No hay colegio por el verano (Schoooool's ouuutttt for summmmmer)!
12th grade in Spain (called secundo de bachillerato) is the hardest year of high school. Three times during the school year the 12th grade classes have four full days of exams. After the third set of exams, they learn whether they've passed their classes for the year, or not. If they pass, they go on to graduation and the graduation party and then a few weeks later take the selectividad, a test that basically determines what they're going to study in university and where. If they don't pass all their classes, they can conteste them, or they have to redo those classes next year...it's a bit stressful.
But, once all my friends learned they'd passed their classes, we commenced with the celebrating. Graduation was held outside and included: a speech from our principle Rosa and from a student representative from each of the different fields of study: sciences and engineering, humanities, social sciences.
Here is Rosa (our principle) and my friends Ana and Martin giving their speeches
2 monologues, one by my friend Juan Pablo
one violinist, one pianist and a band
And of course a choreographed dance and sing along to the FRIENDS theme song by me and my advanced english class
After taking lots of photos and having dinner together we all headed to a metro stop on the outskirts of Madrid where one of the students had rented a local (a site to have the graduation party for all the 12th graders). In Spain the students are in charge of planning the graduation party, deciding where it will be held, finding a place, choosing whether it would cost 13 euros for a closed bar or 20 euros for an open bar (only the 18 year olds would be able to drink, but everyone would be required to pay the same fee), paying for a bouncer, a barman, DJ and people to run the coat check.
The graduation party started at 12 and went until the local closed at 6 am, then everyone took the metro home together when it opened at 6:30. That is a pretty typical situation for a graduation party in Spain. A very long night, with lots of dancing and for me it was especially great considering I go to a large school (for Spain) so I hadn't had the chance to meet everyone in my grade yet. It was entertaining being the new american girl all over again and by the end of the night I felt quite famous when I was standing at the coatcheck with my friend (she is also blonde, but she is spanish) and the bartender asked her if she was the "hello" girl (american is what he meant, I'm guessing) and she said "No, I'm the "hola" girl, she's the "hello" girl."And he says, "the life of the party you americans."...in Spain that's quite a compliment.
