Graduation

The graduation ceremonies went very smoothly this weekend. The one for the 6th graders and preschool was held in the church in the barrio. At one end is a pulpit and a picture of Santa Maria behind it. The national anthem played as each student walked down the aisle accompanied by a parent or sibling, dressed in their school uniforms. The parents dressed up for the occasion, some wearing what seemed like evening gowns. Even though none of the kids are mine, I felt proud of all of them, and could feel the pride emanating from everyone there. On Sunday was the graduation of the three workshops- Sewing, Baking and Arts & Crafts. We spent the morning decorating and preparing the rancho in the yard of the centro- hanging the board with the letters cut out of construction paper welcoming the graduates, red and green fabric, the red and green bows we´ve been working on all week, a makeshift christmas tree, floral arrangements, and the display case with the baked goods prepared by the participants of the workshops. After each student was called up to receive their diploma, 6 of the students from the sewing workshop modeled the clothes they made in the class. I was really impressed by what the ladies had made… (you can see in the picture). After the festivities were over, we ate one of the cakes in the display, some pasteles, which are like pastries filled with spiced chicken, drank a little beer and listened to some palo de mayo music, which is the carribean-soca type music from the people who live on the Atlantic Coast. The picture is of Doña Esmeralda giving the opening greeting at the graduation of the workshops...