This coming Friday, there is the 2015 Junior - Senior Banquet (JSB). This is the major formal occasion for the year when the Juniors (Grade 11's) put on a prom event for the Seniors. The Sophomores are also invited as it gives them an idea of the kind of event they will prepare for next year. However, JSB is much more than a prom. Students and teachers wear formal attire, there is a buffet, decorations, a program (though on a much grander scale than a prom), no parents are invited, and we all - teachers and students - get bussed to the event which is at a local hotel. There the similarity with a prom stops.
The differences are more than the similarities. It all starts with the official "asking" season which was about 6 weeks ago and the first 2 weeks were only for Grade 12's to ask a person to be their date. (On an aside, my teaching assistant in my classroom has been asked by a boy in Grade 12 to be his date, if she doesn't get deported first, which is another story.) There is usually a fun event (eg. a flash mob, spontaneous ice cream party) that announces this asking season. After the Grade 12's have had their go then the Grade 11's and 10's get to ask a date. For the Christmas party, the girls often ask the boys (it used to be a Sadie Hawkins but recently was changed to either boy asks or girl asks) but for JSB the boys almost always do the asking. Here is a picture of the invitation:
It is a secret venue that everyone gets bussed to with only the Grade 11's, their sponsors, and parents who request knowledge of the venue for the sake of letting their babysitter know, are privy to the information. The theme is also a secret. Our first year the theme was 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and the second year the theme was 'The Great Gatsby' (yes, the book), set in the 1920's. I don't know the theme for this year at all; it truly is a highly guarded secret.
This year I am wearing a cream blouse with a camisole underneath, a burgundy to-the-floor skirt (which I am nervous about as it is an unusual style for me), pearls, lots of pearl / gold / cream-coloured bracelets, and heels. I hope in these last days to find a nice scarf that goes with the skirt to add some colour and warmth (the rooms are air-conditioned) to the outfit; I only got that idea of a scarf yesterday so it may not happen as there are only 4 days left to find one and days are very busy during the week.
This is Hannah's first formal event and I think she will look lovely. There was much turbulence in her finding a dress for this event. She had certain ideas, of course, but so did her parents in terms of modesty and price. After praying and a lot of looking, we are all happy with her dress. It is a light blue colour with a bit of a princess waistline, fitted top with a lace overlay and a chiffon type of skirt, to the floor. It has a cream belt with gold buckle and she found a beautiful gold and pearl necklace. She'll wear cream sandals. She bought quite a bit of makeup which she has been experimenting with this weekend, with some hairstyle experimenting as well. She also bought a present and card for her "date" (a jokey kind of card based on a mutual joke between them, and a wallet).
A boy named Joel asked Hannah to go with him. They are good friends, and I'm pretty confident at saying they are just friends. Hannah's good friend was also asked by a mutual friend, so they are all hoping they will be seated at the same table together (arranged seating). Joel is a very nice boy. His family is a missionary family from America and he is in the same grade as Hannah. His mom is a P.E. teacher at the school who also happens to be Hannah's soccer coach. (Hannah plays on the same soccer team as Joel's sister, Garth is the assistant coach, and Kate is in the same class as Joel's brother. These kinds of interconnections between people are quite typical at Dalat.)
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| Hannah is the fourth from the left. Joel is on her right. Hannah's good friend is the girl second from the left and the mutual friend is the boy on the left. This picture was taken after Hannah's 15th birthday get-together. |
The food is always good - buffet style. The first year we were here there was mostly Western food (eg potato salad, gingerbread 'pirates', bread pudding with custard, salmon) but last year it had more Malaysian / Asian food (eg ice kacing, local fish, spring rolls, chicken and beef satay with peanut sauce).
Most of the evening is taken up with skits or a long drama in different scenes that goes along with the theme, usually with some humour. In between the scenes we have different courses of food or walk around and get pictures taken with others or among the props around the room, and there are tributes to the Grade 12's given by the Grade 11's. There is not a dance as there would be at a prom. The props are quite extensive. At the Pirates of the Caribbean JSB the props were things like a dingy, part of a pirate ship, a hanging gallows, a (root) beer stand, and lots of paraphenalia around the room and on the tables. At the Great Gatsby JSB there was an old-fashioned wooden car with a black and white movie behind it that conveyed when you got your picture taken that you were in the movie travelling down the road in the car. There was also a miniature 1920's movie theatre, a skyline to have your picture taken in front of, and some staff and students had outfits that were 1920-ish. All the props are made by the Grade 11's with the help of their sponsors throughout the year.
There will be a lot of hype and students will only have a half day though teachers will have to stay until 3:00.
Next week I'll post more pictures and tell you the details of this year's JSB.
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