International Week at school

The boys' school celebrated International week last week.  There was a food festival this past Wednesday and the children were able to dress up in their national outfits or flag colors.  What a lovely sight with all the vibrant colors!  I managed to borrow a Baju Kebaya - a traditional Malay outfit.  Graham represented the USA with his red, white, and blue colors and Charlie represented Malaysia with his printed shirt from my home-state of Sabah (Borneo).

The boys had a chance to parade around the field.  Here is Charlie. He did such a great job waving his flag and waving to the crowd:

After that was over and done with, we were waiting for Graham's turn to parade around the field. So many kids representing so many countries! While we wait, time for a selfie.  Cheeky Charlie!

My camera battery ended up dying when I was trying to take Graham's photo. So I took one with my phone after he was done with the parade. Happy camper despite the heat!

Once all that was said and done, we hit the Malaysian food stand:

So much food!  These Malay moms can really cook!  I did not contribute last year so I decided to try and make some pineapple tarts this year - supposedly quite a popular treat during Chinese New Year in Malaysia.  Wow... didn't realize how tedious it was! It takes quite some time to cook down the pineapple puree, but I finally figured it out after an earlier test batch. Larger pan and higher heat!!!

And then, it's a matter of making the perfect dough to fill the pineapple:

Charlie did help (a little :-)

By the 200th pineapple tart, I think I was really starting to get the hang of it!  

Although, I think this might be it for the rest of the year. Ha ha ha!  The boys really did enjoy them though. The dough has a shortbread consistency - made with lots of butter, condensed milk, and flour.  I think I gained a few pounds this past week eating these!

What a great experience for the boys (and me too!) to be able to taste food from other countries during this food festival. And perhaps someday, we will be able to visit the real Sphinx!