Out With the Old, in With the Crazy

Today was a little brutal, in a "Jesus-Christ-I-am-bored-so-stiff-I can't-believe-that-my-body-hasn't-rebelled-against-my-mind-and-cut-off-my-oxygen-supply" kind of a way. I realize that this statement needs a little clarification. But, where to start?

In Japan, the school year is not the same as America. Shocking, yes. It begins in April and continues through until March. So, that means that the third grade at the Jr. High will be graduating to their various new highschools around the area. Good for them!

But, if there's one thing Japanese institutions really love, it's ritual and ceremony. Which means that, despite the fact that I can barely follow what's going on around me, I had to sit in a freezing cold gymnasium and watch the entire school have a 2 and a half hour run practice for a three hour graduation. It's bad enough that the graduation date falls on a Saturday, giving me a six-day workweek, but to sit through the whole boring spectacle today as well? It ruined any sense of spontaneity, for one. That just means that the entire three-hour show is pre-mapped in my mind, so I can constantly know exactly how long I have left to go.

Man, I sound really bitter. Really, despite the stifling abject boredom, it's not so bad. Better than a few hours in the acid mines, really. And, it does impact my deeply, even if I joke about it. I can't help but remember back in October, during the sports festival, how I connected with a few special boys in the third grade on my team. For a few hours that day, I finally felt like a part of a group, even if we got last place (we totally bombed), and I couldn't speak to any of my team. And all those cool kids are off, and going to schools far away, and I might never see them again. It does make me aware of how little time I have left. By my count, this is almost 2/3rds of the way home. Which... I'm beginning to become more afraid of. There's still so much I want to do.

I'm also a little afraid of this graduation because it will herald a huge change in my job. The principal is retiring, and we'll get a new one. And he may or may not be as cool as the current guy (who, for the record, is awesome). The current guy looks almost exactly like Piston Honda from Mike Tyson's Punch Out! ...which is pretty excellent. And, at all the work parties, he always gets wasted and says really funny things. I'll miss you, Piston Honda. I truly will.

Supposedly, the guy who is going to replace him is a bit of a weirdo. I heard a brief anecdote from Nigel about him, from when he was the Vice Principal at our school a few years ago. At lunch, he declared that he would like to "personally reenact Pearl Harbor" by flying into American ships. I'm a little worried about what it'll be like with him in control. I really hope he doesn't force me to clean the bathroom floor with a toothbrush as an act of retribution for winning WWII. ...Man, that'd be lame.

Ah! I nearly forgot. It's not just the Principal that's leaving. In fact, all Japanese teachers are forced to change the school that they work in every few years. It seems pretty insane to me, really, because it's so different from back home. But, 1/4 of the teachers at each of the schools I teach at will change for different schools around the area, including every single one of the cool, young teachers. So, it's all new personas, all new rules, all new everything. I would be a lot more worried if I was staying here for two years. Since I'm coming home in the summer, I couldn't be too bothered to freak out too much. Time'll tell how cool/horrible things will get.

Poor post, but it had to be done. Lately, I just haven't been feeling the update. Man, this is a bad post, but I'm just gonna post it, and try to make a better one later. Sorry.