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SUMMER
2013
17
be outsourced. What mistakes were done
last year? The committee goes over them
to make sure they are not repeated.
Yes, there is a lot to do. International Day
is only 178 days away.The work begins.
February 2013.
About 30 parents, heed-
ing the calls of teachers to help out in the
preparations, show up to the first meeting.
“We need your help,” explains Bekdache,
“We can’t do this alone.”
Parents are divided and groups cre-
ated: some will help students with their
research (culture, history, tourism, climate,
food, customs, etc.) and others will
arrange and man the stands as well as
provide the feasts.
“But parents, please remember not to go
over the top,’ continues Bekdache. “Keep
it simple but creative.”
March 2013.
Parents show up ready to
work with students for three hours a day
for a full week. Parents and students delve
into the library and internet. Before long,
the countries captivate both adults and
children. Passersby would find mothers
and children enthusiastically creating
posters and displays.
A few weeks later …. Group by group,
students present their findings. Some
memorized the facts, some put on a play
and some created PowerPoint displays.
All were brilliant. Teachers smile in relief.
Their charges have certainly learned much
about ‘their’ countries.
Meanwhile, music teachers are busy teach-
ing the songs and choreographed dances to
the students. A difficult task.The songs are
in the countries’ language. Students have to
memorize them and learn the dance steps
in unison.The music and lyrics are sent
home. Would parents please familiarize
their kids with the music and help them
memorize all the foreign words?
April 2013.
Invitation cards, prepared
by Abou Rahal, are sent out to parents.
Costumes are ready and sent home. Some
turn out to be too big or too small.They
are sent back for quick alterations.
Work to set up the 8 x 20 meter stage on
the green football field begins. With the
Rockefeller building in the background,
the stage is breathtaking.The flowers are in
full bloom. IC campus is at its full glory.
Rehearsals can now be held on stage.
Abou Rahal sets up a schedule. For the
next few days, the voices of singing chil-
dren are heard all around the neighbor-
hood. No one complains. In the midst of
the country’s political squabbles and the
news of tragic events in nearby countries,
it is a welcome respite.
Physical plant personnel are at full alert.
It is up to them to set up the stands,
arrange the seating, clean up the cam-
pus, rotate security guards, provide the
sound equipment, arrange for 3,000 water
bottles to be delivered on campus, provide
and clean WCs, etc.
The last rehearsal is held.The last stand is
set up. Everything is ready.
April 27 2013 4:30pm.
Students show
up in all kinds of colors.They are
excited. A bit too excited. Teachers are
on hand to calm them down. By 5pm,
there isn’t one empty chair to be found.
Enthusiastic parents, grandparents,
aunts, uncles and siblings, with a sea of
cameras, are enthusiastically waiting to
see their precious little one on stage.
It’s all about to begin. Bekdache is
making last minute decisions. If she
is nervous, she doesn’t show it and is
cheerfully greeting guests. An Honorary
Consul shows up late, she quickly gives
up her seat and leads him to it.
Nothing should go wrong. She hopes.
IC Senior Vice President Mishka
Mourani takes the stage and welcomes
all. Without further ado, the show begins.
Group after group take the stage.The
children are an instant hit.The songs and
dances are performed in sync.
The last performance finishes. Bekdache
looks decidedly more relaxed.The second
part of the International Day begins: the
stands and food.
For the first time, some stands have been
set up in the grounds of the new El-
ementary school. Parents have outdone
themselves: delicious smells waft through
the school as feast after feast invites one
and all to taste.
By 8pm, the crowds begin to dwindle.
Parents and their exhausted but happy
looking children, still wearing their color-
ful costumes, make their way out of the
campus.
It is over. Physical plant personnel begin
cleaning up. It was an amazing evening.
Monday April 29. Bekdache is standing out-
side the Elementary school.There is some-
thing serene about her. She smiles brightly.
“Now I have to think about next year,” she
says with only a hint of a worried frown.
“We must order the books the students
need to read.”
And it starts again.
Mishka Mourani, Hana Bekdache, Celine
Abou Rahal