High School

Today, for America Day at one of the many local high schools, I was asked to talk to a group of students. There was no theme or topic given. The organizers just wanted a native speaker to talk to the students. I was escorted to a room with about 25 students who were bunched in groups and jabbering away. The scene seemed pretty typical to me.

The teacher asked the kids to take their seats and I was introduced:

“This is Tom – he is from America”

As in any group, there were a few kids who were deeply engaged, many who were somewhat interested, and a couple who could barely stay awake. Since I had no topic assigned, I wanted to get them to tell me what they were interested in. Only two of the students had been to America and they did not want to talk or share much information. I asked the class “When you think of America – what is the first image that comes to your mind.” The response was “McDonalds.” There is a McDonalds very close to the school in a beautiful baroque building that also houses the City Hall. The second image that they said was “fat people.” We talked a while about how people in Hungary walked everywhere while we Americans tend to take our cars everywhere. There seems to me to be quite a few fat people here in Hungary, but I didn’t say that to the students.

One of the more engaged students wanted to know about Barack Obama so I talked a bit about politics and the election. The 45 minutes passed quickly and the kids seemed to enjoy the discussion. I came away feeling like I had done my bit to help out the American Corner here in Pecs.

Then, today, Thursday April 30 we were invited to a High School Graduation. However, they do not use that term. It is called “School Leaving Day.” It is a really strange system. The kids in the 12th grade all over Hungary participate in this “School Leaving Day” on the same day. However, their work is not done. They now have a six week exam period. That is not a typo – it is a six week exam period. They take written exams and then oral exams during this six week period. The graduates are divided into groups A,B,C, and D according to their concentration of study.

They stand with their group during the ceremony which has the typical music, speeches, poems and awards. The parents had picked fresh flowers late the evening before (in the rain) and the halls of the school and 12^th grade classrooms were decorated with fresh flowers.

This is Carol with the new graduate - Karen Lolita Takas

Most of the graduates were given flowers by their families, but there were no caps and gowns and no diplomas. We really felt honored to be invited to attend this ceremony.