As a result, the school hosts an "adult ceremony" for all of the seniors right before Spring Festival (in January or February — yes, this post is very old) because that is when they all "turn" 18. Before you jump to conclusions, remember that two of my very good friends were actual, real-live debutantes in their respective Southern towns. Anyone who's spent even a passing amount of time on MTV has seen My Super Sweet Sixteen. And, just about all of my female students in Salinas had a Quinceanera. (Of course, those of us who grew up in boring New England had no such rites of passage, but I'm not bitter.)
Anyone who taught the seniors was "cordially invited" to attend the ceremony. About half an hour in, I remembered that I brought my iPad and started to take notes. Without further ado, we join the BNDS A Level Centre's Adult Ceremony, already in progress.
All of A2A is on the stage. They sing three songs with a running slide show behind them. There are not enough microphones and an obvious karaoke track under most of the songs. Then, they all came on stage holding candles. They weren't playing "This Little Light of Mine", although it might have been, but some suitably slow Chinese song. At the end, they all said something to their parents, I think, and then blew out their candles. Maybe blowing out the candle on their youth? How fitting that the youngest, a full year younger having skipped a grade, couldn't seem to blow out her candle. It took her three tries.
Then A2X took over.
The lights went all epileptic and the girls came out in matching white faire isle sweaters with black tights and trainers. They were dancing to "It's My Life", but without the attitude that makes American cheerleaders sell their modern dance moves. Bless. They just don't have the sexual innuendo of a Western teen.
Tracy came out and sang in Chinese a capella. But his back-up ruined the effect by wearing track suit bottoms with a suit coat. Go Tom. They read a bunch of... something (all in Chinese, of course), but there was still only one mic, and they clumsily passed it from hand to hand. The school has robo-lights, but it can't invest in another wireless mic or two?
Then a group of four came out for karaoke. Let's ignore the snake skin stripper heels for a moment, and focus on the audio. I can hear the audio track, but I can't hear the students. But about those shoes, the one foot in front of the other hip swing walk really doesn't help dispel the stripper look the 4 1/2" heels created.
And then the tears started. The whole class came on stage in three distinct lines, and the girls started talking. And crying. And then the groups switched. And on it went. Tank felt the need to answer his phone. On stage.
They then broke up to get some flowers to give to their parents. I was really worried because the program mentioned "reading letters from parents and interviewing the students". I thought it would be a one-by-one kind of thing. Fortunately not. The students talked to their parents individually, and there were some more tears.
But then it was the Clapping Ceremony. I am not joking. Principal Li put on his white gloves. The students lined up in the back of the room, and then their parents took each one by the hand and walked them over a "bridge" made of risers of different heights and then through the Adult Gate (made of cardboard in the best Prom style). Don't forget our girls are in stripper heels — but they do not having a stripper's skillz to walk in said heels. Of course, there were cameras everywhere. Some more hugs and tears with the parents, and then the students walked up on the stage where the principal clapped them on the shoulder three times, straight down. Clap. Clap. Clap. And this wasn't a tap. Poor Holly, a thin, little slip of a girl, was almost knocked over in the process.
The students walked off the stage and shook all the teachers' hands in one giant receiving line. With photographers. And hugs. And tears. My poor Canadian got all flustered and ended up thanking the kids instead of congratulating them.
After the Clapping, we sat back down. I forget now why the flag ceremony came in at this time (quite likely there was no reason), but the kids folded up the flag. I didn't know you folded a flag like a blanket. Or that you put it on a chair to fold it the last couple of times. I somehow doubt that the Chinese, patriotic as they are, don't have more formal rules for handling a flag, and having seen the weekly flag ceremony at school, I doubt they there are not people at school aware of said rules. But there it was.
And then, teachers' wishes. There's nothing like seeing yourself on the big screen. The students had come around to all the teachers and taped us giving them our wishes for the future. I hauled out my parents' tried and true advice: Use your intelligence guided by experience, and watch out for the drunks and fools.
One final thought: That bunny rabbit on the screen has a safety pin in its ear. I didn't know the Chinese had punk rock rabbits.
A few hours after it began, it was over. And in a classic move, those of us in attendance went for a beer... What was that about drunks and fools?
- Do you really care this was posted using BlogPress from my iPad?
Location:Beijing, China
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