Sawasdee krab, my fellow feline friends! Or should I say Balao or Yassou, or E kaa ro. Or just plain Ola? If you were with me at Spring Fair, you too learned to say hello – in 20 different languages!
And even more than language lessons, I was wowed by so many new cultural experiences…a true celebration of diversity! Scottish bagpipes, country booths, and so much to eat, oh my!
Where to begin to describe this marvelous day! The school was bustling with decorations and activity, a bit of a different scene than a normal school day. For starters, hundreds of red, blue, green, and purple hands cutouts were strung up around the school. As I entered my friend __ put a passport in my hand and off I went to discover what on earth someone would do with a passport at school!
My first stop was the French booth to nibble on a crepe with Nutella. You know the thing about lynxes, we have an insatiable sweet tooth. Not to mention how creative we are. I decided to put my creativity to the test and painted a vase at the Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece booth. What a fun activity!
After chatting with my new friends I went out into street to find a bouncy house, baseball diamond and an awesome Peruvian game called El Cuy. A few awesome students showed me the potato head craft and then went with me to the Brazilian booth to make feathery, glittery masks. I’ll be all set for Carnival next year.
At this point I was getting hungry again so I went back indoors to see what I could find. Before I could get to cafeteria I saw the glitter tattoo stand. I opted for the deluxe treatment which included a taste of kale from the neighboring Seasonal Seven stand. Who knew lynxes looked loved their greens! I am totally linking up with my 8th grade Science Fair friends to plant some kale seeds. Speaking of Science fair, did you see me race my robot up on the third floor?
I sniffed out some French books at the book sale, introduced myself to some awesome Lycée alumni, and finally made it to the cafeteria, land of the many cuisines. I started with a taste of Haiti, moved to empanadas, then to Italy, Brazil, Portugal, France, andKorea. Along the way, my friend Miles, who was volunteering, got me to use my red tickets for cheese and cheesecakes, macroons and pao de queizo. As I waddled out of the cafeteria with my fur stretched tight across my belly, I high-fived my friends Giacomo and Matteo.
Another thing about lynxes, we are never full! I grabbed a Norweigian crepe, tipped by hat to the Annual Fund table, and finished the day with a delicious cotton candy.
And yes, it did rain. But no it did not dampen the fun! So my Chinese calligraphy got a little smudged, I could still leap for Russian prizes and the rain stopped soon enough.
Anyway, gotta scamper. By any chance, does anyone want to trade flag stickers? I got two from Russia, but was so busy playing Matkot in Israel that I forgot to ask for one. Marysella gave me a frisbee anyway, but I really would like to have a complete passport.
About the Author :
Leo is the Lycée Français de New York’s mascot.