All of the senior formers (11th grade is the final grade here in Ukraine) have balloons I think. They let them go at some point during the ceremony...and I'm sure some words were spoken...but I couldn't tell you what was said :)
The rest of the school (I think there are around 400 students at the gymnasia)
Jamie and I with the one of the English teachers who has been our main contact at the school. Her son was also graduating and was in the 11th form class that we taught.
The "Last Bell" signifying that school is over and summer is starting! It is a tradition for an 11th former (senior) to carry a 1st former (kindergarten kiddo) on their shoulder while the little one rings a bell. They walked all around the square for everyone to see.
This is Zhenya (the name Zhenya here in Ukraine can be both male and female) who carried the little girl on his shoulders for the last bell. The seniors also escort out the little kiddos...so so cute :)
More senior formers escorting the young kids. The guy in the suit is Vlad, who is the English teacher's son. 
Check out the pom-pom on this little girl :)I have neat video of a performance that was done in the middle of the ceremony, but don't have time to upload it now. I need to have an entire day of uploading videos for everyone to see...just don't have the free time now!
Also making today a big day was the fact that it is Jamie's birthday! Turning the big 2-5 here in Ukraine meant that we had to have a few tricks up our sleeve.
Yesterday after Russian class, we surprised Jamie by going to have some good ol' pizza at one of the few restaurants here in Oster...the pizzeria. We get pizza with chicken, veggies (tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, onions, corn, etc.), sometimes white sauce (I think it's mayo...as opposed to using tomato sauce), and sometimes with red sauce, pineapple, cheese, etc. I can't eat the mushrooms...they taste too weird. But the rest of it I can eat without a problem (picking off an onion every now and then...). Impressed, Mom? 
Check out the really cool Hard Rock Cafe pin on Jamie's shirt...it's from 2009. Thanks to Cassi's mom for sticking that in her luggage at the last minute :)
Today for Jamie's birthday, we surprised him (again) with some cake, strawberry sparkling cider, and an authentic Ukrainian birthday card. Mr. birthday boy himself.
Lydia, Jamie, Mark, Cassi, and Lyuda (our technical/cross-cultural teacher)
same pic...with our language teacher Zhenya. I've got great video of us surprising Jamie...but again, it will have to be uploaded later. And of an awesome firework candle that went on the cake. Get excited.Tomorrow we are off to Kozelets for a technical/cross-cultural lesson...and then some of us will be going on to Chernihiv from there. My mission tomorrow: to find a pair of black high heels that I can walk/stand in. I feel like it's a necessary purchase to become more Ukrainian... :) and let's face it. Lydia likes to shop. The end.
I'll end with a question for you to figure out! In class this week, we learned how to describe appearances (tall, short, eye color, hair length/color, etc.). So, for one of the activities in class, we were each given a post-it note with a celebrity on it. We had to figure out who the person was (it was on our backs...so we couldn't see the name) by asking about their appearance. So...the question. What does Cassi's card say? And no one that speaks Russian/Ukrainian can guess on this! Leave your reply in the comments!
4 comments:
Charlie Sheen? :)
I cannot believe you eat pizza with mayo instead of sauce, and all those veggies. I want to see video of THAT!
I enjoyed the last bell ceremony! And the little girl with the bell was adorable. My LCF was telling me that sometimes the bell is pretty heavy and the senior winds up getting smacked a few times in the head with it.
We also were asked to say a few words, so we each said a sentence. I was lucky enough to get the one that told the graduates congrats and wished them the best in life. I wouldn't say it was flawless Russian, but I nailed it!
Also, I would have loved to hear how you described Cassie's person. So many fun things could be said.
Britney Spears!
gcon wins the prize!! how did you figure it out gracie?!?
Post a Comment