On April 11th, everyone arrived at school buzzing with joyful smiles on their faces, as the day of the Cultural Bazaar had arrived! During the event, each class would represent a country’s culture to everyone in the form of games, language, food, and countless activities. Students shared ideas and learned about each other’s cultures. The endless hours of preparation had paid off, and the atmosphere was full of anticipation, excitement, and delight.

Throughout the week, grades 7 and 8 had a series of culture-related events including History & Geography Project Presentations, Photo Exhibition, and the Country Show. Different exhibitions from visual arts to foods to clothing showed their countries’ cultures. The History & Geography speech was a meeting of the minds, as students presented various social and environmental problems faced by different countries and offered solutions.

Students also performed for the Country Show. Students from Japan showed others the process of making sushi, there was a performance from the Maori, and students from New Zealand gave onlookers a glimpse into the eye of Captain Cook. The China show was the most exciting. Students got their name designed in the form of a picture and watched a Kunqu Opera performance in the lobby.

On the afternoon of the bazaar, students rushed out of the Middle School building and into the cafeteria, where they frantically started to set up their stalls. A strong sense of excitement filled the air as everybody got ready to present. Each class sold food and goods that were unique to the country they were assigned. Some classes even offered games that students and teachers could play. For example, class 7(5) representing Peru, made a Sapo Game: a traditional Peruvian game in which a player aims to throw coins into the mouth of a small, bronze frog. Some students even learned Spanish!

The Cultural Bazaar was an amazing event. Students had a lot of fun; moreover, they also learned a valuable lesson: cultures can be very different from each other, but all cultures should be accepted and appreciated.

(Written by 7(5) Jessie Li       Pictures by Ms. Xu        Supervised by Ms. Skallerud)