GRADUATION CEREMONY

17th　March 2007
It was the first graduation ceremony that I’ve attended in Japan. I heard from others that it will be a teary affair, coz many students and even teachers will cry… Woke up a wee bit too late (well, it was a Saturday…) so I had to eat my breakfast in the taxi (that’s what I always do anyway!). Reached Hokuryo JHS rather early and was surprised to see Ms Hosoyama and 2 other 3rd Grade teachers dressed in Hakama. So pretty! Hakama is actually kimono with a wide pleated skirt covering the lower part of the body. It resembles the Korean traditional costume, Hanbok. http://www.clickasia.co.kr/digicart/products/shop/hanbok1.htm
Looks really good! I always thought that Hakamas are meant for men. Only today did I realise that there are Hakamas for women too and they are primarily worn at graduation ceremonies. http://www.maimu.co.jp/hakama/
I wore a pink turtleneck knit top, with a black jacket and pin-striped pants. The last time when I was in the gymnasium, I was freezing cold!!!. I was expecting the gymnasium to be awfully cold so I chose to wear a knit and pants. During my very first opening ceremony of the summer semester, I wore black dress shoes to school & changed into a pair of white　loafers. However during the ceremony I realised most staff were wearing sports shoes as their indoor shoes. I was puzzled as I thought it was a mismatch simply coz sports shoes don’t go with work attire. Yet everyone seem to be dressed like that. So recently, I decided to swap my loafers for a pair of lighter sports shoes. I wore the same sports shoes as my indoor shoes today. I thought everyone would be wearing sports shoes too with formal attire and in that way, I would blend in…Unfortunately, this time it seemed to be different…
The ceremony was surprisingly very (x3) formal... All the staff are dressed in black & white, and wore proper black shoes as indoor shoes…The principal even wore a tailcoat! I felt really underdressed… Shouldn’t have worn a pink top though… Looks informal… Arghhh…. Then there was the problem with my shoes. Should have brought my black dress shoes as my indoor shoes… Arghhh.. Too late…….
The ceremony was very solemn and had a number of speeches by the principal, guest-of-honour and representatives of 3rd graders and 2nd graders. It was so serious that the students looked more like they were in the military than in school. They had to come to attention just like soldiers. After the speeches, there was of course singing too. It’s a wonder how they manage to make every student sing. Many girls started sniffing… Oh no, it was starting… I swore I saw tears welling up the boys’ eyes as well…After the ceremony, the students (2nd and 1st grade) moved the chairs out of the gymnasium in an orderly manner. After some time, everyone gathered outside the school, forming two lines along the driveway. We were all supposed to give the 3rd graders a final send-off. Unfortunately, it started snowing and the wind became really chilly… Boy, what bad timing… The rest of the students were freezing too… And so we clapped and waved goodbye to the 3rd graders as they left the school. Took some photos with some 3rd grade girls with their cameras. I asked them to send the photos to me coz of all days, I forgot to bring my camera!
Felt very happy when we took photos together. They were good kids. Very hardworking in English and always very friendly to me… Some of them even wrote little thank-you cards to me. How nice…. Thus I didn’t mind standing out in the cold, just to wave goodbye to them, for the last time…