I went to Zarraga and all I got was a parade and dance party in my honor

So much has happened over the last week or so and I’ve been too tired to blog until now. This blog will cover the most rewarding day of my professional career. While I have had what I consider profound moments with individual students, I have never experienced anything close to the magnitude of what these two days have brought (although I’ll only mention day 1 in this post). I’m still trying to find words that can even come close to how I feel.

The day began simply enough. A brief courtesy call with the mayor, then it was off to my first day of school. What followed was a scene out of Mark Carothers’ ego. As we neared the school, I could faintly hear the beating of drums, and had a bad feeling that they were for me. The drums soon became the least of my concern. We turned the corner and right in front of me were to students holding a sign with my picture on it welcoming me to Zarraga National High School. Two more young men shook my hand and asked if I would please follow them. The entourage was led by a group of young ladies who were dancing to the music of the band playing. As we turned the corner I simply could not believe what I was seeing. Hundreds of students were dancing with unbelievable precision with hundreds more who watching from the sides (there simply wasn’t enough room for all of them). The emcee was shouting into the microphone and, with the music, was unintelligible to me except for hearing my name repeated several times. I still doubted that this was all for me. By this point the principal was leading the students in the dance routine. Eight more students came out to perform and then lead the crowd in another dance. It took me a few seconds to realize who the leader of the group was. It stunned me.

We had met a few days earlier under very different circumstances. When we met, she reacted like so many of the locals here that aren’t used to people of my height and build. She stared wide-eyed and uttered, “tas taas” (very tall). After speaking to my host teacher for a couple of seconds, she took my hand, held it to her forehead (as a sign of respect) and kissed me on the cheek. It wasn’t the forced niceties that I’ve experienced in other situations. It was genuine, honest and very sweet. It was typical Ilonggo. I think my co-teacher mentioned that she was a dancer, but I was too distracted by the other little girl who seemed hypnotized by me and kept repeating, “dako-dako” and pointing at my stomach.

Now at Zarraga she had all of the students behind her and she was leading the dance. We made eye contact and I think that she could tell the moment I recognized her. She was in her uniform and seemed more confident in front of 2700 students than she had previously in front of me. I was so impressed that I hardly realized when she made her way on stage, took my hand and grabbed me out of my seat. ***Note-no photographic or video evidence exists of what happened next. Her and another young man pulled me up to the front of the stage and the three of us, facing the crowd, led the dance. I was not good, but there was so much positive energy around me I could not have refused. The song ended (after what seemed like ten minutes of dancing in the heat and humidity), the crowd cheered and the young lady gave me a triumphant hug. She was a completely different person than I had met before.

The crowd settled and some speeches were given, then it was my turn. I wanted to make a good first impression and I think I stunned the students with my first words: “Kamusta Zarraga National High School. Magandang umaga mga teatser at mga estudyantes. Ako ay masaya na naririto ngayon (Basically, good morning and I’m very happy to be here).” I could see the students looking at each other in amazement that someone that looked like me would attempt to speak Tagalog. I then told them if they didn’t understand something that I said, they should simply yell out, “liwat” the Ilonggo word for repeat. With that they roared.

Next came the tour. Two very beautiful young teachers took me on a tour of the campus. ***Note - Everyone here is beautiful. It’s in their smiles, in their joy, in their general goodness. Every class waited outside their rooms for me to walk by. Some had songs and dances prepared, while others had written my cards of thanks, that I will cherish forever. I thought that maybe they were being forced to perform for me, but I don’t think that is the case. Many of them stared, wide-eyed, mouths agape as I shook 2700 student’s hands and said good morning to them. Most smiled and said “good morning” or “thank you for visiting us”, while others froze and stared blankly at me before running away or having their friends point and laugh at them. Several young ladies marveled at the shape of my nose. Their reactions were so honest I couldn’t help but be captivated by them. Then one brave student asked, “Sir can I take a selfie with you?” Game on. A torrent of phones appeared. As much as I resist having my picture taken, how could I say no?

***Note - I have left out all breaks for snacks that took place during this day.

The afternoon was spent leading a team building and leadership training with roughly 100 student leaders. They seemed to like the activity that I did with the and in the end I had small prizes for the two winning teams. I decided to give out extra prizes to kids and a stampede almost ensued. They were so genuinely happy to be getting prizes.

The school day concluded with a couple of meetings with teachers: one to talk about my school and the education system in MCPS and another with social studies teachers to present about current initiatives in social studies education. I think that they were well received, but no one would have told me otherwise. I was back to my hotel by 8:00 or 9:00 and as I walked through the door, I became completely drained of all of my energy and passed out. I don’t remember a time when I was more proud to be a teacher and more sure that I made the right choice in coming here. The teachers and students at this school have changed my life forever. It was a bongga first day of school.