Graduation

Graduation was an interesting experience. There were many differences from my graduation at home, but in general they were very similar. We had graduation rehearsal on Friday during school. The first difference was that all students attended. It was held in the gym. The rehearsal was extremely boring and cold. The gym has no heat and it was snowing outside. Of course we weren’t allowed to bring coats because they aren’t part of the school uniform. The solution seemed to be to shiver.

Friday was the first snow of the year and the first time I’ve seen snow since I’ve been here. The kids in my class delighted. Snow! Not that any of it stuck for longer than an hour. It turned into a cold rain pretty quickly and washed the few flakes that made it to the ground away pretty quickly. The endless precipitation turned the grounds into a small lake. A very very muddy lake. After school I met my track team in a random classroom to take pictures with the graduating seniors. Or senior as it turned out. Nomoto is going to Osaka University to study television production. After we took pictures we sat around for about an hour trying to decide to go run or not. I suspect everyone else was just waiting out the rain like me. I hate biking home in a cold rain.

I didn’t have practice Saturday so I took a long bike ride instead around the pond near my house. It’s a very large pond, or a small lake. It took me about an hour at a pretty steady pace. I think the other side is much prettier and more spacious than my side. Then I went to the library and was surprised to find a sort of festival going on. There were lots of booths set up handing out information about various groups. The Boy Scout table challenged me to tie a bowline. When I demonstrated my superior knowledge of knots and told him that I was a scout he invited me to their next meeting. Scouting was something I tried to get into in Tsuchiura but was unsuccessful. So I’m pleased that I found a troop. It’ll be interesting to compare Troop 3 to whatever they have here. It’s too bad that I didn’t bring my uniform with me.

Sunday was graduation. I think the biggest difference between my graduation and this graduation was the emphasis on the group. I feel like American graduations are about the individual student. Each student walks across the stage to receive a diploma. Each student gets their brief moment of recognition. There is a lot of “we” but I feel like it’s mostly an “I” event. This graduation was definitely a group event. The students all filed in to a tune other than Pomp and Circumstance and took their seats in front of the stage. And no one wore a gown of funny square hat. Then the assistant principal got up and said, “From right now the 21st graduation ceremony of Ushiku Eishin High School has begun.” That was it. Then he sat back down. It took a long time for him to get up and come back down because he stopped to bow no less than six times. That was pretty standard. Then the principal got up and said something almost as short before the presentation of diplomas began.

There was no walking across the stage. The homeroom teacher made a roll call and students stood up when their name was called. It was like taking attendance. Then one member of the class went to the front to receive a diploma on behalf of the whole class. They essentially graduated forty students at a time. I thought that played very well into everything I’ve learned about the Japanese psyche.

I noticed some other things. One: the Japanese national anthem could be a funeral march. It is slow and depressing. I asked my teacher about it and he said that it’s because it’s set in the format of a Shinto prayer. The words and grammar date back to the Heiyan period, about 1000 years ago. It’s not a terribly inspiring song. Two: When Japanese people makes speeches, they typically read directly from the paper. Not a single speaker at the ceremony made eye contact with the audience. They all just read from the script. Very few had any emotion. The exception was the speech made by a student. He almost cried at the end. It was also the only speech that I understood. I found myself following along and not even trying. I didn’t even realize it; it took no effort to comprehend. Usually speeches are very difficult so I was pleased when I could understand everything. It was quite moving.

Some things however, don’t change. Somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of the girls in the audience were crying by the end. Several teachers as well. Graduation is always an emotional time. I was more fascinated than saddened by the event. The graduation itself was far more interesting than the rehearsal had been. I am sad the my senior friends have left school. They were typically the easiest ones to talk to. And they’re actually leaving. College starts in less than a month for most. Lots of kids only decided which college recently. So between now and then they’re busy with packing and searching for a place to live. It doesn't seem like Japanese colleges offer as widespread living arrangements and most American colleges do.

After graduation I went out with the track team and the one graduating senior who used to run track. We went to karaoke to celebrate his departure. Karaoke continues to be fun. For some reason we were given a party room the size of a small country. It was an unexpected but welcome change from the typical karaoke room, which is the size of handicapped bathroom stall. I was complimented on my English more than once. “Wow Scott, your pronunciation is really good.” I found that pretty funny, especially because I’m told over and over from people at home that my English is slowly degrading.

Then two quick days of school and now I’m here in my room playing some new music I bought by a band called Porno Graffitti. There’s old book/music/DVD/computer game store near my house so I’ve begun experimenting with Japanese bands. I like this one all right. Right now my favorite artists is M-Flo, recommended to me by Marianne. Thanks Marianne.

And I had aikido last night. I like it more every time I go. I’m at the point where I can remember a move when sensei shows it to us. Instead of trying to remember every motion of the hands and feet, I just have to remember sections. And I’m learning how to put together different combinations to arrive at new moves. My body is beginning to recognize the moves and remember them. If each step is like a letter, then part of a move would be like words and a whole move like a sentence. I’m only good at simple sentences right now but the point is that my body knows the words. I’m not desperately trying to memorize every letter anymore. It makes learning more fun.