Today we celebrate Fields’ 17th birthday!

Although she is not spending the weekend with us, we still want to wish her a lovely birthday and lots of happiness for this year.

Dinner in the House is a boarding event we all look forward to.  Last night the girls were even happier when they saw that we had lasagne for dinner! They all came quickly downstairs to finish setting up the table and start eating one of their preferred dishes.  We ended up discovering Sofiya’s mom and Bruna’s sister are pregnant and expecting next month!!

We talked about our families, our brothers and sisters, and how many cousins we have (just for reference, Bruna couldn’t say the number of cousins… bear in mind she had 11 uncles from her dad’s side!!!).

We had a lovely dinner where we continued to get to know each other. We can’t wait for the month’s dinner!

This year, many East Asian countries will celebrate the Lunar New Year on the 10th of February. This day marks the beginning of a new year based on the cycles of the moon. The festival is a time for family gatherings, feasting, and paying respect to ancestors. Each year is symbolized by one of the twelve zodiac animals, with this year being the Year of the Dragon. Festivities typically include dragon dances, fireworks, red lanterns, and the giving of red envelopes filled with money for good luck. It is a time for reflection, renewal, and wishing for prosperity in the year ahead. The Lunar New Year is a vibrant and joyous occasion that brings people together to celebrate traditions and customs that have been passed down through generations.

Tonight, for our International Dinner, we had the pleasure of celebrating this day with all our East Asian students celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Today’s wellbeing session evolved on how to identify if we are good or bad friends/partners. We all think we are well aware of how to identify when someone is treating us wrongly but sometimes we can be so mesmerized with that person that we can not see the signs of them treating us badly.

For this, we presented the girls with an interesting Kahoot with different scenarios and they had to identify if each scenario was a green, a yellow, or a red flag.

This interactive activity allowed us to identify different scenarios and listen to everyone’s opinions. The girls expressed their feelings and allowed us to have a very interesting discussion about boundaries and healthy relationships. They didn’t identify any of the scenarios as yellow flags, which led us to think they are more aware of what they want in their life as a friend or a partner than what they thought.

This weekend the girls were spread out on two different campuses.

Akmaral joined the second ski weekend, this time in Crans-Montana. After attending an exam on Friday, she made her way up to the mountains to enjoy the lovely sunny (but also cold) weather the canton of Valais mountains had prepared for them. While our priority during the weekend is assuring students have fun and make the best of their time in Switzerland, we also pass on to students the importance of academics, and that’s why Akmaral decided to focus her Sunday morning on University applications and homework.

Back at CDL, and talking about University applications… we got the fantastic news: Bruna got accepted into a second university of her choice!!! We couldn’t be happier for her and the achievements she is accomplishing. We are very proud of her. We are sure we will receive many more good news regarding University applications…

As you can imagine, it was a very quiet and calm weekend here on campus. Most of the students went to the mountains, and the ones who decided to stay in Geneva spent their time studying and going to Geneva to get a break from homework.

Kindest regards,

Maria and Lina

In this third week of building positive friendships, we discussed about international friendships and microaggressions. In our boarding community, we have more than 100 different nationalities, which allows our students to connect with people from all around the world.

International friendships enrich our lives by exposing us to diverse perspectives, cultures, traditions, and ways of thinking. These connections foster mutual understanding, breaking down barriers and promoting global harmony.

However, international friendships can lead to unintended microaggressions due to cultural differences and misunderstandings. It’s crucial to approach these relationships with open-mindedness, cultural sensitivity, and a willingness to learn to avoid unintentional microaggressions and foster genuine understanding.

But, what are microaggressions? These are subtle insults, or problematic statements, typically directed at marginalized groups. They are typically based on race, ethnicity, or gender. And the statements or actions are often ambiguous enough to elicit plausible deniability. Sometimes when we try to call someone out on it, it can lead to a denial that there was any ill intent.

Last night we enjoyed a lovely Portuguese dinner where we were delighted with chicken, pork ribs, calamari, spicy potatoes, bolinhos de bacalhau, and, of course, pastéis de nata.

Best,

Maria and Lina

Last week we focused on what qualities we look for in a friend when we meet new people.

Positive friendships are an important part of the journey to adulthood. They help children and teenagers learn important social and emotional skills, like being sensitive to other people’s thoughts, feelings, and well-being.​

Healthy friendships and relationships occur when both people:

• Care about each other.
• Understand and respect each other and are responsible for each other.
• Solve problems together and communicate with honesty.
• Share at least some of the same goals and values.

In this second week, we want to focus on the type of friends we are. What do our friends think of us? Is there anything we can do better or improve to be a better friend to our friends?

We asked our girls to ask their friends these questions and reflect on the answers they got.

We can’t wait to share the videos with you in the next couple of days!

Best,

María and Lina.

As you might already know, last week we had a huge snowstorm and the girls didn’t want to miss the opportunity to play in the snow, making snow angels and snowmen.

Ana Sofia and Mia, two of our lovely Ecureuil Annexe neighbors, came to the house and asked us to go and play with them (we couldn’t resist, who doesn’t like to play with the snow?).

As you can imagine, we ran to put on our ski clothes and head out of the house.

   
Best,

Maria and Lina.

This weekend was the first one we spent on campus after the holidays (and the only one we will spend on campus this month… more news to come soon!).

Although we haven’t had snow for almost a week now, the weather didn’t want to give us even a minute of sun. But if you think a grey cloudy weekend can stop our girls, you really don’t know them.

As per usual, Akmaral enjoyed practicing tennis, but this weekend it was time to make up for all the weekends she didn’t practice tennis over the holidays and she decided to play twice!!

Sofiya had a blasting experience playing Laser Tag in Olympus. It was a hard battle where all the students were very well prepared and trained. Her team lost but that’s not the most important thing, since she had an amazing time and enjoyed meeting other students for this brave fight.

Last, but not for that less important, Kseniia decided to change activities for a weekend and enjoyed a nice and quiet Stretching and Relaxation session, where she listened to some music with her friends while making sure to stretch and be conscious about the movements she was doing.

Everybody is back in the house enjoying the last few hours of the weekend, getting ready for a new week and a new weekend… where we will be going to Leysin for our first Ski Weekend of the season!

Best,

Maria and Lina.