Abit lähtevät ja wanhat tanssivat (Grads Leave and Oldies Dance)

Me and the guys: Niko, Kimmo, Henri, Kalle, ja minä

Last week was all about big changes happening in my lukio. In short, the graduating students had their last week of school while the second graders celebrated becoming the oldest students in the school with a wonderful ball. Because I’m an exchange student, I got to be part of it all.

Just because this was their last week of school doesn’t mean the abit (grads) won’t be coming back. They now have a 3 week study break because they are preparing for their ylioppilastutkintot (matriculation examinations); YO for short. These are similar to the grade twelve provincial exams that used to be offered in British Columbia. Everyone must complete at least four exams which are each 6 hours long. At my school most students complete Finnish as mother language, Swedish, long English, and short math. Although I wanted to, my school counselor said I was not eligible to write any YO exams because students must have seventy-five course credits to do so. I wrote the preliminary (practice) long math examination and received the second best grade in the school. And this exam was entirely in Finnish!

The Abit getting kicked out of the school by the 2nd graders

Last Wednesday, the second graders presented each of the graduating students with an award; things like “vuoden Barbie” and “vuoden Rautarouva” (the year’s Barbie and Iron lady). After the presentation of the awards, the abit were all forced to drink some concoction brewed by the second graders (orange juice, coffee, energy drink were among the ingredients). Then the grads were sent on their way: each of the second graders had a stick made of newspaper and each of the third graders ran up the stairs of the auditorium while being ‘beaten’ (more like lightly tapped).

My host sister with me in my pohjalainen clothes

That evening was a Pohjalainen Ilta. I think that I’ve mentioned before that the area I live in is etelä-pohjanmaa (Southern Ostrobothnia). This evening was when all of the third graders dressed up in traditional clothing and ate traditional food. I borrowed a jussi-paita (traditional red and grey sweater) and some tall leather boots from a friend of my host family. I thought the food was just normal food, nothing outstanding about it. Yes, there were potatoes of course. After the meal there was a short play followed by a teachers vs. students trivia competition. In the first round there were five teachers who were asked questions about the graduating class and five students who were asked about the faculty. The second round was the same teams of students and teachers on stage, but members of the audience could participate. It was Finnish music trivia (What song is this? What are the next lyrics? Etc.) and I don’t really know my Finnish pop music very well. In the end the teachers won by ½ a point. The next item on the agenda was the abit singing to the teachers. In small groups, the students rewrote the lyrics to several songs, personalizing them for the teachers. Then there was coffee and pulla. I proceeded to give a small speech. If your interested in what I said, it was the big block of Finnish text that is in my last post. All in all, it was a pretty good evening of Ostrobothnian-ness.

This is the other truck giving out candy at an elementary school

Thursday morning was Penkkarit. This is when the graduating class shares the celebration with all the other students in town by throwing out candy. The first thing that happened in the morning was when not a teacher, but the graduating students gave the morning announcement which was a song written, composed, and performed by students from my school. Then all of the abit (and me), dressed in the same traditional clothes we had the before, ran through the school throwing handfuls of candy into all of the classrooms. Then we all bundled up for the cold and loaded into the backs of two dump trucks. We drove to each of the elementary schools in Kauhava, throwing handfuls of candy to students and teachers alike. It was very fun even though it was little chilly. The best party was having all the kids shouting “Mä haluan karkkia” or something similar in the hopes of getting more candy. When we got back to the high school some second grade students served coffee and pulla to the staff and graduating students. There was a farewell speech from the principal and a thank you speech from one of the students. The abit then sang another couple of personalized songs to the staff. After the coffee was gone, most of the abit left to go on a cruise to Sweden similar to the one I went on in the fall with my host family.

A circle waltz. I'm dancing with Mira, the grey dress in the front

Thursday night was the Wanhojen tanssi at Kauhavan lukio. For the entire fourth jakso (January to mid-February), all of the second graders had a gym class dedicated entirely to learning old fashioned ballroom dances. I was in this class and I practiced the dances too. The Wanhojen tanssi is a showcase when everyone dresses up in ball gowns and tuxedos (well, suit and tie) and performs the dances. This is a very old tradition at all Finnish speaking lukios in Finland. It is on par with the prom that we have back home in Canada, however all of the dances are choreographed, unlike the fist-pumping celebration we had last June.

A tango. I'm with Paula in the pink dress

One of the dances was the Virginia reel which is a square dance I learned in middle school back in Canada. Other dances included the pompadour, the wengerka, a waltz, the pas d’espagne, the cicapo, a tango, and a “freestyletanssi” which was choreographed by a student. There was a small group (10 pairs) that performed another waltz. I of course was in this group. My current host father and sister came to watch the dance as well my first host mother. We, the second graders, were unhappy with our performance at the Thursday evening show. The DJ had some problems with the music which all of us dancers. Luckily for us the next morning was another show for the rest of the lukio, as well as some elementary and middle school students. We all felt the morning show went off without a hitch. I’m very glad I got a chance to partake in the tradition and learn some of these old dances. And it’s always nice to be dressed up with a bunch of friends.

The video below is the song written and performed by some of the abit at my school.