Well, that was slightly awkward.

Tonight, I was invited to go to the graduation ceremony at the school. The graduation ceremony was supposed to begin at 5, and Conny told me we were going to leave at 4:30, so I was ready by 4. I don't know why I did that, since I knew in the back of my mind that 4:30 El Salvador time means at least 5. 

Well, the embarrassing part of the story is yet to come.

You see, I keep forgetting how incredibly well-known and famous Sra. Conny is.

So, we arrived at the graduation ceremony late because 3 people came to visit right at the time we were supposed to BE there.

As we were walking into the schoolyard, the principal, who's calling the students up one by one to get their diplomas, announces the arrival of Conny, and then he called her up to the little panel where alumni and administrators and teachers were shaking hands with the graduates.

He called me up, too!

So I got stuck helping hand out diplomas and being in all the pictures and having to smile and congratulate total strangers and I felt sooooo awkward because I had no right being there!

I had literally no part in these students' success.

I felt really awkward. 

I got over it, though. The ceremony took forever, but it was super nice! All the girls were dressed in very formal white dresses with black high (VERY high) heels, and all the young men wore black suits. The principal called each student up by the full name, and even announced who was accompanying that student. Most students were accompanied by their mothers, although some walked with grandmothers, fathers, or friends. While the students were shaking hands with our row of teachers and getting their pictures taken with their diplomas, the announcer read a brief statement about the student. "[student] has studied here since [year/grade]. His/her first teacher was [name]. He/she would like to dedicate this degree to [God, family, friends, etc.]. [Name] hopes to do [more studying/set an example for younger family/get a professional job and be independent/get a high-paying job to help their family]." 

After the ceremony, everyone in attendance (students, family, faculty, etc.) was fed dinner. We had chicken, rice, pasta salad, rolls, and Coke. I only ate the pasta salad, rolls, and two bites of chicken. I was very much not hungry, and the chicken was incredibly greasy and the grease had saturated everything on the plate. It was quite the affair!