Welcome to another edition of the Deskwarming Diaries, where an ALT fought back tears at her school’s graduation ceremony and is deskwarming her way through spring break. This post features a look at graduation ceremonies in Japan, an update on the interview, and the return of warm weather. Let’s jump in!
First… the highlights
- We played fruits basket with our little ones as a review game for their last class. It’s kind of like… musical chairs? One kid stands in the middle and says something, “boys,” for example, and all the boys have to move and find a new chair to sit in. The kid who can’t grab a seat in time has to stand in the middle. He then says, “people who like English,” and those kids that like English move. You can also say “Fruits basket!” and everyone has to move. Anyway, we did it so the kid in the middle had to ask a yes/no question. “Do you like cats?” and if your answer was yes, you had to move. They caught on really fast. About halfway, we changed it so you had to move if your answer was ‘no.’ A couple of questions in, a boy stood up, wrung his hands a bit… and said, “Do you like corona?” (covid-19). A brief pause, then everyone screamed and ran for a new seat haha. Way to go, kid!”
- We also did a “What’s this?” quiz with our little ones, where we put an object in a desk, let them touch it, and they could guess what it was. The object we put in was a stuffed animal piglet. As the students filed up, bouncy and excited, I said, “I’m sorry if it bites you.” Immediate panic. “WHAT?? SENSEI WHAT DO YOU MEAN??!! WHAT’S IN THERE??!!” The boys ran up, reached in, and were like, “Yeah, it’s fine.” These two girls wouldn’t reach in for the life of them though haha. I had to reach in there with them, and when they discovered that it was a stuffed animal, they were seriously mad at me. “Sensei, you can’t DO that!!”
- On a different note, a female teacher started a conversation with me about children and motherhood a couple of weeks ago. “Wow, seeing OO sensei leave because she had a baby… doesn’t it make you want to have kids?” “No, not really. I don’t want kids.” “EEEEHHHHHHHH??!!” “Well, I see all the students as my kids, so I have plenty.” “Ahhh, ohhhh, that’s wonderful.” A little awkward. The idea that a woman doesn’t have to be a mother to be happy is still a little revolutionary here.
The Somberness of Japanese Graduation Ceremonies
God, I hate graduation time. Emotions are running high weeks before, and a simple glance at a ninth grader can quickly devolve into tears, hugs, and painful goodbyes. I recently had to say goodbye to the kids I’ve been practicing English with every morning before school for months and it was noooooot easy. One of them even gave me a letter, complete with BTS stickers and information on all the members <3 There’s the painful goodbyes, the celebratory school lunch (which includes a medium-sized fish you eat whole), the goodbye ‘party,’ where the school assembles a PowerPoint of pictures of the kids from the past nine years, before finally…. graduation.
Unlike in America, graduation ceremonies in Japan are quiet, somber affairs. The students receive their certificates when they are called, each of them bowing in turn. Then they take a sloooowwww lap around the gym before returning to their seats. When everyone has been seated again, we sing the school song, they file out, graduation done. No one speaks. No one cheers. No one claps. No one jumps up and down in excitement and makes too much noise and has to be asked to leave. Honestly, you’d think these kids were attending a funeral or something; the atmosphere is that depressing.
And I guess, in a way, that makes sense. Unlike in America, these kids have had classes with the same classmates for nine years. They’ve been camping together, played in the snow together, learned how to swim together, gone on field trips together, and made crazy strong friendships. Now, many of them are going to different high schools. Graduation is a time of reflection and memories, not looking forward to the next step in their journey.
But mannnn knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to get through! I was especially attached to this group of 9th graders. They were 6th graders when I first got here, and they’re the first class I have real memories of. I remember some of them from their time as 6th graders, and seeing them grow up has been a wonderful experience. Seeing them leave was really hard. Luckily, I was able to hang out with them a bit right after they graduated and take pictures and sign yearbooks and stuff. I know these kids are gonna do great things in the future!
What ever happened with that interview?
Woot woot! My interview was about a month ago, and it’s actually going to air today! Dave, the interviewer, is a really nice guy. It was wonderful talking to him, and I’m really glad that he reached out! We talked about all kinds of things — teaching, snow sports, the old, full-of-history buildings you see falling into disrepair everywhere — ya know, the usual haha. Give it a listen if you want!
It’s spring!!!
The other night, while Hunter and I were chillin’, watching Netflix, a sudden movement caught my eye. I tensed. Turned my head slowly. Crawling up the wall…. was a spider. “Uggggggghhhhhhh,” I immediately groaned. “It’s spring.” Honestly, this is how I keep track of the seasons. Spiders and lady bugs? Spring. Centipedes? Summer. Stink bugs? Fall. Haven’t seen anything for a while? Must be winter.
Bugs aside, I am so ready for spring. Warmer weather, green grass, flowers, the return of hiking season, much excitement. I’ve got big plans for hiking this year; hopefully I’ll be able to follow through on some of them!
Enjoyed the interview! I liked what he said: you can tell how long a foreigner has been there based on how eager they are to talk to another foreigner. XD You should go work for Nagano tourism 😀