ISF Sommerfest and Talent Show

Today was the first time we were able to attend ISF's Sommerfest. It's a day to sample foods from around the world, participate in sporting events including a soccer tournament, watch the first matches of the World Cup on a big screen, check out craft and used books/game booths and attend the talent show.

Outside, one of the taxi services that brings kids to and from school every day set up this preschool activity.

Another way you could get to and from school.  Just kidding.  You don't see many limos in Germany.  I chatted a bit with the American fellow trying to make a go at limo service here and told him how there are times we fly home to Frankfurt from somewhere and have a hard time finding a van/taxi that we and all our luggage can fit into.  Even when we arrange ahead of time for a ride and stress how much room we need, a taxi service doesn't always send what they promised to pick us up.  We would all fit in this.

The cafeteria was bustling with activity. There were tables set up with food from the Netherlands,.....

....India,.....

.....Mexico.....

.....and Switzerland among other countries.  Many people were in traditional clothing from their homelands.  One woman I wanted to get a photo of, but didn't dare for various reasons, was covered from head to foot in a flowing black robe and face covering.  Only her eyes were visible.  That was the first time I had seen a woman at school dressed like that.  We have many families at the school where the women are covered head to foot, but their entire faces are left uncovered..

Becca thought the Swedish meatballs, potatoes and cranberry sauce were yummy.

Every kid got an ISF towel. The saying on the towel made me laugh -- The school with the pool! The pool is the characteristic that most readily differentiates ISF from the other big international school in the Frankfurt area -- the pool-less FIS. We're known in English as International School of Frankfurt and the other is Frankfurt International School. So when you talk to people and mention that your kids go to ISF, people say, "Oh, yeah. That's the school with the pool."

Micaela and her friends Chloe and Laura, getting a good seat for the talent show.

James got a drum set for his birthday last summer and began taking lessons at school in September or October.  His teacher informed him last month that he was signed up for the talent show.

When I picked James up from school yesterday after he had done a rehearsal, he was worried.  He was planning on playing drums along with a Green Day song.  But because the drums are so loud, he needed to listen to the song over headphones so that he could hear it well and stay in sync.  The audience would hear both his drums and the recording of the song.  He was concerned because he could not hear the song hardly at all through the headphones and kept getting lost as to where he was. 

I was a bit nervous sitting in the audience today, hoping James could get the tech issues worked out backstage. There were some singing and dancing demonstrations and then the talent show began -- many singers, two rockbands and two solo musicians, including James.

In the end, James was able to make out just enough of the recording of Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown to stay in sync -- except for one part in the middle where he paused for a few seconds, but got back on track. James had great support from his friends who chanted his name as he got set up. And he surprised me. When he practices on his drums at home, he uses his headphones so all I hear is the thumping of the bass drum on the floor and what sounds like someone tapping pencils on a table. To hear him play on an actual drumset was very exciting. You can see for yourself in the video below that Micaela recorded.


The song is on the long side and has two parts. The video in the first part is a bit jumpy but the second part is steadier and the drumming is more interesting.

The cast from the ISF production of Mamma Mia! did a few numbers.  And the winners to the talent show were announced.

James won third place!  Up against fellow students of all ages and with only 9 months of lessons, James placed third.  I was so proud of him and just wished David could have been here to see it.