Graduation Ceremony and Wedding Dinner

It is slowly getting warmer in Japan right now, really looking forward to it not being cold both indoors and outdoors. This past Saturday we had our graduation ceremony for my third years. I arrived at the school in the morning with all my teachers sharply dressed in white shirts, nice suits and dresses. I wore my suit, but had a blue shirt instead of a white one. I didn’t know that in Japan you are suppose to wear white for graduation ceremonies. Hopefully, no one really noticed. These Japanese customs- that no one tells the foreigner - pop up from time to time. The graduation ceremony went pretty well. It wasn’t too lengthy but a bit boring as you had an endless parade of speeches and songs. Even though some of my third years were horrible students, I will miss a few of them. It was pretty touching when all the third years were singing their goodbye song and all the girls wear crying. Some of my teachers were really sad to see a few of the students go and were definitely teary eyed. The funniest thing of graduations day was when the graduating students did their final walk out the door and all the girls were sobbing as the walked away, while the guys had the biggest grins on their faces.

That evening the teachers also had a goodbye dinner/celebration for the third year students. We went to a pretty nice restaurant and it was an all you can drink, so a lot of my teachers were quite tipsy by the end of it. As per usual Japanese custom, there was a lot of drink pouring and speeches by the teachers. You really get to see the love and care the teachers have for their students when they give their speeches. Seeing all the work they put in and the sincerity and responsibility they place on themselves to educate these kids is something I really admire. Some of the teachers cried and even felt that they had failed some of the students because the graduating class in a whole were quite troublesome. The dinner was fun as I got to know a few more of my teachers that i hadn't had the chance to chat with. In the end, I really wish the graduates well and I will miss their hellos in the hallways and even perhaps, their screwing around in class. (Picture below: The newlyweds Jason and Mel)

On Sunday, there was a wedding dinner for my friend Melody and Jason. A large number of the Kure JETs and people around Kure met up for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Melody and Jason had been engaged awhile back and tied the knot last month in Japan. We were all really happy for them as I can’t think of any other couples that fit each other so well. They are a pair of the nicest and most kindhearted people I have had the pleasure of meeting. The dinner even had a violin performance by another JET named Julie and various games. All in all it was a fun night, as my supervisor came and we all had a good time chatting. (Picture Below: My Supervisor Mr. Sakata and his family)

As for the hockey tournament in Okayama, it was canceled again due to poor weather. I was really disappointed since I was really looking forward to playing some competitive hockey. Luckily, the summer season is coming and there is pretty much a tournament every month. Hope to get out there and play more often. The last week of the school year was just spent wrapping up my lessons at elementary school and getting ready before Joel comes. He’ll be arriving on Sunday night.

Japanese factoid #19: It’s a sushi video- according to me it is 100% authentic…especially the salt licking which I due every time I eat sushi. Enjoy, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4946101556303618610&q=sushi