On the left is a typical graduation scene: the new graduates, on being
congratulated by a local notable, joyfully throw their caps in the air. It's a
good feeling for the audience, and they all seemed very excited. (note the
Santa Cruz fog which rolled in during the ceremony
on this June afternoon!)
There's not much point in repeating here the comments often made at such
ceremonies, but Daphné and Nick do deserve recognition for the particular accomplishment
underlying their graduating: mastering two languages.
Daphné was born in
France, and Nick moved there when he was six months old,
and both spoke French before English. The odd part was that Nick spoke French
first, even though both his parents were native English speakers and spoke
English at home, because when he was in the crèche and
then school his little buddies spoke French. So much for someone's mother
tongue! But I'm getting off the point.
Daphné came to the US before fifth grade and was
socially fluent in English in less than year. Nick had attended bilingual school
in Paris, but emigrating before eighth grade was still a challenge. It is much
harder than is generally known to grow up bilingual. Most importantly, sounds
that appear in both languages are not spelt the same, and when one way of
spelling them is already hard to master, learning two ways simultaneously is
well-nigh impossible. Concepts in one language sometimes have no natural equivalent in the
other.
Both our first high school graduations reflected the major accomplishment of mastering a
second language and living and learning in that language. Way to go!!
On the right is an example of the upside of graduating, a gift from the proud
(relieved?!) parents. Nick and his grandmother admire the digital video camera
that he received. We went to the local Chinese self-service cafe after the
ceremony. Nick's maternal grandmother lives in Palo Alto and takes good care of
Nick and Tom. Uncle Gary and his maternal grandfather also
came to wish him well on graduating.
Daphné's relatives from outside our family all live in
France, and in France people rarely understand the significance of US
graduations, even if they could pop across the Atlantic and North America for
the weekend. That's a major issue with our move to
the US, how far the older children need to travel to visit their missing
parent. But we in the local branch of the family were all at the ceremony,
as were many of her friends, and as you can see she looked and felt great.
Congratulations Graduates!!
Alban and Tom's 2007 Graduations are on this
page.
