Graduation Party

Dec. 15th

On my last day in Piedras Gordas before heading out for the winter holiday I had the opportunity to attend a graduation party.  It was thrown for the adult class that’s taught in the afternoon for students that want to recieve their high school diploma.  This was the first year that the class was held, so the students were celebrating their 7th grade graduation.  It was really fun and heartwarming to see how excited the students were to finish up their first year back at school.  The age range of students varries greatly, some students are fifteen year-olds that had just been out of school for a year, and others hadn’t attended classes for over thirty years.

The activities started out with numerous rounds of brindis being passed around.  The snacks ranged from ham and american cheese on a stick to bright colored marshmellows mixed in with cheetos.  Next up was musical chairs.  The teachers and I were asked to participate in the first round.  When it came down to the final chair I was left to take on maestro (teacher) Gaspar, the most serious maestro at the school and by far the largest man in the room.  To everyone delight when the music came to a stop maestro Gaspar and I rushed for the seat with such enthusiasm that he ended up sitting in my lap.  Once everyone had the chance to play musical chairs the students handed out gifts to their “secret santas.”  My favortite part of the celebration was hearing the students pridefully talk about their experiences being back in school and their heartfelt gratitude to those that made it possible.  Then came the flour and candy filled pinata.  When it broke everyone rushed in to collect the candy.  The most avid candy-snatcher was maestro Gasper who returned from the pile covered with flour from head to tow. The party ended with the ubiquous Panamanian party meal: arroz con pollo, potato salad, and chicha.