E.I.S. children of all ages had a wonderful time presenting the culture, costumes and delicacies of their countries in various ways.

We are proud of our children and of the spirit of global unity that they project.

Here are some of the reactions of students to International Day and the way in which it was celebrated in school:

"International Day is a day for joining people from different parts of the world together. It is a day to show friendship and learn what other countries are like."

- Ruoyan (Jenny) Li, Year 5

"I think it was a nice day with different types of food to eat, and we enjoyed!"

- Margaret Inegbenijie, Year 4

Friday, the 27th of January was our International Day. Students all came to school wearing their traditional clothes. They also brought food from their countries to share with their classmates. The whole middle school made posters together to decorate the classrooms. Years 6 and 7 shared two proverbs each in their own languages. I would like to share my two proverbs with you and define them.

I got my proverbs from my lovely mother. I have one in Fon (one of Benin’s traditional languages) and one in French. My first proverb is: “Aglouzavi wê kanbio nonton dô, ningbon awonnouton diga sônmon.” This explanation in English is this: The baby pig asked its mother why her mouth is so big. The mother’s answer is the meaning of the proverb. She answered that everyone has their own experience in life.

My second proverb, in French, is: “Dis-moi qui tu fréquentes et je te dirai qui tu es.” The sentence means in English: «Tell me with whom you associate and I will tell you who you are.» The explanation of the proverb is that you will always have the same behaviour as the people around you.

- Coleen Kedowide, Year 7

Yoruba Proverb

“Foriti foriti lomu ki ori agba pa.” It means prolonged endurance is what yields elderly maturity. Now for the paraphrasing: If you keep strong mentally, physically and emotionally you will be able to overcome so many things and become more mature.

– Sarah Houssou, Year 7

Wolof Proverb – Alieu Baba Jarjusey, Year 7

“Ku bu ga accara da fa warra nyeme kani.” It means, “If you want to be beautiful you have to go through pain.” For example: If women want to braid their hair to look beautiful, it would hurt; they would have to go through pain in the process.

Bambara Proverb – Melvin Toe, Year 7

“Nan lara, ansara.” It means that you should never give up. For example, if you have a project you should always fight for it. If you sleep too much, your project is going to die. You should not let other people put you down and you should not be lazy. I got this proverb from my mom and it comes from Burkina Faso.

Patwa Proverb – Joelle Tettey, Year 6

I’m going to share a proverb from Jamaica from my mother: “Wanty wanty no get it and getty getty no want it.” That means things people have they don’t want, but things people don’t have, they want. For example: Some people live in small houses but they want big houses, while some people who live in big houses want small houses.