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Celebrating cultural diversity

April 7 - 13, 2010
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Every year, our school hosts, a 'National Costume Day' for which we all come in, dripping with patriotism and national pride or quite plainly, dressed in our respective traditional attire.

Our school is well acknowledged for its diversity but not until the day, did I realise the sheer spectrum of nationalities that reside in Bahrain.

There were green top hats with pinned clovers, kilts, turbans, thobes, saris, kimonos, dreadlocks, fez, Bubas, Baju Kurangs and a myriad of other dresses I hadn't ever seen before.

It was a fantastic day that served as an insight into different cultures and it was a true credit to international collaboration and unity.

If we, as a student body comprising of nearly seventy different nationalities, can work and co-operate with each other in harmonious union, why can't the nations of the world do the same?

It's fascinating to learn about their different cultures, their way of life, their food and clothes and their extravagant, rich ceremonies and festivals.

Just by chatting with them, I can learn so much more about the world. How much more would the world benefit if that was practiced on a larger scale?

That's the great thing about living in Bahrain, you meet different people from countries that you have probably never even noticed on the map, they teach you about their culture and then in return, you tell them about your heritage.

This often morphs into a friendly intercultural jabber over a cup of steaming Arabic coffee in a neighbourhood cafŽ.

Your half-Malaysian neighbour might invite you in for some nasi lemak or you may happen to be invited to a Spanish siesta and nibble on paella.

You can hear exhausted gardeners ramble away in Bengali and you may even have the opportunity to catch an Irish dancing performance or karaoke in Tagalog.

This kingdom is like a global conglomeration - and it makes you love living here even more.







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