Two couples are going on African Safaris when they leave school on the 17th. Before going on the safaris they need to get a variety of shots. The system here is a little different. We have an excellent government liaison officer who helps us in many different ways (from arranging transportation, getting visas and driver’s licenses to virtually any dealings with the government). It truly is not what you know (although that helps tremendously here) much of it is who you know and she has many contacts in high places. Typically to get these shots, you have to fill out mountains of paperwork, go to a government office for a day to file the papers and then return the following day and you might get lucky and get your shots. But in the case of our people, arrangements were made where they were taken by car to a location and a nurse came out of a building, got into the car with them and administered the shots. All this took probably 15 minutes as our liaison officer had arranged everything in advance. She has proven to be a very valuable resource for all of us. It seems that everyone knows her and shows her great respect.
We celebrated Senior Graduation on Friday, June 15th at the famous Alexandria Bibliotheca. Ceremonies were held in one of the large stadium seating auditoriums. Graduation was unlike any that we have ever attended in the states. First of all, it was to start at 8:00 pm but as is typical with everything here, it did not begin until around 8:20. Prominent family members make their entrances and families greet each other prior to the opening procession. Members of the junior class march in carrying flags representing the countries that the seniors come from as their respective national anthems are played. This marked the first time in nearly a year that we heard the Star Spangled Banner -- it was so good to hear it again! Each senior spoke so even though it is a small class (17 seniors), the entire ceremony lasted for over two hours. There were two large video screens flanking the stage so when senior spoke, a camera would show the reaction of their family – kinda like being at an Academy Awards ceremony! Following the graduation a reception was held for the seniors sponsored by the school, individual receptions are not held unless they are for only family members. The school year is now officially over and we were given two workdays to wrap the year before heading home.
