All day long all of their teachers were running around, freaking out. I'm not sure why, exactly, but they were. For a week fellow lady teachers had been preparing me for the event by telling me that I had to dress, "As if I were going to a wedding." After the millionth teacher informed me of this, I started to wonder if I should feel insulted... Did they think I don't know how to dress up or what??... But they assured me they told all new teachers to dress up so that they wouldn't get there in their normal clothes and look way out of place.
I'd listened to the teachers planning for weeks what they were going to wear - lots of them, it seemed, had gone out to buy a new dress and heels for the occasion! Holy crap! So when it came to figuring out what I would wear, it wasn't hard. I picked the new dress that had been sitting in my closet for two months without anywhere to properly debut it. :) I also went with those amazing sparkling nude heels that had tortured my feet the first time I had worn them - but this time I was prepared with this strange clear stick of stuff that makes your feet indestructible (my dad brought it from America after I'd seen an ad for it - and man does that stuff work!!! I recommend it to every single high heel wearer in the world!).
I took a good 45 minutes getting ready - possibly the most amount of time I've spent getting ready in EVER - and carefully did my makeup (complete with bright red lipstick) and hair. By the time I was ready, I was unsure if anybody at school would even recognize me! I think I've worn makeup to school maybe five times all year - and dressed up once (I.e. the first day of school). I'm pretty sure that the people at school have no clue that I have the potential to be an attractive person at all - hence eight of them informing me that I had to REALLY LOOK NICE for this graduation. So, yes, I was pretty darned excited to have an opportunity to be the cute one for a change, instead of the awkward looking American who values sleep far above looks. ;)
Anyway, my favorite teacher picked me up to take me to school, and in no time we were there, standing outside with the other teachers, watching the kids in choir practice. :) All the teachers looked nice, but it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, since they usually look pretty decent at school. I, on the other hand, kinda stood out. They all commented on how nice I looked, and I felt successful in my endeavor to show them I had the potential in me all along. Haha.
Five minutes of standing in the teachers' huddle later, thought, and I was over it. Don't get me wrong - I like the teachers I work with, I just don't really have much to say to them. First, I have to speak Spanish, and one-on-one that is no problem, but in a big group? Forget it. Second, I can't really relate to what they're talking about. They are adults, and accordingly, they take life and everything in it very seriously. And, let me be blunt: I am ALWAYS against that. Taking life seriously pretty much goes against everything I believe in. You can't be introspective when you do it, you can't see things from other perspectives when you do it, and it generally totally skews the intrinsic truth of any situation. To me, it's the biggest waste of time and energy. And so I just don't do it if I can help it.
I think it's safe to say that people who take themselves and life so seriously are one of my biggest pet peeves... Which is a problem, since it seems like that's how 98% of the world is conditioned to be. >_<
Anyway, I stood there rather awkwardly until the kids finally got done with choir practice, at which point they all ran up to me to marvel at my dress and tell me how beautiful and fashionable I looked.
^_^
They hugged me and touched my dress and oohed and ahhed over and over again. Basically, they made me feel like I was a real life princess and I felt so lucky and grateful. <3 We all chatted together for awhile, and I felt so happy I was hanging out with them instead of the adults. ;)
When it was time to head inside to prepare for the ceremony, I caught site of my Bachis!! The girls told me I looked beautiful and the boys stared at me, but quickly turned the other way. Haha. I had no idea why we were going inside first, but when I was called into a room, I quickly realized it was to get our teacher stoles!!!!
That's right - I got to wear a TEACHER STOLE!!!!!!!! Holy crap!!!!!!!!!! Coolest thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!! (And totally worthy of a selfie.)
And then, it was time! We all lined up and walked out very formally to our seats outside. ^_^ It was all so very official and so very adorable. All this fanfare for the ten high school seniors all of the teachers had been complaining about for weeks about their laziness and bad grades... But for this night, everything was centered around honoring them. Cute.
Introductions were made, the big deal senior gave a really good and funny speech full of cute allusions to his peers, and then it was time for their English teacher (my mentor)'s speech. It started just fine, but halfway through it, it began to rain. A few drops at first, and then some sprinkles, and then full fledged drizzle. I had been seated with the perfect view of Favorite student and as the rain began, we couldn't stop exchanged funny faces, which quickly turned into giggles we tried to suppress (sometimes even successfully!). Unequivocally, BEST part of the ceremony!!! ;)
Finally, after her speech was over, the director told us that we would be moving the ceremony inside. As the other teachers did the responsible thing and went to take the beautiful flower arrangements and pieces of furniture that would be ruined if they got too wet, I made a run for it. As I ran under the patio covering, the students in the choir ran up to me, giggling. :) I told them I was freezing and wet, wearing this darn dress, and they all attached themselves to me like really warm and adoring barnacles and told me they would keep me warm. ^_^ We walked like that all the way to the cafeteria, where the ceremony was to finish, giggling and chatting the whole way there! Man, I <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-kids="" data-blogger-escaped-those="">
When we got inside, we had to wait for a few minutes while they got everything set up again, and so I went over to Pineapple to hang out while we waited! When I told her that my hair was looking so out of characteristically decent until it got all messed up by the rain, she assured me that I still looked cute and that all the boys in her class had been talking about it... haha. We talked a little more about her latest awesome blog post, and then it was time for the ceremony to continue.
