Tag Archives: Fiesta de egresados

Egresados

06 Tuesday Dec 2011

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Egresados, viaje de Egresados, fiesta de Egresados, ceremonia de Egresados, cena de Egresados. Last year I was still wondering what an egresado was. Now I know. My son has graduated, he is an egresado. My Belgian son has graduated in Argentina. He couldn’t be happier.

I suppose graduating is a big thing everywhere in the world, although I really can’t remember mine. I do remember that it wasn’t such a bit deal. All I remember is that I was happy school was over.

Here egresados have a special status. Their uniform defers from that of the younger years, many of them are ‘prefects’ and have some kind of “power” over the younger. And the celebrations don’t seem to end. Sounds like fun!

But my son has decided to go back to Belgium to study at the university there, and I have to admit that he just wants to get over and done with all these ceremonies and parties. He just wants to leave. It is not that he does not like Argentina, he just doesn’t not like the nightlife. He wants to dance all night long on techno-house music, and the mere sound of Cumbia and Reggeaton is enough for him wanting to go to bed. He is definitely not living in he right country then.

So the Egresados trip, where nightlife was most important, was just OK. The fiesta de Egresados was fun until they changed the music. The ceremony, where everyone had to go on stage, one by one, to receive his diploma together with a big hug from the teachers, he wanted to skip. And then last but not least. The big official dinner. This turned out to be lots of fun.

This last party reminds me of a wedding party, with a huge reception, after which we were all seated at round tables in the theatre of the school. It was touching when the graduates all entered the room, with loud music and a light show, after which they started dancing, all embracing each other, more like a rugby team then like a group of class mates. Argentines, especially boys, are very physical. They were like team, where even my son who has only spend 2 years in this group, was accepted. “Hay un Belga”, was said in a presentation.

The whole night there were people dancing, and it was only around 1am that we got out main course. In belgium a wedding party is considered bad if dessert isn’t served before midnight… Here the nights seem to last forever.

Very soon the bow ties and the jackets were removed, the sleeves rolled up and out of the pants. And boys wearing a tuxedo was just a mere memory. They (and we) had a ball. They are now ready to start a next stage in their lives. That of my son will be in Belgium…

My First Pre

23 Wednesday Nov 2011

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Although my son turned 18 and loves going out, he is not such a big organiser. He usually goes to pre-boliches (pre-parties) at friends houses. That is what he is going to do tonight, before he is off to his “fiesta de egresados”. Yes, he is graduating.

But also today, my youngest one turns 16. Up to now she was only allowed to go to “Fiesta de 15′s” (after all, grandma and grandpa are there, so I suspected these parties were safe), and occasionally she went to the movies or for a drink at Starbucks (to describe the innocence) with her friends.

But today there is no stopping her. After all, this is her sixteenth birthday, and her brothers graduation party. She invited all her friends over to my house. 20 in total. I already warned the neighbours. There is this rule in photography that also counts for Argentine girls : “una punta más es el doble”. 2 girls make a lot of noise, add one and they make noise for 4, put 4 girls together and the noise equals 8, and 20 girls?!

Pre’s are famous for the kids to get drunk. Drinks at boliches are expensive, so better take whatever alcohol you can before you leave. My daughter doesn’t drink. Not because she is some kind of a saint, she just doesn’t like the taste. Except maybe limoncello. So I asked, “The girls aren’t going to drink alcohol, are they?“ Hmm, that was a wrong question. “Of course they drink!” she answered. “What do they drink?” (I was thinking about wine, beer.) She said, “Probably Wodka”. (Qué?! The girls drink Wodka?) So I said I will buy the Wodka. In my mind I was counting, 20 girls, how much Wodka can a 16 year old girl have before she passes out or throws up in my sofa? At least they wouldn’t be mixing drinks. And I would get empanadas to fill their stomachs.

I didn’t have to say anything. My daughter reads my mind. Mom. You are old fashioned, too concerned, and whatever other words she called me I immediately pushed them into my unconscious mind. They are all bringing their own drinks. (Qué? Do their parents know that?). She then lectured me, saying that this shouldn’t be my concern, and that there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop them. I am not going to look into their bags and confiscate the bottles, am I? (I am definitely old fashioned and over concerned).

Around 1 o’clock they are all leaving to the party, the most fun about those fiestas de egresados seems to be, to watch how drunk the egresados are. If they have ever been normal drunk on other occasions, now they are supposed to be super drunk. (Getting drunk is actually a goal?) But this fits into the picture a friend of mine gave me of these parties. Kids are so drunk they don’t even know their home address anymore.

That doesn’t worry me, I thought that maybe I should worry about the safety of my (sober) daughter. But knowing that the boys’s libido, even at the age of 18 year, diminishes with the amount of alcohol they take, I don’t think I should worry about that.

And if I should wonder around what time they will be getting home, they are very clear. Just in time to have a shower, comb their hair, put on there uniform and leave for school.