Thursday, December 8, 2011

School's out for the summer!!

So I graduated!!...again....On Tuesday, my class had our last day of school and then the graduation later that night. The day and evening were so much fun; and it sure brought back fond memories from my graduation in the U.S.

During the day on Tuesday, there were no classes really; and all we did was eat and talk. Oh! And I made chocolate chip cookies and all my classmates were quite impressed with them. :) But anyway, then during the last hour of school we had a water balloon fight! After all the waterballoons ran out, we resorted to just dumping buckets of water on each other. I would have gotten more involved with the battle, but I had to go to my Rotary meeting right after school; however, that reason didn't stop my classmates from dumping a bucket of water on me with about 20 mintues left in school. Luckily for me, I brought a change of clothes! :) And with about a minute left in the school day, we formed a circle, held hands, counted down the seconds, and then cheered as the clock hit 12:40 (the time that school gets out).

Then the evening came around and it was time for the ceremony. On the invitation, the event was supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., but in true Brazilian style, we didn't start until about 8:20. :) The ceremony was totally different than a graduation in the U.S. But also, this was different for Brazil. Lu and Helio told me that the graduations are more serious, and mine was very happy and light-hearted. I knew I went to a good school. :)
But anyway, there were no graduation gowns or caps, no senior pictures given out, no scootering to school (recent WHS alum know about that one :)), and no marching into "Pomp and Circumstance". But you know what? I was completely okay with not having those things. Those are traditional American things that I have already experienced and I was looking forward to being a part of a Brazilian graduation, or "formatura", in Portuguese.

We did march in to a song however, and then were seated and listened to the principal and vice principal speak. Then, the class elected two teachers as their favorite teachers of the year. The teachers were presented with flowers and then sat in the front, on the stage (it was in an auditorium) along with the pricipal and vice principal for the remainder of the ceremony. After watching a video and thanking the rest of the teachers, it was time to receive the diplomas. Now, my class had 19 students, including myself. So when it came time to distribute the diplomas, the first person was drawn out of the stack, went and got their diploma, and drew the next person's name. And once everyone got their diploma, the mic opened up for people to speak. So why not? I went up there and said a few words, and I mean a few, about how thankful I was to go to this school. But even if I didn't say a alot, it was still in Portuguese, and that's all that matters. :) So after the principal spoke once more, there were cheers and applauses and then it was done! Then it was time for the reception!

Luiza!!

Sarah!!

Marina!!

Renato, Luiz, Me, Amanda, and Victor!!

Vinny!!


So in the end, it was an absolutely enjoyable night. It was definitely different, but definitely awesome. :) And I am so happy that I got to be a part of this celebration. But now I just need to figure out what to do until February....oh, maybe I'll just go to the beach. :)

E as pessoas de Escola da Serra. OBRIGADA!! Voces ajudaram a fazer meus primeiros meses aqui excelente! Se eu nao volto, fui muito prazer para conhecer voces a todos! E vou sentir muitas saudades de voces!! Te amo a todos! :)

Tchau for now,

Maggie

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