Road to Rwanda----Valentine's Day Party...Rwanda style

 My grade 6 students engineered a Valentine's Day Party.  These are 11 and 12 year old kids, but for the second year in a row, they decided that they were going to have a party....Warning: No adults were involved in the set up! The parents of one of the members of the class owns a restaurant, so it was easy to make reservations for the night of Valentine's Day from 4:30 to 7:30.  They then invited 4 adults to come: Rick and I , and their math and science teachers who are a couple.  We happily accepted, but were also not quite sure how this was going to turn out.  

We were a little late in getting strated...after all this is Africa, but were all present by 5:30, having traveled by foot, car, taxi, and mototaxi.  The three male students were the ones who conceived of and executed the party and they had a definite plan.  They collected $5 for the food from the 7 students who came (only one of the 6th graders could not attend).  We then ordered our food. They wrote it out and delivered it to the kitchen.  And then we proceeded to tournaments!! We had a tictactoe tournament (the adults did not present much of a challenge).  And then a flip the bottle tournament.  Single elimination, hotly contested, so so so much fun and laughter.  We ate. Listened to the playlist that we generated on the spot.  The music was American and African, current and dating back to the 1950's.  Some really pretty music.  Then we danced.  Most of it was done standing in a circle and someone would be called out, either to start the moves or stand in the middle and showcase their moves.  Some of the more shy members came to life and could really jam.  What a surprise.  Rick and I waltzed to a few numbers, which the kids found intriguing. By this time it was pushing 8 and time to head home.  

I cannot tell you how much fun this party was!  We laughed and talked and enjoyed each other so much.What a privilege.  There are tears in my eyes as I write this.  Of course the greatest part was that the kids did absolutely ALL of it themselves.  (We four adults did make up a bit of the difference in the food payment, which we had also eaten, but that was the only area where we took any responsibility.)  I wonder how many 6th grade classes in the US could, or more importantly, WOULD  make this happen?