Last week was an exciting time for many on the Tabor Academy campus as the tradition of International Week continued. Every year, international students organize a week in the spring dedicated to the celebration of global traditions at Tabor Academy.
Nineteen percent of Tabor’s student body is made up of international students representing 19 countries. With such a significant number of Tabor’s community coming from different cultures, it is important that the rest of the students have a chance to experience some of their peers’ cultural traditions. International Week Co-Head, Hiroshi Nakajima, believes that International Week is an important Tabor tradition, “because kids in the U.S.A. have the opportunity to get in touch with the cultures of foreign nations.” This, in turn, leads to a more cohesive student body.
The week itself was a very exciting one for students of all nationalities. There were daily activities, performances, and meals from different cultures. The Café International kicked off the celebration with samplings of food from a wide variety of countries. Tabor students also experienced unique cuisine with Korean popsicles, Thai iced tea, a Korean barbeque, and an ‘Islands’ themed dinner throughout the week.
There were a number of musical performances so that the community could experience a variety of traditions from around the world. Frank Fan (’15), Kelly Ido (’17), Renee Chen (’14), and Kijun Song (’14) all performed throughout the week. In addition, music from different countries was played in between academic classes for all students and faculty to hear.
Students were given the opportunity to participate in a number of unique activities such as a cricket tutorial and a badminton tournament. There was an international story time for faculty children and their friends where tales from Scotland and Korea were shared, as well as a face-painting table where student-artists designed the country flag of one’s choice. The week concluded with a martial arts demonstration and a showing of the horror movie Ringu 3.
The week was a huge success and opened the eyes of students and faculty to a variety of cultural traditions. Junior Ellen Scheiring positively reflected on the week by noting, “It’s really important for us to be able to connect to other cultures and be able to have the opportunity to experience the point of view of many of our classmates.”
By Julia O’Rourke