The Matric Dance: September 22

Early on the first morning in our new house, we had a knock on the door from one of the high school teachers. He had stopped by to invite us to the Matric Dance at the high school that day, Friday, at 1pm. Although we were a little self conscious of our dancing skills, we were curious as to what exactly a Matric Dance was so we readjusted our plans for the day and decided to find out.

We arrived at the high school right at 1pm expecting loud music and dancing, but found it seemingly deserted. We were directed to the ‘hall’ (two classrooms with a movable wall) from which we could hear prayers echoing over the sound system. We peeked into the windows to see students sitting in rows on orange plastic chairs listening to one of their teachers preaching on a microphone. After a few minutes one of the teachers spotted us and we were escorted to the VIP seats in the front of the room. He handed us a piece of paper and instructed us to write a few sentences about ourselves. We had no idea what was going on so we cooperated and shortly after the teacher read our introduction to the students. There was a roar of surprise when it was mentioned that we were from the United States and one girl’s mouth literally dropped to the floor.

After a few student song and dance performances, ranging from hip-hop to gospel, the MC turned to Kelli and told her that it was her turn to give a speech. After recovering from the shock and frantically trying to come up with something to say, Kelli finally blurted out a few inspiring sentences. It was at this point that we realized that there was no dancing at the Matric Dance, but that it was rather a pep rally for the grade 12 students who would be spending their last quarter studying and taking exams. The event continued with speeches from a representative from the Department of Education (full of clichés), a principal from a neighboring town (even more clichés) and a recently matriculated student who now works in Pretoria (inspirational but highly religious). Joe also had an opportunity to speak and did a much better job than Kelli since he had some time to prepare.

The ceremony concluded with the national anthem and the presentation of the grade 12 students. We got to help hold up signs with each student’s name on them while everyone else cheered. Afterwards we were treated to a feast in the principal’s office with the regional representative from the Department of Education. The learners ate outside and prepared for their upcoming trip to Durban. The school had planned a trip to this beach town during the upcoming week-long vacation that was to depart that evening at 11pm. Definitely an exciting way to start our service!