And Not Forget

Tom & ceremony organizer & crowd

As you may recall, we are English teachers.  It may seem like a lowly profession to some, but here on the islands it actually commends some status.  This is never more apparent than at an English Ceremony.  It used to be we went to very few ceremonies.  Maybe a couple of times a year, but as English programs have grown and expanded, we find a good bit of our time taken up with these certificate ceremonies.  In fact I had one yesterday and I’ve got two more scheduled for this week!

We’ve noticed as the programs have grown and expanded, so have the certificate ceremonies. It has gotten to the point that these ceremonies have become something of a double-edged sword.  We feel great pride and happiness for the great accomplishment it represents for students, teachers and programs.   But on the other hand, we now expect all ceremonies to be multiple hours long with some very predictable parts that start to get rather boring...I’m recalling a college professor who always brought a good book tucked up his robes for the commencement ceremonies...I think I understand (though it might look a little different in our context.)

So, having just been to a ceremony last night, I thought I could share with you some of the comedy and drama that an English ceremony includes these days:

The arrival: Walking in, I and my teammates were all met with rousing cheers.  I felt like an English teaching rock star!  Ushered to our seats of honor, we were then given our flower necklaces and greeted by all the teachers and program directors.  Then, and this is vey standard, we sat for another 20 minutes waiting for the ceremony to get going.

Students singing ABBA in candelight

The prayers: Most ceremonies start with a prayer and are followed by someone reciting in Arabic from their Holy Book. This does not usually take very long.  Perhaps most striking is the total lack of interest of most people there.  It is expected, but no one pays it much attention.

The entertainment: It has become pretty standard for there to be some kind of a skit, song, or both or multiple of both.  Song choices are always interesting...Abba’s “I Have a Dream” and Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World” are perennial favorites.  This time we listened to “We Shall Overcome.”  Skits are various.  Some are really good, others are not, but three things can be depended on: someone overacting, yelling into microphones, and a moral of ‘Learning English will solve all your problems’.

The speeches:  After that usually comes the torturous part of the evening- handing out certificates.  This is unpleasant in almost any language, but one program had the bright idea of making their students say speeches of thanks after receiving their certificate.  Now every program does the same.  The results are like the Oscars with limited English.  Honestly, it’s kind of funny if it didn’t take hours.  The thanks are always to the same people (because who else is there to thank except the teachers, and program directors and maybe your family).  The mistakes are predictable too.  We’ve talked about making some sort of game of it: How many times do they pronounce the H in “honorable guests”?  How often do they thank the “honorable assistants”? How many students say, “And not forget, my teacher.”?  How many end their speech with, “Let me stop here.”?

Young student giving his speech

The Closing of the Ceremony: When all of the certificates have been handed out we still have two more speeches to go.  One is from the director of the program and the other is from one of us (usually Tom). Again, programs learn from one another, and at one point one program decided that these speeches should be introduced by the national anthems of the respective speaker’s countries.  Now, it just so happens that I (Tom) did not realize when a teacher asked me for the words to the national anthem that this is what he wanted to use it for.  Thinking it was for a listening exercise and since the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner” are quite difficult, I explained to him that instead of the national anthem I was giving him the words to another patriotic song, i.e. “God Bless America.”  And so that is why, now, when I stand up to give my speech I am greeted with the strains of “God Bless America” our not-quite-national anthem.

Four hours later the ceremony is finally done.

Even as I write, I can’t help but smile at it all.  And the teacher in me says, “Hey, they’re trying.  They’re learning.  They’re doing great!”  I just wish we could speed it up a bit…

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our island sister has recovered well from having hot oil splashed in her eye. We are thankful that there was no permanent damage. Our team’s guest for the past few weeks has left for the small island before returning home. We were thankful for her time with us. We’ve heard some encouraging stories lately of islanders seeking truth and even standing firm in the midst of persecution. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for our plans to do a memorial event for Megan’s grandfather— we are going to do it on Sunday (Sep 30th), the same day that they will be doing a memorial service in the US. Pray that both events go well and could be good, encouraging times. Pray for us as we decide who to invite, what to include and how to communicate well to islanders about the good news as seen in Grandad’s life. The kids still haven’t started school! They will go tomorrow and find out their classes and hopefully actual classes will begin sometime this week. Continue to pray that the kids would not be anxious but would transition well back into local school. Tom is still having tummy troubles— pray for his stomach to calm. One sister is having a hard time with her husband who has been repeatedly unfaithful— pray for her as she seeks God’s will in how to proceed in love and truth amidst her own hurt and frustration.