Graduation

One of the biggest days of your life is the day you graduate.  That doesn’t change when you are a student in Tanzania either.

Today I attended the graduation of the Form IV students of Mwatisi Secondary School.  I can definitely say that it was ENTIRELY different than any graduation I had ever been to in the states, both high school and university – and believe me, I have been to MANY graduation ceremonies just this past year!



For one, the school grounds are decorated by the teachers and the students the days (or in this case one day) prior to graduation, and there is a definite Tanzanian flair to it.  I was recruited by my mkuu to help paint the trees with a white limestone/water/paint mix using a brush that was pretty much two pieces of wood slapped together on a handle.  The teachers said I could do whatever I wanted, so I got some inspiration from Dr. Seuss and went crazy with it, or as crazy as I could be before my stomach started yelling at me to get fed.



As I admired my work and the work of the students, excitement started growing more and more inside of me, and I could not wait until the actual graduation day.  There were splashes of color everywhere.  The school grounds were decorated with various scraps and colors of “kitenge” (what is known as the fabric found commonly here in Tanzania) that were tied together and hung from the trees to create a banner of sorts.  Also, the students and teachers took the same paint mix that I used for some of the trees to paint the rocks lining the plants of the school.  Starting at the top of the hill behind the school was a railing made of bamboo that was striped with the white paint, ending at a pavilion for the teachers and guests of honor on the graduation grounds.





Finishing touches were made this morning before graduation started at 10am, including the stereos and speakers for the DJ and MC.  YES, you read correctly!  There is no live instrumental ensemble or stereo that plays the well-known graduation march, but instead there is a DJ and an MC that runs the show, because this graduation was a performance of sorts rather than the graduations in the U.S. that are riddled with speeches and names being called.  Here, it is much more than that.  It is a celebration of the end of an education and a bittersweet goodbye to those students that have worked to get where they are.  Now I must admit, not all graduations in Tanzania are like this, but I was lucky enough to be placed at a school that puts on a grand party for their graduates.  ;D

The graduation ceremony started at the front of the school where there are Scouts (similar to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America combined with ROTC, I suppose) that led the procession through the school and down to the graduation grounds.  When the graduates reached their pavilion, which is separate from the guest and teacher pavilion, music was played and the students danced in place until every student arrives at their seats.  Another difference I saw was something I half expected and half did not want to be true – there was not a single parent in the audience or seating area below the two pavilions.  I do not think it was because the parents did not care, but more so the fact that they were arriving in true Tanzanian fashion…late.  When the MC, who was clad in what Americans would consider stereotypical African garb, started his introduction and after we (teachers, including myself) finished introducing ourselves in Kiswahili, I saw one parent in the entire audience.

As the ceremony and the performances went on throughout the morning, and more and more parents, families, and onlookers trickled in, the graduation accumulated a large crowd.  Performances were done by various student groups and individuals that were in honor of the Form IV graduates.  It actually seemed more like a talent show rather than a graduation, but still incredibly entertaining nonetheless!  There was a mix of acts from all Forms of students, most of which were students singing poems or songs they revised for the graduates, Bongo Flava, or rapping (some freestyle ones which were pretty impressive), and one that was a play and another was an acrobat/tumbling act which was cool.  Between every act was music being played and almost every graduate stood up to dance in place…that would rarely ever happen at a graduation in the states!  Also, everything was in Kiswahili, but luckily this was the second time I got to watch these acts.  Yesterday, while I taught only in the morning, I stayed at school until around 6pm helping decorate as well as watching the rehearsals for each act and listening to the teachers constructively critique the performances.  That was a first for me too…

After all the performances, a few speeches were made by Mkuu Kipangula, the school board director, a short one by Eric saying his goodbye, and a dodged bullet of a speech that I almost had to give in Kiswahili that I was not at all prepared for, the students were finally able to receive their faux graduation certificates (that was one thing very similar to my graduations in America).  What I thought was  really neat were the leis that many students received from their families as tokens of graduating.  While Americans receive flowers or gifts, the tokens of homemade and bought leis reminded me of the head pieces, wreaths, sashes, or pins that I have seen proud families adorn their graduates in Thailand.  It was awesome to see the varying traditions of different cultures on special occasions.  :)

Awards of excellence were given to students that excelled in academics, not only in Form IV but also the top student in each of the other Forms according to their Mock NECTA Exams and marks in school, and the finale consisted of all the graduates forming a semi-circle facing the teachers and singing goodbye.  It was truly heartwarming and although Eric would hate me for writing this, I actually saw him get choked up.  ;)  I don’t blame him – he was proud of his Form IV students, whom he has taught for two years, and they are finally graduating!  I am sure that when the time comes for my students to leave…I will probably cry…

I digress.  Once the ceremony was closed by the Mkuu, all was in calamity because Eric had started the precedence two years ago of taking pictures of students and their families and later printing them pictures the next time he would go into town…  Pictures cost money (350 Tsh/picture to be exact) and before the graduation ceremony even began that morning, I was volunteered (by Eric) to be the photographer because I was the only one between us that had a camera, so I took down names and money for how many pictures they wanted.  We did this for the sake of volunteering and not for profit, but man, we should have been paid because IT.WAS.CRAZY.  Once the ceremony was over, I had dozens of families and students urging me and almost tugging me in every direction to get their pictures taken – with Mwalimu Eric, without him, by themselves, with family – in every possible pose, no matter how odd it seemed to me.  (By the way, I have no earthly clue how Tanzanians come up with their poses sometimes…but it is pretty entertaining to watch.)  Of course, my camera died after a couple hours of taking hundreds of pictures, so I had to go back up to the house to charge my battery before the dance party.

Case in point…  :P

Unfortunately, I never made it back to the dance party before it was over at sundown, but it was apparently was quite fun, according to Eric.  To be honest, I was not too disappointed because although I love dancing, I did not know exactly how I would appear to the students if I danced like a fiend.  I am sure I will join in on the fun either next year or more likely the last year I am here, once they are more used to me and my quirkiness.  :P

All in all, HONGERA to the all graduates (at Mwatisi and other secondary schools) and So long, and thanks for all the fish!  [That is a quote…by the way…]