This year is our daughter Summer-Kae’s second, happy year in Little Tots. Our family is entirely Thai by nationality, but culturally, we are a mix, the parents ourselves having lived in a combination of Thailand, India, Rwanda, Uganda, and several American towns and cities. Although a Swiss education system was not a “necessity” in our familial tradition, we became most attracted to this school because of the warmth of the verdant, cosy environment. That our daughter would learn German, which neither of us speaks, was only a plus, as we believed learning any language that isn’t spoken at home would bring several benefits – of challenge, curiosity, and global citizenship.
As we pick up our daughter daily, it becomes even clearer that we’ve made the right choice. We see children enjoying their natural humanity, untied to technological gadgets and instead stringing together rubber bands, playing hopscotch, and planting their painted hands on sculptures that decorate the school. We see the kind of natural interaction with one another that we wish more children nowadays had.
Being Thai doesn’t stop us from feeling like a part of the community. As the families are diverse, we are making friends from different countries and parts of Switzerland. While we learn more about the Swiss culture, they are curious to learn more about our culture, too. We’re delighted to be at this school and look forward to watching our daughter’s growth here. It is a space for her to craft an identity that is unique from our family’s, and that conscience of individuality and limitlessness will be invaluable for the rest of her human experience.
(, 2018)