Similarities
The Asking - Just like in America these days, the kids come up with pretty creative methods for popping the question. One boy used balloons tied to the girl's dog's neck.
Flowers - Wrist corsage for the girl, the guy wears a buttonhole (what we call a boutonniere).
Pictures - Groups of kids assemble in a scenic outdoor area and hope for nice weather for the photo-taking before the prom. It's a little different though when parents provide champagne at these pre-gatherings to the 18-year olds since they are of legal drinking age.
Limo - Even though the school provides a free bus to transport the kids to the prom location in London, it's not cool to actually ride it. Instead, gigantic limos are hired that can barely turn around in the narrow streets here. Hummer limos are popular, with the steering wheel on the left, obviously imported into the country.
After-Prom - The prom itself almost fades into the background as the all-important "after-prom" plans are made. Some kids don't even attend the prom, preferring to spend their money on the after party.
Differences
The Dress - It is difficult to find American-style prom dresses here so most kids buy them when back in the States. Last year, Lexi ordered her dress from a website, only to discover the dress came all the way from China and we were expected to pay import taxes that added unexpectedly to the cost of the dress.
Dinner - One detail the kids don't have to worry about here is dinner before the prom. For Lexi's school at least, it is included with the prom.
The London Experience
Lexi's prom was a dinner cruise on the Thames River with dancing afterwards as the boat sailed through picturesque London while the sun set. Pretty cool, really.
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| The "Millennium Diamond" Prom boat passing the Tower Bridge |
The tradition here is for seniors to stay in London after the prom and go clubbing. Most of them are 18 and are able to get into the clubs. Some of the students organized a VIP room at Movida Night Club in the Soho area of London with unlimited drinks provided. This privilege doesn't come cheap with a price tag of 80 pounds ($120)! To give you an idea of this place, Beyonce and JayZ have been to Movida.
Unfortunately, the trains from London stop running around midnight. So if you're staying for clubbing, your choices are: get a hotel room in London, hire a limo or taxi home, or the cheapest option: stay out all night until the first train in the morning at 6 am. We didn't like the stay out all night idea so the hotel choice was made, with four girls sharing the cost of a room. Strict instructions were given that the girls were to stay together at all times.
We agreed to foot the cost of the hotel and limo to the prom, but Lexi would have to fork out the money for the club. She was fine with that.
Lexi got a taste of London club protocol. After the girls changed out of their prom dresses into their "clubbing" outfits, (read dangerously high heels), they took a cab to the club but the taxi driver took them to the wrong place. By the time they made it to the right club, most of the kids had gone in already. Lexi's boyfriend, however, made the decision to wait outside for the girls. This seemed like the right thing to do and I was happy to hear he decided to wait. A code word at the door was supposed to get them into the VIP room. By then, that allocation of spots was full. Someone told them the new phrase to use. When the boyfriend uttered the new phrase, the doorkeeper seemed to think that something was amiss and declared he would not be getting in at all and wasn't even allowed to wait in line with the girls. The story just keeps getting stranger as then they were told that there were already enough males in the club so only females were being admitted. Ironically, if the boyfriend had just gone in with his friends earlier, they probably would have all gotten in.
Finally, one of the organizer kids came out to apologize and attempted to refund their money. They walked to an ATM so he could draw out his own personal money to repay them. Luckily it was after midnight so the kid could get some cash out, he had maxed out his withdrawals the day of the prom.
So it all turned out okay: Lexi got her 80 pounds back, they found another bar to hang out in, and they got a little taste of crazy London nightlife.
