Sunday, May 27, 2007
Throwback
Mike (ESI teacher last year) and I on a train to Krakow, Poland spring of 2006.
Our traveling group to Krakow, in a park in the city.
Me, Matt, Zach in Wenceslas Square the first week or so of being in CZ; fall of 2005.
The Charles Bridge on the Vltava River one cold February evening around dusk.
Amy, Ben, Me, Kass in Old Town square sometime winter of 2005/06.
And recently- my mullet with Kass. I unveiled it at a restaurant, this picture was taken just minutes after arriving. So while slightly posed, this picture does capture the feelings of that moment.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Last Bell 2007
So the end of the year is quickly approaching. The seniors have finished all their classes, and they only have their leaving exams ahead of them before they can say a final farewell to the Gymnazium and move on to bigger and better things (some of them). The rest of the school still has lessons till the end of June, but with class trips and other events, this time will go by very quickly. But Friday May 11 was the last day at school for the seniors, a special day entitled "Last Bell" because on this day they will hear the last bell of their adolescent school days. Lessons aren't actually held for the seniors on this day, on this day they do something special. It begins early in the morning when they wake up and put on some crazy outfit. Then they grab water bottles, water guns, etc and roam about town in groups terrorizing and holding people up for money (the money goes to their last party and to improvements in the school). They will also brand the name/number of their class in lipstick onto the forehead of anyone they catch. Then they meet back at school at 8am to initiate the junior class and designate them the new senior class. All in all it's a fun morning filled with water fights, lipstick tattoos, disgusting food, silly costumes, etc.
Each senior class in town (there are a few different high schools) makes a poster and puts it in a window of the main shopping district- Prague Street with pictures of each student and memories from their years together. This is the 4.C class poster.
Misa, Katka, Tereza finding younger students to pour water on.
Students of the 6.A class taking money from younger students upon threat of a soaking.
4.C students roaming the neighborhood.
4.C setting up the water gauntlet through which the junior students will run as part of their initiation.
At the end of the line there is a table of disgusting food and drinks prepared by the seniors. After getting drenched the junior students are made to kneel down and partake of this food and drink.
Ondra getting initiated.
Pavla at the end of the line.
Ben is a substitute class teacher for one of the junior classes. The regular teacher was sick that day and so Ben ran the gauntlet instead. Here he is warning the students not to throw water on him (they did a little).
And then he ate and drank.
Ben with the class he had to go through initiation with.
Seniors Petr and Jakub.
Seniors Helena and Pavla.
With Ben. Notice the lipstick writing on our faces. 