Being new to this school, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from UN Day 2019, but I was pleasantly surprised by the way in which the school embraced and celebrated all cultures and backgrounds.

As something of a tradition, the DP1 history class partner with 3rd graders to read out the UN human rights in different languages. Having just lived in a Portuguese speaking country I volunteered to read my part in Portuguese. This I found to be quite an interesting experience as I felt quite disconnected from the language, having not spoken it in several months, and speaking it again made me realize the beauty of the language.

It was also an opportunity for connection, as everyone I spoke in front of not only didn’t speak the language, but didn’t know what it was so I explained to many people who asked what language I was speaking. Several people commented on how similar the language is to Spanish and how the accent can sound almost Russian at times, which is something I have also always though.

This was a unique opportunity for me to contribute a piece of culture that was absent at the UN day, as most of the focus was on Asian language and culture, and i presented a European language (not my own) which many found interesting and new.