high school graduations in this country are held on school days.
mine was today.
outside on the basketball court/blacktop.
between 3rd and 4th period.
there was singing.
and flower divvying.
and plenty of people talking through it all.
and the sun was hotter than crap.
and to be honest,
the whole thing felt a tad rushed.
and the "graduates" (all six of them) were dressed...um...scantily.
(see: chalga star)
i wore my high heels for the big event. i had to rush home to dust them off after 2nd period because i had no idea whatsoever the blessed event was today.
it's good i live 2 minutes from my school.
ceremonies and ideas of propriety here baffle me.
showing up in a tank top with a front slit that stoops so low as to reveal your belly piercing is normal.
showing up without an odd number of flowers wrapped in plastic is blasphemous.
and when a colleague turns to you and says,
"wasn't that lovely? are your graduations this nice there (read: the States)?"
you think back to that black gown and cap you wore as you marched into the coors' event center in boulder, to the nearly 2-hour long ceremony...
and you answer, "well, they're just different" and move on with the day, reminding yourself this sort of cultural exchange is part of your duty here.
meh. i enjoyed the fact that after all the madness, classes were only 30 minutes long.
because i felt like doing absolutely nothing today. as did the kids.
and my refusal to write anything other than lines of text surely is proof of this.
ooh! but wait! tomorrow is the big parade of graduates through the center. where they show up in prom dresses and glitter holding (what else) flowers in plastic wrapping and take pictures of each other for at least an hour.
i am going! will post pictures.
4 comments:
Isn't that when all the kids drive around honking their horns? Awesome.
Assignment #2 Due May 27th: Why the hell did I put that in my bag?
You have received your invitation to be an author on the blog, na li?
Let's not forget the countdowns. 12, 11, 10, 9, 8... all night outside my window.
i think so, mr. quill. i need to sort through my emails again. will notify you if not.
yes, jason, how one could forget those countdowns is well... simply unfathomable.
thanks, my loyal readership.
I have also been listening to the counting. All damn night. Interspersed with Brian Adams and chalga. Uzhas.
Loved this entry and the ones about the bike, too. I also tend to respond simply with, "It's just different," when people ask me questions. It's very hard to explain traditions and events.
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