International Day

Yesterday, International Day, was a big day for Al-Waha. In order to drive to Bemidji to join the other villages, we woke up at 6:30 and were on busses by 8:45. Luckily, the long bus ride allowed us to catch some sleep on the way. When we arrived at Waldsee, the German language village, we ate a picnic lunch with villagers from Spanish, French, and Portuguese villages then participated in a sing-along with them. We paraded into the German village singing our Arabic songs at the top of our lungs, then sat with a dozen other villages assembled for the opening program. Throughout the day, there were lots of activities for villagers to try and perform. We played Sweden in the World Cup soccer tournament and tied 2-2, taught other villagers to belly dance, shared in a song exchange, and debated economic policy in the mock G-20 summit of the United Nations. Villagers could also tour Waldsee’s Biohaus, try to douse their counselors in the dunk tank, compete in the Amazing Race, attend a ceremony to renew the peace site, take a bus tour of all the Bemidji villages, relax at Home Base, or watch any of the other villages’ performances. In addition, villagers could shop until they dropped at the other village stores. Many villagers agreed, though, that the best activity of the day was eating! Villagers could snack on Chinese chicken wings, German bratwurst served in a French baguette, Swedish pancackes, Arabic Koshary, Portuguese lemonade, or Japanese shaved ice. We feasted all day! As the day drew to a close, we all gathered together for the phenomenal closing program. Some villages performed choreographed dances, while others showed off villagers’ talents on traditional instruments or martial arts. We performed an elaborate belly dance in traditional costumes, which depicted a love story. Finally, everyone moved their body to the I-Day dance one last time.