Questions of School: Part Two

Q2: What is the make-up of the student body?

16-18 and Mexican. Oh, and there are also these eight kids wandering around in a state of mild confusion. They´re not Mexican (yet).

I´m not really sure exactly what constitues the "make-up" of a group of people, to be honest. Every individual is unique, and once you get past the uniforms, and nearly uniform hair/skin tones, this school is just as full of individuals as any other place with....well, people.

There aren´t any clubs or sports directly associated with the school, so except for my closest friends here...I don´t really know what people do after school. It´s a lot harder to smack a label on people this way. :)

But there are definitely some things I would consider to be "universal interests" Namely: Shakira, Dancing, Fútbol, and Spicy foods. I am learning every day, as not one of these would have made my "Top Ten" list in the U.S.! But like I said before, this student body is just as diverse as any other I´ve been a part of....There are also guitar players and hemp-jewlery-makers, and girls who spent lunchtime in the bathroom fixing their make-up. There are kids who listen to their ipods during lectures and kids who copy the teachers words verbatim. There are scholars, athletes, musicians, and artists; and somewhere in there I´m going to find a place.

One thing that I find intruiging is the way my age SHOCKS people. They spend every hour with the same class, and have since kindergarten. There aren´t any "underclassmen" that ever mix with the older kids, because you don´t get to choose your schedule....

"Wait....you´re sixteen??? But I´m eighteen. How are you in this class?"

At a public high school in WI, it´s no biggy for 14-year-olds to be in classes with 18-years-olds, and at Conserve, we were all in the same "grade" with no regard to age. I still don´t really see why this is a big deal for the kids in this school, but I guess the´re just not used to it. I´m assuming the novelty will wear off.

But for now, I just need to calmly accept the attention that comes with being not only the blondest, tallest, and foreig-est, but also the youngest.