Mona Lisa!

On Wednesday night we went out to dinner with Olu, Ottolee, and the five students who ran for senior class president. The elections were last week, and very exciting to say the least. Every student at Ricks is part of one of the five political parties on campus. Each party elected a senior to run for student body president. The elections consisted of speeches, campaigns, and debates. I was so impressed with each of the candidates. The winner, Mohammad Dukley, gave a presidential address, and each of the other candidates gave a concession speech. They were all very respectful and did an outstanding job! Olu announced to the student body that he was going to take all of the candidates out to dinner. You could tell by the reaction of the room that this was a BIG deal.

We all piled in one of the school vans and went to a restaurant call Mona Lisa. It did not register to me that several of these students had never been to a sit down restaurant before. When the waitress brought us our menus, I was eagerly searching for something other than rice and beans. It was not until Olu said, “Do you all need help?” that I realized what was happening. Four of the students did not know how to read a menu. The expression on their faces was priceless, and we all started to laugh a little. I could tell right then that this was an experience they would never forget, and I felt so lucky to be a part of it.

After much discussion, we all decided what our stomachs were craving. Mohammad ordered chicken wings and fries, the other boys got boneless chicken, Rosetta got chicken fried rice, Ottolee and Samline split a pizza, Olu got a chicken sandwich, and Holly and I both got cheeseburgers and fries! It was delicious, and to top it off we all got ice cream!

The night was a lot of fun, and an opportunity for Holly and I to get to know some of the student leaders on campus. The topic of conversation primarily consisted of the elections. It was so inspiring to hear the intelligent conversations that were being had by the students. All though they disagreed on a lot of issues, they were still friends and supported one another. Mohammad Dukley will be a fantastic president, especially if he utilizes the gifts of these other four candidates.

We all had a lot of fun laughing and telling stories. I really enjoyed the Mona Lisa, and will definitely go back for more ice cream some time in the near future!