Today, hundreds of foreign-language students from more than 20 Pinellas County schools will celebrate different cultures at the World Languages Field Day. The day opens with multicultural song and dance presentations, including a lip-synch rendition of Selena's Cumbia Medley by Osceola High Spanish students. Students will journey from classroom to classroom, collecting stamps on imaginary passports. Parents and siblings who tag along will learn about Mexican bark painting, American Sign Language, Oriental paper folding and numerous other activities from around the world. It's really neat to learn about different cultures and how everybody does things differently.
Different words mean different things in different countries.
I just thought that was awesome. Along with eating, dancing and crafting, there's also a healthy sense of competition. Hundreds of students will wipe sweaty palms as they test their skills by reciting poetry and telling stories in different languages. Students also team up by school to compete in the Academic Bowl, a multilanguage quiz game. Carmine Zinn, who originated the field day 14 years ago, said that all competition is in the spirit of fun.