graduation

Today was the day. We all drank two extra cups of the plastic-stale coffee. We took four steps for every necessary one. We set up the chairs, floor sheets, flowers and mikes and bowed-in the guests. We ganbarimasu-ed and posed strong. We stood and sat in unison. We showed humility to the speeches of our elders and sang the school song with vigour.
And, I cried like a baby. I couldn't look at the faces of my students. Everytime I did, I would begin to giggle at jokes, recall stories, hear hearts, and re-witness freeze-frame human growth and the primordial sculpting of pure character.
Ok, basta. This has to stop now, as I despise sentimentality and cheese surfers. Suffice it to say that I was well touched grieving (as I have only been one other time in Japan).
On the fun side, I get to go party now with my fellow cheese-surfers and then head to Osaka to see some fat, Japanese men, wearing tissues around their waists, stare at each other, rock back and forth and then role over a line! My first sumo experience coming soon..!