After a successful participation in the previous year, the Embassy of Liechtenstein decided to again engage in the Embassy Adoption Program (EAP) for the current school year 2017/2018. The EAP is a partnership between DC Public Schools, Washington Performing Arts, embassies and other global entities. Its mission is to expose school children to international perspectives and cross-cultural lessons.
The Embassy of Liechtenstein was paired with a 5th grade class at Schools Without Walls. For the first (out of four) visits, which took place in November, the students learned about general facts on Liechtenstein, such as its location, history and its form of government. They painted Liechtenstein’s flag and could taste one of Liechtenstein’s national dishes, “Ribel”, a cornmeal dish stemming from the time when Liechtenstein was a poor country.
During the second visit in December, the topics were Liechtenstein's traditions, holidays, and language. The students picked up on some phrases in the dialect, sang the national anthem and learned about various holidays and traditions such as Fasnacht, Liechtenstein’s National Day on August 15, the Alpabfahrt and Advent. They engaged in an arts & crafts project to make their very own “Princely crowns” and delighted over goodie bags dropped of for them by Saint Nikolaus.