastic team made a dance that included the display of the “AIDS ribbon” and they repeated the dance on Parent’s Day (and having seen the dance already, stood at standby to snap a shot of the “AIDS ribbon.”) I hope you can see it in the photo below.
I love too, that the children entertain their parents with traditional music and song. I wish everyone in America could see these kids sing and dance. They are super, super talented and their performances always bring me to tears.
It was a great day and I had a blast!
Soon
Karen
 |
| Dance troupe displaying "AIDS ribbon" formation |
No comments:
Post a Comment