Today was the middle school graduation ceremony. Lots of formalities, lots of bowing, quite a few speeches. Yesterday they practiced most of the day to make sure they got the timing right. The graduating class sang some songs afterwards. They sang the same song they did at the school concert in October. I don’t know why, but it was beautiful.
It’s funny, most Japanese people don’t show much outward emotion. They usually don’t cry… but as they were singing, you could hear a sniff here and a voice crack there, and the motion of hands wiping away that emotion that never makes its way to the surface. The parents didn’t cry, but the teachers did; we had seen them through thick and thin, all the fights and all the struggles, all the jokes and all the romances. It’s only been half a year for me with these kids, but the song pulled at me too. It was like watching our own children graduate. I think it will be harder next year.
