Anton’s graduation happened at the Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu).  The weather was muggy and very hot (around 38 oC).  Teachers were all present and dressed in the traditional áo dài.  I am not sure whether a graduation is really appropriate at this age. However for Vietnamese Kindergärtner it is a bit more serious, as they will be starting a rigorous learning program to prepare them towards the university entrance exam. Kindergarten prepared them with a 2nd language, logic, math, writing and reading.  When Anton’s name was called, he was described as a happy graduate (vui vẻ), indeed he laughed a lot as the tassel bounced off his nose.  For Anton it was a nice field-trip and this also means summer school starts next week.

On a different note, we saw a lot of students at the Temple. They are coming to the Temple of Literature for prayers to do well on the University entrance exams (I think next week). One high school student told me that she has been here 20 times already.

The temple is almost a 1,000 years old and has several beautiful courtyards. However, the center piece are maybe the stele, which were erected to commemorate the scholars who have graduated from the Imperial Academy.