While I was busy planning a boring Science Fair, my amigo Mike, who is doing the same thing as I but in a high school here in Madrid, was in charge of throwing a Prom for his students. The evolution for how this became his responsibility went something like this... note that I took the liberty to paraphrase:
....First day of school in September....
Mike: Hello! I'm Mike from Tennessee and I'm looking forward to working with you!
Bilingual Coordinator (i.e. his boss): Hello! I'm your boss and last year's Fulbrighter organized a prom here and we want you to do the same thing. By the way, here is your class schedule for the year.
Mike: Oh. Ok, great. I'll see what I can do.
A bunch of kids and a teacher I don't know:
What followed next were a few months of planning, assorted props gathering (such as a tropical backdrop for pictures, streamers and balloons) and lectures to the female student body that boots and mini-skirts were not appropriate attire for a prom. He also managed to wrangle up some extra chaperones for prom night to pass out flowers and check tickets at the entrance. That was where I came in. I never thought I'd be on the adult end of prom and now that I have, I can sympathize with why some of my teachers looked bored out of their minds while the kids were busy humping like monkeys and trying to sneak out of the dance-hall to find the hidden flask in the bushes.
Insert awkward prom memory here:______________________
Really though, aside from being a grown-up (eek!) at a kid party, it was fun to see the different outfits the students chose (some were looking sharp while still others wore jeans and mini-skirts) and their excitement at the entrance of the prom court and subsequent crowning of the King and Queen. (I wonder if it meant more to them given that Spain is a Parliamentary Monarchy?) Anyway, they all seemed pretty happy with the results of the royalty picks.
Given that we even danced the Electric Slide to Billy Joel's Achy Breaky Heart, I'd have to say the only genuinely American things the prom was missing were the limos and the girls puking in the bathroom. However, as this was only the Second Annual Prom, I'm confident that within a few years it is bound to reach "Social Event of the Year" status among the high-schoolers... well that or maybe they just won't show up in jeans.
Prom court- the winners in blue just right of center
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