Yesterday we had the graduation ceremony at the junior high school I work at.
A joyous day one would imagine, but in any formal situation the Japanese are fond of long-winded speeches. Yet any speech encountered during the year pales in comparison to those at the borefest that is graduation day.
It feels like every man and his dog are required to speak. With each and every one of them going on, and on, and…
At one point I was half expecting Fidel Castro to make an appearance, and round the proceedings off with a 6-hour finale. Sadly he wouldn’t have been out of place, although his military attire and bushy beard might have caused something of a stir.
Those poor kids.
Kinuk says
Thank you!! Thank you so much for reminding me that there are good reasons for me leaving Japan. And this is a very, very good one. Hours in a cold school gym, everything in Japanese, speeches a-fucking-go-go, teachers falling asleep, kids falling asleep, only the silly ALT gajin not falling asleep because she is conditioned not to! Dull, dull, dull. Could only have been made worse if we had to sit on our heels. You poor thing. I hope you at least got a good bento out of it.
Lee says
It’s not much fun is it? Fortunately this year I didn’t make the same mistake as last time. I went in after the national anthem, and went up to the balcony where nobody could see me. Took a few photos and went back to the teachers room and went on the internet. Much more rewarding!
The lunch on the other hand was much worse. It was a PTA event and I was bombarded with all those banal questions we have heard SO many times before. It started off with “Do you like Natto?”, and got progressively worse from there on in.
Kinuk says
Did you get asked if you can eat with chopsticks? Sugoi, neh? I like your survival tactics, though. We didn’t have Internet at my school (seriously, we didn’t) when I was there, and I had to sit in an important position (a couple of people down from the kyoto-sensei), so couldn’t escape. Lucky you. 🙂
Lee says
The internet has beeen a lifesaver.
I’ve also found that nobody really cares what the token gaijin is doing, so when I disapear now and again, no one seems to notice, let alone care.
Even some of the teachers still ask the dreaded chopsticks question. I don’t know how they think I eat my lovely school lunch!