In Which I Relive Homecoming and All Night Grad in One Night, Except this Time all the 16-18 Year Olds are Drinking and Smoking

I.

On Friday night, I was transported back into the halls of Oakton High School as students in both ball gowns and slightly more risque get-ups hung lazed in the halls and pulsed to the music. I half expected Hutch to come barreling around the corner in his golf cart.

The fantasy quickly evaporated as I passed through one cloud of smoke and glassy-eyed student after the next. Having spent so much time in Austria over the years, I've been completely desensitized to the idea of 16 year old's legally smoking and drinking on school grounds. But still I had to laugh, I just could not for the life of me imagine this happening at Oakton.

Matura ball is often described as the Austrian version of prom (Matura is the qualifying exams students take for university, just like British A-levels). I soon realized that "prom" is hardly a good way to describe what was about to go down.

When I initially made plans with the other foreign language TAs at the HBLA to attend Matura ball, none of us had actually planned to stay that long. We'd pop in, say hello to our teachers and students, and catch the last train back to Salzburg.

That was until we realized that prom when you are 22 years old is a completely different ball game when there is beer, tons of food, a sort of restaurant set up on school grounds, performances, and student's parents all at Matura ball. Now prom starts to play second fiddle...

No.....It didn't take long for us to realize that Matura ball when you are 22 is actually a ton of fun.

Not to mention seeing the Direktor, the Sekretariat, your teachers, and students jamming it up on the dance floor is pretty hilarious. Before we knew it the last train to Salzburg had left and we were in no way ready to leave. 

So in sum, the best way to describe Maturaball would be homecoming and all night grad wrapped up into one. The entire school had been transformed to the point were I barely recognized it or knew my way around. Throughout the night, I ran into and chatted with my students. At this point I don't recognize many of them (see below), so it was pretty funny when a group of them would come up to me all "hiiiiiii oh you are here!" and of course I would be all "hiiiiiiiii" back while simultaneously feeling like the worst TA ever for not recognizing all of them. My personal favorite of all the hellos came from one of my few male students at the school: "HIIIII HOW ARE YOU (HIGH FIVE) I AM FUCKED."

Blurry iphone pics will have to suffice:

Watching some of my students perform an opening dance from the balcony.

The parents seated to the side. 

More dance performances

While the students do this....

The parents and teachers do this....

Midnight skits and performances

II.

Sooo in time for my one month anniversary in Austrian schools, I decided I'd report on what's been going on. Here are some highlights:

• The students all stand up when the teacher or I enter the room. At first I was a bit taken aback, now it makes me feel pretty legit.
• The students can be really chatty in class. This drives me (and all the other TAs) absolutely up the wall. Many of the teachers don't seem to be terribly bothered that a quarter to half the class is whispering and chatting while s/he (or me) is teaching the lesson. I didn't feel like I had the authority to shush the class when the teacher was present, but after conferring with my fellow TAs I've started to do so. 
• We aren't technically supposed to teach without a teacher present, according to our Fulbright contracts. In practice this happens from time to time. (I actually had a whole class to myself on my first day. Rippin' the band-aid right off). I actually prefer it, I like having total control over the class and the lessons. Also, it lets me lay down the law with the whole talking-in-class thing. The students are always a bit taken aback when I tell/ask them not to talk while I am talking, but they generally comply (except for one or two girls who give me the death stare for the rest of class.)  
• There are a lot of things that fly here that would never never be allowed in the U.S. (see above). The computer in one of my classrooms has a desktop picture of the students in a rather, um, provocative pose, the teachers just laughed when they saw it. 
• Austrian students don't switch classes- the teachers do. Each class stays together in its own room, the teachers are the ones who switch. The students and teachers stay together with their class throughout the years. 
• Austrian school buildings, unlike American ones, don't look like schools from the outside. The buildings just kind of blend in with the rest of the scenery. The buildings are quite modern and in good condition. The technology in the classrooms is also pretty up to par with what I had in my high school classrooms.
• There are no school buses in Austria. Kids just take regular public transportation (for free) to get to school. 
• Teenage boys. 'Nuff said. 
• Student fashion is very different from the U.S. With the girls, bright colored skinny jeans with athletic European sneakers is the norm. No ugg boots and not too much pink. Boys dress completely differently. No sports-like or athletic attire whatsoever, the boys tend to dress in what we would consider to be metro. Scarves, elaborate gelled hairstyles, earrings, and tight clothes are the norm among the boys.
• So far, I'm really enjoying teaching my lessons, I think the students enjoy them as well. It's mixed- most classes totally get it, some look at me like I'm speaking Chinese and I just get crickets. The level of English depends on the schools. Students at the HAK and the BORG  speak English fairly well, the HBLA is definitely at a lower level. Nevertheless, the HBLA are a nice group of girls who think I am cool, hopefully that lasts. 
• I have probably over 200 students who see me within my two week rotation, which doesn't really allow for getting to know the students well. I feel a bit bad since some of them will say hello to me outside of class, but as of right now there's only a handful from each class that I recognize. Forget about names. 
• The students (and many teachers) somehow have this impression that America is a violent place. I can't really blame them for thinking so, much of what they glean from the U.S. comes from TV and movies. They have a hard time comprehending the idea that there are 'bad neighborhoods' in almost every city. Also, the first thing they think of Americans is that everyone carries a gun.
• All in all, the students' impressions of America are pretty hilarious if a bit inaccurate: Mean Girls meets CSI Miami meets Cops meets American Pie.
• I really enjoy working with the teachers. Many of them have been super welcoming, a few have even had me over to their houses. In sum, I really do feel my presence is appreciated and that they enjoy having me in class.
• Teachers don't seem to work 40 hours a week, many have one or two days off every week.
• So far I've taught lessons on the U.S. elections (kill me), travel, celebrities, and U.S. geography. 
• It's been really interesting to see my students' and teachers' perspectives on the election. To be honest, the students really have a hard time with understanding conservatism in America. The idea that many Americans do not want universal health care is totally foreign to them, as is the idea that many people want religion to play a significant role in government and public life. They also have a hard time understanding why Americans feel so strongly about and can easily obtain guns.

Lastly, I've been asking my students what their impressions of America/Americans are. Here are some.

• "Guns. Everyone in Texas has a gun."
• "Lots of fat people."
• "Lots of crime and violence."
• "Big cities."
• "Wars."
• "Celebrities and Hollywood."
• "McDonalds." 
• "Bad food."
• "George Bush." *

*seriously, kids?