This was the night that every senior student in Refi was waiting for. They had practiced dances, sketches, comedies, dramas tirelessly for two months just for this night. This was the night where every senior student could "let their hair down" before they have to work hard and study for their exams.
The szalagavató is the school leavers ceremony in Hungary. It starts with performances from the students, including a traditional waltz where the girls wear white bridal like dresses and the boys wear tuxedos. During the performance there were two waltzes. The one at the beginning was choreographed by one of my friends. While watching it I was just in awe. It was incredible and I was amazed at how the girls could dance in high heels, let alone walk in them! It was truly magnificent.
After the waltz, there were performances from the graduating classes. Some performed dances, dramas, mimes and of course at the end of their performances, they sang a song about their memories and their time at Refi. One of my classes performed a hilarious sketch. Their form teacher was watching television and she kept on changing the channels. At first there were some of the boys who were jumping into the sea and then they were chased by a "shark" (which was actually an inflatable dolphin). Then the channel changed again to a Hungarian kids channel 'MiniMax', some of the students were pretending to be children, by putting their heads through a curtain and using their hands to move trousers and shoes as if they had smaller bodies. Then with their "bodies" they were dancing to different songs such as Kung Fu Fighting or Gangnam Style. The sketch was hilarious, particularly when they made a parody of a certain teacher in school! Another class did a "Mission Impossible" sketch when they were dramatizing the time they hacked into a teacher's e-register! The most senior class in the school did a dance to the song 'CandyMan' by Christian Aguilera. Their outfits were reminiscent of the 1950s (one of my favourite style decades - the clothes were gorgeous!)
After the performance ended, there was about a ten minute break and then the graduating classes stood in a line on stage with their form teachers. The headmaster and the school pastor gave a little speech and read from the Bible. After this, the classes form teachers put on a "ribbon" either on the front of the suit or the blouse, or on the side of their arm. The "ribbon" had the students class on it, the name of the school and the year they started school and the year they will graduate from school. Apparently they are really hard to put on, so a huge admiration for the form teachers who managed to do about thirty of them! My best friend and I were holding on to each others hands. We are so immensely proud of the students and wish them all the best for their future.
After the ceremony had finished, it was time to head over to the Mudrany Restaurant, where a fantastic banquet was prepared. After a speech from one of the teachers, the teachers clinked their champagne glasses with each other and then the students clinked their glasses with the teachers. It was very sweet. After the banquet finished, it was time for dancing. It was a special kind of Hungarian music (wedding party music as it was described). However I didn't really dance to it, until a few of my students asked me to dance with them. Aiysha had to go back to my flat and Skype a friend, however I stayed a little longer and one of the teachers gave me a huge box of cakes to take home with me (yummy!) Once I had dropped the cakes off at the flat, it was time for us to go back out to the after parties, where we stayed until 3:15am and returned back to the flat at 3:30am! I was absolutely shattered as was Aiysha, but it was worth it. I enjoyed my very first szalagavató and hopefully it won't be my last!
Aiysha and I going to the szalagavató
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRBc3EP_III
Highlights from the szalagavató - sorry it's in Hungarian!