The second part wasn't nearly as eventful, nor was I within range of exchanging silly glances with anybody talented in the art of exchanging silly glances, so I mostly tried to focus my attention on understanding all of the Spanish instead of letting my mind wander too far. The cutest part of the second half was definitely the choir (which I'm pretty sure they threw together the week before - but, considering, they did a great job) and were beyond adorable up there!! ^_^ It's a funny thing to feel proud of these little guys... I mean, I only really see them one hour per week, but somehow it feels like a lot more than that. :)
After the ceremony was over, it was time for a reception filled with refreshments- Spanish style! Yep, that meant tapas and... drumroll... beer and wine!!! That's right - I got to have a GLASS OF WINE AT SCHOOL, while surrounded by my students!!! Um, coolest thing ever. Man, I love some of the cultural differences here in Spain when it comes to education (of course, others I hate, but things hugging kids, getting to tell vocab that would be deemed too inappropriate in America and, now, THIS...!?!?! Seriously awesome.)!!!
Again, all the teachers huddled together in a little group to drink and eat and chat and take pictures. I hovered around them long enough to pose for a few pics, while secretly scanning the room to find my favorite students that had attended the graduation. ;)
Within minutes, I bolted from the pack of teachers, wine glass in hand, and found some of my 6th graders and... yep... my Bachis!!! ^_^ YAY!!! It was seriously weird drinking wine around my Bachis... mostly because it didn't feel that weird, which made it feel super way really weird. Thing is, in Spain, the drinking age is 18, and society seems to just accept that kids start drinking way before that, and nobody really seems to mind too much. They've told me stories about their parties, and so, for me, it's common knowledge that they drink, too. Which would be unheard of and totally taboo in the US. I certainly had never had a drink at their age!!
After hanging out with them for a little while and watching the Senior's video, I was informed that there would be a dinner for just the teachers who the Senior's had had that year and, being that I was technically one of them, I was invited. It was pitched as the type of invitation that was not socially acceptable to turn down, and so I smiled and went and told my teacher friend that she needn't drive me home. She made fun of me for caving, but I said if nothing else I could get a little Spanish practice in. >_< Haha.
Anyway, the dinner turned out to be a pretty cool experience, overall. One of the Bachis went, and I sat next to him, one of my favorite teachers and one of the Senior girls. Together, we giggled and they taught me some colloquial Spanish (cabrearse - to get pissed off = VERY IMPORTANT PHRASE - root, "cabra" which means "goat" - hahaha!!!). It was cool to sit with them, because I felt pretty free to be my strange self, rather than try to be teachery like I feel I should be around most of the other teachers and Seniors.
The dinner itself consisted of tons of tapas and then, for the main course, "carne a la piedra," which translates to, "meat on the rock." Haha. They serve you a plate of raw beef, and then a a plate with three or four sauces and a bowl of sea salt. Then, they bring a super hot stone slab to the table on wooden planks and you cook your meat on the stone then add whatever you want to it when it's ready. Think fondue, but instead of the pot of boiling water, you have a super hot rock. HAHA! ^_^ Let me just say - it was DELICIOUS!!! Seriously, amazing. Some of the best meat I've had in Spain for sure. And, the idea is not to cook it too much to keep the flavor intact. The strips are so thin that it's almost tricky not to cook the meat all the way through, but when you do it right, and then add some of that yummy sea salt... YUM!
As dinner was finishing (roughly three hours after it began - these Spanish people really take their time with their meals - especially when it's a celebration), the Seniors brought out a big bag of PRESENTS for their teachers!!! ^_^ WOW! Apparently that's a thing here - and I think it's awesome. Lots of the presents were sort of gag gifts based on inside jokes they'd developed with their teachers throughout the year, but others were more regular things like books and jewelery. I was sure they wouldn't get me a present, and I really didn't mind, because although we'd technically had two hours of class together per week, I'd pretty much seen them once or twice a month - and even then I think I heard them speak English twice all year. It was basically turned into their study hall, which didn't bother me at all. I mean, these people honestly look a good four years older than me, which makes it way awkward for me to try to impart knowledge to them! HA.
But anyway, just as I thought it was over, I was the last one to be handed a present! Yay! I was given a Spanish flag (I've seriously been wanting one, to put next to my Brazilian flag and Chelsea - England soccer scarf), an Alcala shot glass and and Spain snowglobe! Um, adorable!!!
After dinner all the teachers took a few Seniors in their cars and dropped them off in a neighborhood with bars to celebrate (so weird they can drink at 18 here), and then one of them drove me home. I didn't walk in my front door until 3:15am. Holy. Crap! Considering my other teacher friend had picked me up at 7pm, that was like EIGHT HOURS of graduation festivities - all in Spanish, too.
BAMF.
^_^
All in all, it was a lovely experience to have for my first Spanish high school graduation. ;)
XOXO
Sounds like a wonderful evening!
ReplyDelete