Who knew?? School anniversaries seem to be a very big thing here in Iquique. All week long, the school a couple blocks above our house has been blasting events over their loudspeakers. (Okay, maybe "blasting" is a little extreme but due to some strange acoustic phenomenon the voices from up above bounce right off our front door.)
Their events take place during the school day, and at night until midnight or later. Last night the blue and purple lights were flashing from the ceiling of their covered cancha and cheers and chanting could be heard until at least that time. Fortunately, we've become accustomed to our less-than-quiet neighborhood and have learned to tune most of it out. But I still couldn't believe all this fuss over a school anniversary!
Until I went to our girls' school for parent meetings last night.
As it turns out, their school has its anniversary next week. So most of the meeting was spent informing us of upcoming activities and exhorting our parental involvement in the festivities. They look something like this:
This experience has been eye-opening, to say the least. It has also been challenging, convicting, and exciting. We are rubbing shoulders with so many families that desperately need the hope that is found in Christ. We are looking for ways to connect with them, and because of that we will probably find ourselves kicking the soccer ball next week and sitting around a table drinking coffee with other parents while listening to jokes we may not understand. (I might even find myself awkwardly on stage for the "Sing if You Can" segment, should a fellow mom in Eva's class get her way. Scary thought!)
But, if by doing so we can follow Christ's example in walking among and being among and eating among the people who need Him, so be it. If nothing else, I'm sure there will be some very interesting blog posts as a result!
But I really hope there will be results of a more eternal kind instead. :)
Their events take place during the school day, and at night until midnight or later. Last night the blue and purple lights were flashing from the ceiling of their covered cancha and cheers and chanting could be heard until at least that time. Fortunately, we've become accustomed to our less-than-quiet neighborhood and have learned to tune most of it out. But I still couldn't believe all this fuss over a school anniversary!
Until I went to our girls' school for parent meetings last night.
As it turns out, their school has its anniversary next week. So most of the meeting was spent informing us of upcoming activities and exhorting our parental involvement in the festivities. They look something like this:
Monday is the "Day of Solidarity" - we need to send a kilo of beans with each of our girls for a class gift to a local charity of some sort.I've said it before and I'll say it again: I think I've learned more about Chilean culture in the few months that my girls have been in Chilean school than I did in the 13+ years I lived here prior.
Tuesday is the "Day of the Liturgy" - each class will present their donations in a fancy box and then a blessing will be said over them before they are sent on their merry way. It should make for an interesting conversation with the kids later!
Wednesday is the "Day of Sports and Recreation" - the students will have competitions in the morning, and in the evening the parents are expected to come and duke it out on the "baby futbol" (soccer) court. Moms against moms, dads against dads. One parent wanted to know if they would have an ambulance on site??
Thursday is traditionally the day of "International Gastronomy" - however, due to the H1N1 epidemic the school decided too much handling of food was not a good thing. Instead, each class is assigned a country and they are to decorate their room with information about it. (Isabel's class got Brazil, and I'm not sure about Eva's.)
Friday is the "Night of the Coffee-Concert" and is for parents only, from 9 p.m. until midnight. Each class is supposed to provide one parent to tell jokes; one or two parents to sing; several parents to present a skit; and two couples to participate in a dance-off competition (um, that wouldn't be us, ha!)
This experience has been eye-opening, to say the least. It has also been challenging, convicting, and exciting. We are rubbing shoulders with so many families that desperately need the hope that is found in Christ. We are looking for ways to connect with them, and because of that we will probably find ourselves kicking the soccer ball next week and sitting around a table drinking coffee with other parents while listening to jokes we may not understand. (I might even find myself awkwardly on stage for the "Sing if You Can" segment, should a fellow mom in Eva's class get her way. Scary thought!)
But, if by doing so we can follow Christ's example in walking among and being among and eating among the people who need Him, so be it. If nothing else, I'm sure there will be some very interesting blog posts as a result!
But I really hope there will be results of a more eternal kind instead. :)
3 comments:
It does seem like a wonderful opportunity to get to know parents.
Pedro could do the jokes. Or he could just dance and that could be the comedy segment all in one. (I'm just kidding, I owe Pedro some harassment.)
You are right on, Steph! What a great way to make inroads into the community there in Iquique. Can't wait to hear how it all goes!
est, i think this is one of my favorite entries; praying for this next week.
-ang-
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