Opening Ceremony

I think I got a new supervisor! Today is a hopeful day. Apparently with all the April 1 changes, I also got a new supervisor. I guess no one was going to tell me about it...I only found out because I showed up at the BOE to request some time off for Golden Week, and Hayashi Sensei was like, oh, talk to your new supervisor. Crazy! He's younger and his name is Shimada Sensei. I'm glad I had my suit on this afternoon when we met and I think I made a good first impression...maybe his being younger and more separated from the older innefficient way of doing things will actually help get stuff done in respect to supervising the ALTs...today is a hopeful day.

Today Minami Junior High, my main school, welcomed all the first-year students. It was just as formal as graduation which was surprising. The older students sat in the back in perfect lines, with the parents flanking either side of them. The parents were mostly only mothers and some dressed up in their finest kimono. The new students sat up front in the middle and were flanked on one side by the teachers (including me) and the other side by the PTA and school board. Everyone was well dressed and somber looking and were very careful not to do anything aggressive or that would make them stand out.

Kocho sensei (principal) made a speech, they played the national anthem (only time i hear it is ceremonies like this, and baseball games) and even bring out the Japanese flag which is rare. Under the headmaster's command, they all stand and bow in unison, always bowing to the flag, the school board, and the teachers. Anytime anyone nears the stage they have to stop and bow to the flag for at least 3 seconds.

The school song is played by the band, which is sort of a Japanese polka and the words are written in kanji to the right of the stage in a huge golden frame. Everyone sings the song, from the shy kids to the way-too-cool kids, and they do it with heart too.

The rest of the ceremony was boring except for when they introduced me and i had to stand up and bow in front of all the kids and parents (I wonder if people can see my bald spot when i bow?). The most awesome part was at the very end, the new students (all 109 of them) had practiced some sort of cool maneuver where they all pick up their chairs in unison and march out of the room in pairs and perfect lines. But something went wrong, and one single chair was left directly in the middle of the front center of the gymnasium...it was like a sore thumb sticking out and everyone just sort of stared at it for a while and didn't know what to do, like it was a bomb that was about to explode or something. A couple parents chuckled and a few teachers looked horrified and embarrased. After a long awkward silence, they sent the new young trainee teacher out to fetch it with his head down and dash off with it. Then, the ceremony wrapped up.

Went for yakiniku (barbecue meat and stuff) with Debs and Martin and Keiko. Debs just got back from Papua New Guinea and showed us some pics. Looks like a cool experience. She even brought Martin and I gifts...some sort of tribal penis sheath that they wear in battle. It's going on my wall...