During a three year posting in Azerbaijan, my kids, but especially my son, really learned to enjoy Nawruz.
We lived on a little culdesac that joined the street that paralleled the north side of the President's dacha and my son became friends with uniformed guards who protected the President. One Nawruz, he talked them into building a fire on the side of the street to jump through and cause the evil spirits chasing them to be consumed by the flames. It was quite a sight to see a young American kid celebrating a Nawruz tradition with stern men in ceremonial uniforms as they all took turns jumping through the flames.
Maybe we need more kids in the diplomatic corps. They seem to know instinctively how to bring diverse groups together.
What a great story. I agree, kids make great diplomats if they're not trained out of being open and friendly from an early age. We were at a gathering in my home town last fall and my grandson, aged 2.5, went up to a family of kids and said, "Hi friend." I was surprised at first, but my daughter told me he learned that at his day care that has a diverse group of kids, mostly Mexican migrant kids. I was so proud of him and that day care, but the other kids seemed puzzled and kind of turned away from him. It's sad when kids are taught to be clannish instead of open to new people. I love what happened with your son.
During a three year posting in Azerbaijan, my kids, but especially my son, really learned to enjoy Nawruz.
We lived on a little culdesac that joined the street that paralleled the north side of the President's dacha and my son became friends with uniformed guards who protected the President. One Nawruz, he talked them into building a fire on the side of the street to jump through and cause the evil spirits chasing them to be consumed by the flames. It was quite a sight to see a young American kid celebrating a Nawruz tradition with stern men in ceremonial uniforms as they all took turns jumping through the flames.
Maybe we need more kids in the diplomatic corps. They seem to know instinctively how to bring diverse groups together.
What a great story. I agree, kids make great diplomats if they're not trained out of being open and friendly from an early age. We were at a gathering in my home town last fall and my grandson, aged 2.5, went up to a family of kids and said, "Hi friend." I was surprised at first, but my daughter told me he learned that at his day care that has a diverse group of kids, mostly Mexican migrant kids. I was so proud of him and that day care, but the other kids seemed puzzled and kind of turned away from him. It's sad when kids are taught to be clannish instead of open to new people. I love what happened with your son.