Graduation Party at the Imperial Hotel

I didn’t have class today, which was nice. It was weird though because I still had to go to school. They were planning to carpool me with the other teachers, so I arrived at school around 12:30pm. The party didn’t start until 4pm, but teachers started leaving school around 1pm. My car didn’t leave until 2:30pm though, and one of the teachers in the car had caught the flu. This had worried many other teachers since there has been a mess of other teachers that came down with the flu recently. We arrived there around 3:30pm because there was a lot of traffic and a couple of accidents I think. It was interesting because I was the only person in the car that spoke English. The other teachers didn’t speak English at all. So I felt this would be the perfect time to practice my Japanese, which I did so gladly. I asked some questions to the other teachers in the car. I think it was a pretty good conversation, short lived but still good. The other teachers were trying to speak English the best they could too.

It was a nice reception at the hotel. I think the school really does a good job with these types of things. I also think that they get a lot of practice with it too. When I arrived to the reception area, some students escorted me to pick up my registration materials, basically just a seating arrangement card and my name badge. Afterwards, they took me to the waiting area where all the teachers would be waiting for the ceremonies to start. I was chilling with some of the other teachers that are in the process of learning English. I think it was incredibly fun, since they are interested in learning English and I’m interesting in learning Japanese. I was talking to a math and Japanese language teacher. I wasn’t bouncing around that much and really wasn’t meeting as many people as I possibly could. I think from what I’ve noticed at these types of things, I only see the male teachers with other male teachers and the female teachers in their groups too. I think the cliques have been formed long ago and I just have to play a role in that. I mean the new teachers hang out with new teachers, and I mean always, even at school.

Once the party got started, everyone went inside and they started off with a few ceremonial things like greetings and such. Then it was the full on buffet that was served by the students to the teachers. That was great, I was just standing there and a student came and gave me and the other teachers’ food from the buffet. The food was, of course, excellent. Then the real festivities got started. The brass band performed some music and then some of the teachers performed a dance with the student to Ken Matsudaira’s “Matsuken Sanbo II.” I thought it was hilarious and great. Then they proceeded to do some more music from the band, and then the magic show. From this magic show compared to the one for the Principal’s birthday, I thought this performance was much better. It was more humorous, and involved tricks that were seemed more polished than the last time. I was watching from a distance, so it wasn’t as impressive as the Principal’s birthday party. But I still think he was more impressive. I mean they had a whole bunch of festivities for the evening. The principal even got on stage and sang his favorite song “The bridge of Glory” which is supposed to be the Olympic theme, and did an encore of Moriyama Naotaro’s “Sakura.” It was impressive and I like both songs so it was great. One of the students that I taught in my electives class was the one reading her letter to her mom. It was very sweet and emotional that she was selected to read her letter to express her feelings about what they had been through in jr. & sr. high school. It really was an experience I won’t soon forget. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to experience this. It makes you feel accomplished to be a teacher, when you get to that point where you have helped someone to reach that point where, now they will enter the world to make it a better place. Afterwards, as all the teachers were leaving, the students and the parents gave them a gift. I got a very nice cup. I lack a better name for it, but it’s a cup for all purposes. It was weird to be walking down the center aisle with all your students saying bye to me. It’s been a weird year and I’m glad that I made it out alive. Things move so fast that it’s hard to believe that the years already over.

There was an after party, of course. I was invited to go and eat some more. I also had to sit at the same table as my chief of staff. She was a bit agitated, I could tell. That made it a little bit uncomfortable, but still, I don’t care. The food at this party was great too. I really really liked it. It had a nice flavor to it that the other food didn’t. It was pretty short though, which I think was a good thing. Since the next day, we all had classes. I hitched a ride with Noki sensei. It was really cool that I did since after dropping off everyone at home, he took the time to drive me all the way home too. I mean he didn’t have to since I’m used to it, but he said that it was raining and that it would only take about 30 minutes to take me home, which would have been longer if I had taken the train and walked home in the rain. So, I thought that was really nice of him. I had a good conversation with him too. I think it was good bonding time, since he really wants to learn English. He has the right words, just a funny order of putting them in. Anyways, that was that, and then I came home and just slept to get ready for work the next day.