I’m in touch with primary and secondary school classmates thanks to the Internet. By googling their names, I’ve been able to track down quite a few ex-classmates. If they had very common names, I was able to find them because I knew that they had studied Archaeology or Chemistry, and was thus able to find them in subject-oriented websites. Jeremy, have you tried to google Barry?

Perhaps you can find Barry and the others on Friends Reunited – however, be careful who you contact as it can be quite dangerous...
:-)

I remember my schools days as one of the happiest period of my life, and not only for the time I spent at school, but for the time I and my classmates spent after the school. We played beisbal almost every day, amd some of us belonged to a reserved club dedicated to investigate secrets about the rest os classmates. And of course, I remember how the boys tried to approach to the girls; my first girlfriend, etc…Of course, not everything was great. I remember a math’s teacher: “Mr. Peter” that scared us a lot. He started to read the list of our names everyday, and suddlendy he stopped. The next one in the list should go out to the blackboard to answer teacher’s questions and solve the math’s exercises. Mr. PEter shouted and got very angry if you did’nt answer correctly.
If I could go back, I wouldn’t change anything .It was a period without any worries or hard responsabilities, where the most important thing was to get fun.

Hello Jeremy,
I’ve liked very much your article….
I often stay with some of my partners of the institute. I have very good memories of the shool and institute.
When I was stutying 8º of Basic Education, my teacher of Mathematics was a joker, all te kids we were wishing this class to come. It had the virtue of convert the mathematics into a game.
Already in the institute, when I was studying the first grade, I remember that it had charming teacher of French, Mss Lusiemme (I believe that it wrote so) She was old (but lovely and funy) this year was moving back from the Education and we did to her a big party of farewell.
Often, I remain with one of my better friends, she’s Mª José, and with my friend Raquel. The coincidence did that we were in the swimming (I and my daugthers) we saw. Raquel wnet to New York when she married, now after almost 15 years, se has returned to Seville. Now we go together to the swimming pool.
Until a few years ago, there was an annual meeting in the institute, the affiliation of kids was organizing it. This day may memories come to your mind and you think about everthing throught what you have lived, and everything what you have obtanined…... and you have been fine, you’re glad and load yourself of new energy.
For this reason and alot of more, “We must never lose the contact with our friend”
Cheers…...cheers….. bye Jeremy.
Reyes.

“I love everything that’s old, – old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wineâ€?
-Oliver Goldsmith (Irishman!)

I only keep in touch with a school friend, and I’m trying to find my best friend at the University. I would like to know when life has driven him…

The first day i went to secondary school, i met a girl, named Esra, and loved her much. We spent our time together in the school, and learnt ourselves very well. We were kids, we didnt mind the hardness of world, but now we are 22 years old and planning to marry 4 years later. .
Alaz

I finished high school in 1977 and continued to grow up, despite the geographical distance, with a handful of classmates. Twenty-five years later, in 2002, all 250 of us who graduated together (minus whoever had died or were not locate-able), all women, celebrated our Silver Jubilee. It lasted a whole year and ended with a big party, and it was a sentimental, mushy experience bordering on soap, but it was very important.

Every ten years Americans have a high school reunion. My first will be in 2008. I remember my grandmother going to hers, too, even a 50 year reunion in 1999.
I don’t know what they’re like; I’ll tell you next year. I can say that in looking up my classmates, I was a bit disappointed to see where people are and what they are doing. I hope there will be something to talk about…

Excellent article Jez!
To tell you the truth I have only gone to one class reunion and I really had a good time. I was already engaged to be married, so there was no peer pressure of any sort to speak of…
That was my high school reunion, but I would never go to my grade school reunion. From what I hear, one of my classmates, Michael Griggs committed suicide, another one flipped out and became a junky, and last time I heard, everyone who has got married is now separate or trying to get divorced – which makes me sick to my stomache.
On the other hand, looking on the bright side, it’s not as bad as my brother Jim’s graduating class from the seminary – he and one other are the only ones left after 5 years: there were about 15 and 13 of them died within five years of graduation all before the age of 45. Now that’s scary!!
But I guess it makes class reunions easier to organize…..

I don’t care about seeing none of my classmates at the school. I didn’t spend a good time there, although there were some moments I felt well. I began to be happy at the university. I met people of my mood and I felt really well. All my thoughts go there. I can remember the classes and what is more important, after the classes. I met a very cheerful group of people to chat and share time. And above all…. I met my husband.
The last year at the university, we were 25 students at classroom. Well, 14 of us continue meeting every year to celebrate our Patron Saint: Saint Albert Magnus. Time goes but every year I look at their faces I see them as young as they used to be 25 years ago. It’s incredible. Now, we’re preparing our 25th anniversary. We are collecting photos to do a poster, we’re planning to travel altogether and if it’s not possible we’ll go out to some near place. Isn’t it nice?
Have a very good week-end.
Lourdes

Hello Jeremy and everybody,
I studied Chemistry at the University of Leioa in Biscay. We were eighty students the first year and only twenty-five at second year. So we knew each other and when we were at the last year there was a teachers strike, so we were free for some days (I can’t remember how many). It can be very bored to stay at home all the day while your friends are studying, so some of us (ten) decided to do some hike. It was the seed of our friends group. We meet altogether four or five times a year with our families and nowadays we are thirty-five.
Every year on 15th of November (or the saturday next to this day) only the ones who finished last year at the university meet together to have lunch. We’ll celebrate our 25th anniversary this 2007. My husband and I are the only couple.
Thank your very much Jeremy for answering my comment. It’s been very kind of you. Besides, it’s a very good article, I like a lot the definitions of your classmates.
Have a very good weekend,
Lourdes

Hello Jeremy,
Sorry for not answering sooner. Yes, we also use the expression “good chemistry” in Spanish. And we had a very good chemistry at the university and at our videoconference experience.
We had the opportunity of improving our English with very good teachers, all of you. Not only we had lessons by the CDs but also we received and wrote letters with our tutors and had videoconferences shared with others institutes. I remember a very nice man and woman in Elorrieta (I can’t remember the names). Well, one day in San Ignacio’s station, passing from a platform to the other one I saw a known face. It was the woman from Elorrieta. We stopped and chatted for a while.
I also keep in contact with Pao. She was my teacher the last two years and became a very good friend of mine.
Have a very nice week-end!!
Lourdes

Hi everybody!
I just keep in contact with three good classmates from secondary school.
My university and work colleages take most of my time nowadays, so I have to prioritize.
Once, I met a classmate on the street, 10 years after we had finished the school. I remembered having a very good time together sitting next to each other in class. However, I was a bit disappointed when I realised that we had few things in common after so many years, and that we had little to tell after five minutes of conversation.