(From Rob) Maddie and Will's Graduation

After two weeks of intense classes, Maddie and Will officially graduated from the Kinder-Uni Wien. The whole purpose of the program is to acquaint children with the institutions of the University and with the processes of scientific and historical inquiry. They especially target kids who would not otherwise have any contact with the academic world. I had no idea how seriously they took this mission until the "Sponsion," the graduation ceremony that beat out many of my own (way too many) graduations. It was planned to shock and awe the kids and their families.
The ceremonies took place in the University's most prestigious and beautiful room, the Grosser Festsaal. For years my students and I have read about the frescos on the ceiling of this room, painted by Gustav Klimt. Today, I finally got to see them first hand. I will not bore you with art history mumbo-jumbo, but this was one of those moments that had me shaking in my shoes. I love my job.
The hall was packed with super-proud parents and grandparents, some of whom did not speak any German and were thrilled to see their (grand-) kids fulfilling their hopes and dreams (I sat by a tearful father from Lebanon). The University did not let these people down. The kids marched in to the sounds of a brass ensemble playing themes from Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Then we all stood as the vice-rectors of three Vienna Universities came in wearing ermine collars, led in by a herald with an ornate golden staff. Evidently this is the traditional oath staff of Vienna, which was held up for Freud, Schubert, Mach. Doppler, and many others at their graduations.
The three gave nice, short kid-oriented speeches, and then declared the kids as having earned their "Magistra Universitatis Iuvenis" degree (Master of Children's University). We all stood for the Austrian National Anthem and the European Anthem (Beethoven/ Schiller's "Ode to Joy) and then everybody paraded out to treats in the Arcadian Courtyard. Maddie and Will were excited about their certificates, but even more excited about their free popsicles.
I know these mini-graduations are only hyperbolic self-esteem fests, but I got all choked up watching Maddie Lou and Will march solemnly down the aisle. Besides, this might be their only graduation. They may be in prison, on the back of a Harley or making tattoos by this time in a decade.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mohr im Hemd

Image
I finally got up the nerve to try my own Mohr im Hemd. This was the dish that we always ordered if we found it on the menu. It translates as "The Moor and His Shirt" which is so politically incorrect that it isn't easy to find, even though it is a traditional Viennese dish. It is a steamed pudding, like the Christmas dessert I grew up on and it is very moist and very chocolate, though not as sweet as an American dessert. It was successful enough that Rob had me make it twice more in the same weekend. Happily, after learning how to make it, I feel less guilty about eating the stuff. How often does that happen? Here is the recipe I used, as opposed to the top secret family recipe that I don't even have, or the recipe from my Austrian cookbook that asks for 'gratified butter': MA's Mohr im Hemd 3 bread rolls, crusts removed and cubed 1 c milk 3/4 c unsalted butter 1/4 c sugar 8 oz best and darkest chocolate you can find 8 eggs 1/2 c sugar 1/2 c walnuts,
Read more

The Trip Home: A Report Card

Image
Our Itinerary: Stuttgart to Atlanta and Atlanta to Salt Lake. It was a good schedule, flying out at 11:00am and getting in at 9:00pm on the same day (flying back across 8 time zones too, so about 23 hours of travel door to door). German taxi driver: A+. cheerful, knowledgeable, efficient and with candy for the kids Stuttgart airport: C-. inefficient, poorly-designed, and not very helpful; had to show our passports 5 times in 5 different places. took 1 1/2 hours to process us from curb to gate. ugh. Delta: B-. The flight attendants all looked "rid hard & put away wet" and the bare bones service just can't keep up with their [government subsidized] European counterparts with their dewy-skinned attendants, steaming towels, toys for the kids, and gourmet meals instead of astronaut food served in foil pouches. They got us there and did it on time, but it feels more and more like riding on a bus with a lot of rules. German Family With Four Kids Who Sat Next To Us On The
Read more

Blue and Gold Cake Contest

Image
Have we mentioned that Rob is now the Cubmaster? It was something of a shock, but it has been great for getting the boys excited about scouting (and let's face facts: Rob and I are lukewarm at best on a paramilitary, homophobic, psuedo-Hitler Youth organization, so our boys were destined to embrace it wholeheartedly from the start). One of the first arguments that Rob ever won with his parents was over scouting. They had moved into a neighborhood with no other kids his age, and so his eagle project would have been almost entirely solo (with some help from his younger brother). He proposed that instead of getting his eagle, he work towards becoming a Sterling Scholar in foreign languages at OHS. His parents finally agreed, and he did make Sterling Scholar at OHS, and went on to become the statewide foreign language Sterling Scholar. So my husband is one merit badge and an eagle project shy of his eagle, which just so happens (Freudianly?) to be exactly the same as my brother, Mr. T
Read more