Work is rolling along this week and Karen and I are trying to pack in some good events. We have some tea ceremony and kimono action scheduled as well as some temples and a monkey park. We'll see what we can squeeze in. Here is day three of the blog bonanaza:

Graduation, now there was a crazy day! Lauren and I came into school together and came to the staff room. Hara sensei told me I had better introduce Lauren to my principal. So we went to his office and had some introductions. He is a cool guy and made her feel welcome. Then I gave Lauren a brief tour of the school and we headed for the gym. All students have to come to graduation which is a little strange compared to Canada but nice too. The graduating third years were paraded in wedding style in boy girl pairs. We had to applaud while all of them came in which took almost 10 minutes. My hands were tired! This was probably a good idea though if you think about our graduations. People are always clapping at inappropriate times. This way, everyone was all clapped out so they didn’t feel the need to clap for each individual kid later. Because all the kids were going to separate schools and probably won’t get to see each other much anymore, everyone was crying all day. When they were marched in it looked like they were walking towards the grave or something. They were all so serious and sad. They turned the heaters off so it was a little cold for the proceeding which lasted all morning but I guess I am a little used to being frozen at school now. Lauren was pretty cold though so we ran out and got sweaters when we had a break. We sang the school song several times and they played sad music about parting friends, seemingly to make them all cry more. I think we bowed about 200 times that day and that is not an exaggeration. There was power point about school trips and clubs and so forth. Everyone got their diploma and then there were speeches from various members of the community including the mayor. It was a little dry but those events can be boring at home too. We sang a few more songs and there were a few more speeches and then we had a break for about a half an hour. They turned the heaters back on for a while which was really nice because we were really cold by then. After that they had the announcement of which teachers would be leavings. This is kept very secretive even from one another on staff. It is not until those teachers are marched into the auditorium by our principal that anyone finds out. The kids are all shocked by these changes and start crying anew. Then each teach how was leaving (and there were 9 of them!) made a speech about how much they have enjoyed working there and how much they will miss the kids. Each teacher inevitable cried like anything. I thought I would cry at one point. It felt like a funeral. I was so surprised how many people were changing too! And also a little worried that I would eventually have to make these speeches myself when I leave. Then all of the staff and all of the students came outside and the third years lined up in front of us with their parents. We all said goodbye to every one of them and bowed to each one. This was a big day of bowing I tell you. I was pretty sad to see those third year kids leaving one after another. It sounds sappy but those kids are literally the best part of my job. They make my job here everything that it is. They are friendly, funny, cool and hard working. I will miss them. I know that teachers experience this every year but in Japan they have a way of making it feel like a real family affair. After that was over and all the kids had left, we went back inside for lunch. Since Lauren and I hadn’t brought any lunch we left and went to Matsumoto for the afternoon so we could see Matsumoto Castle. We hadn’t had a chance earlier because of the hours it was open. The weather was pretty crap which seemed appropriate for the day. Then we headed back to drop off the car before the end of school enkai that night. (Enkai = drinking party with too many speeches). Once again, each teacher cried and made a speech. There was a lot of speeches and the meal was a little too Japanese for Lauren’s palette. It was four course of traditional Japanese fare which can be a bit much when you aren’t used to it. There was tons of booze though and they made a little English speakers area for us to sit. That was nice of them. We headed home after tons of beers. We had to drive to the event because Tom needed a lift to his at the last moment. So we had to walk home and go back for the car the next morning. It was raining which was cold and crappy but we were fairly warm from the alcohol. And that in a nut shell was grad. What a day.

I just relized that I have almost no pictures of this day and the ones I have are all dark! I think I was too busy bowing and crying all day. Hehehe. At any rate, the kids dropped by on Monday when the exceptance results were published to tell me where they got in. I felt a little sad but also strangly excited for them. They are starting off on a great new part of their lives and they are all so bright. It is like looking at human potential. It was also weird to see them out of their uniforms. They have really cool style. Tune in tomorrow for day four of Blog Bonanza!