September 15th is the day when all the K-12 schools start their winter semesters. Although I knew the date, I didn’t expect what this date meant. On my way to my office on September 15th (I didn’t even notice what date it was), I could immediately tell that something was going on.
There was a multi-story building near our apartment at a street corner, and it was locked and quiet all summer since I came here. On the morning of September 15th, suddenly it opened its door and was crowded with people around it. I had a moment to wonder if it was a rally of some sort, but then I could see people leading kids through the crowd, that looked like parents sending kids to school. I checked Google Maps to know for sure that it was a school indeed. This school had been bustling ever since, and the children often socialized in groups at the eateries and shops around the school.
On that morning, I initially saw a couple of young men with a stem of flower on hand, that might still pass as a gift to a girlfriend or someone. Then there were so many more flowers showing up in the passers-by’s hands, as a single stem, in a bouquet, or in a basket. Either the kids or the parents carried them. That’s when I knew that the flowers were for the teachers. The florist shop at the metro station had an especially busy morning that day, and I guess that all the florist shops in town were busy on the day before or on that morning. People were rushing on their way so as not to miss the school opening hours.
Even at TU-Sofia, there was a student assembly for a nearby school as they borrowed the courtyard at TU-Sofia for this event. The students wore uniforms in the center, and the parents were waiting at some distance away around them. It is not much different for the parents to send their children to school so anxiously and yet expectantly everywhere around the globe.
At the end of the day, I saw some people on the metro holding a lot of flowers or carrying a big bag with flowers sticking out. They must be the teachers who had received so many flowers from their students on that day.
Later I got to know that the first day was mainly for administrative activities, almost like an open house or orientation without classes, that’s when the kids got to know their classes and schedules. It is great that the teachers were appreciated on that day.
Recent Comments