Graduation

Last week was graduation at our junior high schools. It was a big deal; there was a lot of cleaning the school the day before and the morning of the ceremony, along with a fair amount of decorating (paper flowers galore) and practicing. It was pretty emotional, too. At least half the ninth-graders (including the boys) broke down crying during the ceremony and many of the teachers did as well. I had my emotions under control, however. That might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't understand anything that was said all morning.
Afterward many of the Japanese teachers wanted to know how it was different from a Canadian or American graduation. Really, it was similar, with speeches from the principal, a student, etc., it's just that I couldn't understand these ones. They did do a lot more singing here, though. I think there were four songs, including the Japanese version of Auld Lang Syne. The Japanese lyrics are apparently about all the hardships a student has to overcome through hard work.
Strangely, although graduation was last week, the semester doesn't end until next week. The ninth-graders aren't coming to school anymore, but the seventh- and eighth-graders are still coming. The new school year starts in April.
-Jason