The Foreign Service Journal, December 2005

94 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT Yahoo group for Greengates alumni. Someone suggested a reunion; she volunteered to plan the main event, a dinner dance. And from there, she eventually planned the whole week- end. They used Evite to get the word out. One person organized the finan- cial side of the event, which was held in Las Vegas. One of the alumni nego- tiated a good deal at the Sahara hotel ($120 per night for a double), and the organizers charged $130 for two nights’ entertainment. Another per- son was tasked with finding people; they used word of mouth and the Internet to reach a final tally of 60 attendees, but with many more saying that they wished they could come. The party got off to a roaring start on Friday night and on Saturday, the committee decorated the room for the buffet dinner. They organized a DJ, speeches, prizes, free gifts, nametags, etc. They asked two people to give speeches on how their Greengates experience had affected their lives; they showed video clips from the teachers; there was a gregarious MC and other spontaneous entertainment. They had display tables where people could share their photos, memorabilia and a guestbook. In this case, the school did not get involved in the reunion but they did, with some prodding, state a willing- ness to get involved next time, in Mexico. “It seems to mean different things to people, but everybody there was glad they had come and seems to have a sense of ‘coming home’ or even healing,” Kathy said. “I actually felt that I had done something worthwhile once it was all over with. It was cer- tainly a headache to work on but it all came together in the end.” Some schools like the international school in Bangkok (www.isb.ac.th) have an annual membership fee (around $35) for the alumni associa- tion and a separate fee for the reunions. These gatherings have an exhibit room with sale items, hand- outs at some of the events, a dinner and a dance. They also organize hos- pitality suites sponsored by different graduating classes, which compete to see who can get the best attendance at the reunions. They have a board made up of eight people, and the board members make a four-year commitment. They do not get paid and they use their own funds to get to the locations to investigate and set up the reunions, which are held in differ- ent locations in the U.S. every two years. They created a separate orga- nization, ISB Inc., to run the reunions as a registered nonprofit. The reunions encompass graduates from the late 1950s to 2000; despite Hurricane Charlie, over 500 people made it to the one in Florida. In 2002, for the 50th anniversary cele- bration, the school hosted a reunion (two years in the making) at the Grand Marriott (owned by a 1967 graduate of ISB). There were fire- works on a barge on the Chao Phraya River and that was a huge success. Once the party is over, it is still possible to keep the reunion spirit alive. ISB has an online newsletter, a vibrant Web community and an alumni directory. The International School of Manila (www.ismanila. com) A lumni Committee sends out highlights of their reunions, includ- ing gossip and verbatim (but anony- mous) chatter from the parties. They also send out a link with pho- tos, an invitation to send in more reunion stories and a survey. Worth the Journey Most of those who attend interna- tional school reunions think they are worthwhile, even if they do not give it a deeper meaning than having a party. For many former students, attending a reunion is best done years later when people are older and have more of an incentive to reminisce and reflect. For some it is the impetus for the future. As Tony, Walteen’s broth- er and fellow alumnus of ISB, says, “We’re not living in the past … we are recounting experiences that we had in the past. … We enjoy each other now because we had this bond- ing experience. You can make new friends.” The reunions are likely to grow in popularity. As the TCK World Web site (www.tckworld.com) p ut it before the worldwide reunion in 2003, “Reunion 2003 will be the gath- ering point for hundreds of TCKs from around the world. It will be a time to celebrate our heritage, to learn, to reminisce, to dream, to reunite with old friends and to make new ones who share similar back- grounds.” There are many alumni who feel they have received so much that they should give back, and are doing just that. The International School Bangkok has an alumni-sponsored scholarship for a Thai student. Some schools reach out even more to their alumni community. In March 2005, the Woodstock and Kodaikanal schools in India host- ed a reunion dinner at Sangam, an Indian restaurant in Arlington, Va. I heard about the reunion through one of the local Global Nomads, and decided to crash the party. Wander- ing around with chili poppadom in hand, I noticed the majority of the attendees were in their 50s; but there were also several in their 20s. As I stood chatting, who walked in but alumna Norma McCaig, founder and embodiment of the Global Nomads. Growing up global had such a profound effect on her life that she coined that term and started Continued from page 93 “We are recounting experiences that we had in the past … we enjoy each other now because we had this bonding experience. — Tony Grady