卒業おめでとう！

卒業おめでとう！(Sotsugyou omedetou, Happy graduation!)

My third year students graduated last Thursday and I was so proud! I attended Shinozaki's graduation and we started by getting all the chairs set up in the gym. The stage had a podium, piano, and giant flower arrangement. The graduating students sat in rows by class and name in front of the stage, the teachers sat on one side of them and people from the Board of Education sat on the other side. Some other students sat behind them and all the parents and siblings sat in the back. The ceremony was very similar to American graduations, many speeches by faculty and students and walking across the stage to receive a diploma. The major differences I noticed were the clothes (both students and teachers) and the atmosphere.

The first thing that really stood out to me was, of course, the lack of graduation gowns. Students wore their school uniforms during the ceremony. There was no dress code for the teachers, but almost everyone wore black suits. I wore one as well, one of the teachers told me ahead of time that I should wear black, but it was still odd. It seemed to me like everyone was dressed for a funeral. All the teachers and students also got a boutonniere type flowers. They were fake, yellow daisy's with a small safety pin in the stem to so you attach it to your jacket or uniform. It was a really nice pop of color to the mostly black outfits!

Another things I noticed was that it seemed more like a high school graduation than a middle school one. There were many tear-felt speeches and hugs as the students not only said goodbye to the teachers, but also to each other. I remember my middle school graduation was exciting and although I was sad to leave behind some of the teachers, I knew I was moving up to high school with most of my friends. That's not the case in Japan, since the students end up going to different high schools all over the city based on their entrance exams. I think this is why it felt more like an American high school graduation than a middle school one.

Mostly everything else was the same. There was a speech given by the principal and vice principal as well as a student. All the students walked across the stage and received a diploma from the principal. The PTA had flowers for all the third year teachers and the teachers who were leaving. The students even all sang a song to their homeroom teachers and the leaving teachers. It was really nice!After the ceremony, all the students gathered in the field and the teachers, students, and parents mingled. Many pictures were taken and it was a great time!

After school that Thursday, I had a graduation enkai (work party) with Futajima. We went to a really traditional restaurant and they gave me a photo album of pictures they had taken of me during my time there. It was a really great gift. The next day I went to Shinozaki's enkai, which was right near my apartment! It was great to be able to go to both enkais, since normally they are on the same day and I have to choose between my two schools.

The rest of last week and this week have been finishing up the textbook with the students and playing games. Tomorrow (Friday, March 21st) is a holiday and then Monday is　修了式 (shyuryoushiki, closing ceremonies). Spring break starts Tuesday, but I'll be going to the Board of Education instead of having time off, which is a little silly in my opinion. The other JETs will all be there as well, we'll be together in a room without anything to do. So at least I'll have people to hang out with and play games. The Board of Education is also right next to Riverwalk and Kokura Castle, so we'll probably get food from Riverwalk and picnic by the castle for lunch most days. I'm really excited for that!

The only other thing of interest to happen was my first earthquake in Kyushu! Japan obviously has a lot of earthquakes, but usually they're farther north, much closer to Tokyo. Since I'm so far south in Japan it's uncommon to have earthquakes here, but last Friday there was a 6.1 earthquake in between the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. It hit me at a magnitude of about 3.5, so not too bad. The most startling thing about it was my phone. The earthquake happened around 2 A.M. and my phone started yelling at me. It woke me up and at first I thought it was my alarm for the morning, but realized it wasn't my normal alarm ring. It took me a few seconds since I was half asleep, but I eventually realized it was yelling, 「地震」(jishin, earthquake). Only a few seconds after I woke up from the alarm I felt everything shake! I'd been in an earthquake in Tokyo, but it was during the day and I was already sitting and it didn't really bother me. This time, however, as pretty terrifying. Earthquakes are not a pleasant way to wake up with my phone screeching; being alone in the middle of the night feeling like your on an extremely rocky boat is also not very pleasant. I could also here the fish tank sloshing water all over the floor. My poor little fugus were okay, but I had to clean up the spilled water and didn't get back to sleep until close to 3 A.M. I've learned I really dislike earthquakes and I especially dislike that my phone screams at me when one is about to happen, even if I know it's useful.

That's really it for now. There's a big party on Friday and I'm going to help bar tend, which I'm excited for. Other than that, I plan to have a very quiet weekend doing a bit of Spring cleaning. Possibly going to Patrick's to watch House of Cards and eating some pizza. Mike will arrive Monday night and I'm really excited to spend 花見 (hanami, flower watching season) with him! The first week in April check back and I should have a bunch of beautiful pictures of the cherry trees!

さよなら二島！

Happy daylight savings time! I have to say that not having the time change in Japan is kind of nice. Also, I'm sorry for no update last week! I started a new schedule and I was incredibly busy! The schedule for JET ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) in Kitakyushu gets very hectic during Spring! I have already visited one new school (Minami Kokura) and will visit three more different schools by next Monday. This craziness happens because the private company ALTs stop working during this time. Normally, there are many ALTs working around the city from many private companies as well as JET. A big difference between JET ALTs and private companies ALTs is that private company ALTs can only work 8 months out of the year so that the private companies don't have to offer health insurance. Now is the time of year the private company ALTs stop working, and the JET ALTs have to visit all the schools in the city to fill in the gaps. This means I will spend only a few days at all these different schools and travel all around the city. It's a lot of work!

Last week was also a very sad week for me. Wednesday was my last day in Futajima Junior High School. I had an amazing time with the teachers and students there and I really wish I could stay for next year, but unfortunately it's not my decision. I taught every class between Monday and Wednesday last week to say goodbye to all the students. I had a meeting at the board of education in the afternoon on Wednesday, so I had to leave school early. Before I left, I walked around to all the classes again to say goodbye. I gave a speech in English and Japanese in the teachers room for all the staff. I will really miss that school! One of the English teachers gave me a really nice scarf, the office staff gave me some cookies, and the principal gave me a cake. The most touching thing was given to me by my students. Every class made and decorated a little book. In the book was message cards written by every student in the class. Some are in English and some in Japanese, one book even has the school song written in it! It was really amazing! I also got to go around school and take pictures with students and teachers. I wish I could share those pictures with you, but it is not allowed to post any pictures with students. Even when I left the school for the last time, one of the women who works in the office gave me a ride all the way to Orio (a train station about 20 minutes away). I will see the teachers again for one last enkai this week, but I will not go back to the school again.

The reason Futajima is having an enkai this week is because of 卒業式 (sotsugyoushiki, graduation ceremony). Middle school graduation in Kitakyushu is on Thursday! I will be going to Shinozaki (my other base school) for the ceremony, but I opted to go to Futajima's enkai to be able to see all the teachers one last time. I'm very excited to see a graduation ceremony for the first time in Japan!

Also this week I went to Japanese Costco for the first time! Just like in college, it pays to have a friend with a car! Japanese Costco looks exactly like American Costco. Even the layout is the same. They also have a little restaurant just like the ones back home with those huge hot dogs. They have people giving out samples. I was able to get some imported food (real cheese!) even thought it was a bit expensive. Not super exciting, but kind of interesting!

Even with my hectic schedule, I have a lot I'm looking forward to! Tomorrow I'm having a dinner party with some of my friends to celebrate my new chairs. (An old chair that was broken before I got here had nails sticking up out of it and I was always worried someone would hurt themselves.) Like I said earlier, graduation is coming up this week. Spring vacation starts on the 25th and 花見 (hanami, flower watching - all the sakura trees start to bloom) is also at the end of the month along with another visit from Mike! Although March started off with a sad goodbye, it seems like the rest of the month will be very exciting!