Oh The Places We'll Go

The Dr. Seuss book, "Oh, The Places You'll Go" was the theme of my high school all-night grad party. I've been thinking about the message of that story again as both the 12th graders here are graduating and I'm preparing to end my service. I have now been in Romania for over two years and yes, I've experienced many of the cliched feeling of affecting change, of not, and being changed as well. I think the most important goal I have for myself coming out of this experience is to remember an honest account of my experiences here, the difficult and the gratifying.

Wednesday of this week was the graduation ceremony for 12 C, a class I taught last year who's home room teacher is my counterpart. These kids are pretty great. I always enjoyed teaching them and this year, when I wasn't their teacher, it was always nice to stop and chat for a few minutes when I saw them in school or in town. Since students spend all their classes together for their four years of high school, they form very strong bonds with their classmates and their teachers. The school has a number of graduation robes that the students borrow for their ceremony. 12 C had made a video of their class saying goodbye and sharing memories, set of course to Vitamin C's "Friends Forever." Their home room teacher gave a short speech and then various students said a little about each of their teachers. Everyone gets very emotional (me less so, since I was using most of my concentration trying to translate the rapid Romanian in my head).

Friday was Children's Day here in Romania. After the 12th graders passed the "key" to the school onto the 11th graders, there was a festival celebrating the children in the town. There were dance troops, guitar ensembles, art projects, and fun all around. My favorite was an act of 5 or 6 year old dancers. The little girls had cheer-leading uniforms and pom-poms and had learned a cute rudimentary dance. The best part was that there was one little boy who was extremely enthusiastic but always a beat or two behind the girls in the dance. The whole thing was incredibly adorable and I found myself smiling through the entire four-minute production.

Friday evening was the banquet or "prom" for the 12th grade. It was held in the reception hall at a bed and breakfast in a neighboring town. All the students take advantage of the occasion and get very dressed up. The girls wore cocktail dresses or gowns (many of them even brought a second one to change into!) and towering stiletto heels. The boys care just as much about their outfits and there was an abundance of purple dress shirts and bow ties. I'm always entertained by awkward interactions so the people-watching was wonderful. The students find it very amusing to be at a party with all their teachers. Since the party didn't start until nine, everyone ate and danced until the wee hours. Luckily, I was able to duck out around three a.m. so I didn't have to stay until five or six like some of the other chaperones.

There are still three weeks of school for the other students, so now is the time to concentrate on finishing the school year and continue checking things off my checklist in preparation of returning to the States.