First Bell

9/1/2011

Today was the first day of the new school year, referred to as the first bell. First, at about 8:30 there was an assembly at the school. Older students mc'd the event. At it, the director, the mayor, and some students spoke. The first graders collectively read a poem. Someone sang a song. Music was played through some speakers. Everyone was dressed really nicely. I wore my black suit. Many of the students had brought flowers to give to the teachers. Oh, and I finally danced the hora at the assembly. One of the students pulled me into one of the hora circles. The hora is basically the national dance of Moldova, although people dance it in other places. Students also brought food, mostly fruit. The assembly lasted about an hour. Near the end, bells were rung, hence the first bell name. It was very different from any in America. Apart from the music and dancing, it was also held outside. Everyone stood in a horseshoe, with the teachers near the front. The students also seemed to be organized by class. During the assembly some of the younger children played with balloons. The assembly took about an hour.

After the assembly, classes started. Students had a meeting with their homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher seems to be much more important than they are in the US, although I am not sure if the students have the same homeroom teacher throughout their time at the school, or if it changes every year. It might be like the US where the class adviser stays with the class throughout high school. There were some other classes, but I only had one. The schedule hadn't been made yet, so it was an adventure trying to figure out which classes I would have, and particularly when they would be. In between one of the classes, the 12th graders gave all the teachers food and champagne. I had a couple of pieces of kiwis.

I had my class after that. My 9th form (grade) class went well, although not as I had planned because the students didn't have textbooks. The room was also really hot. After the last class, there was a teacher's meeting where we discussed the day. At around 1:30, the meeting was over and we were done for the day. The first day of school celebration is definitely something unique to Moldovan culture, and it was fun to experience even if it was kind of a hectic, although short, day.