Nothing to do with Japan, but just awesome!

Spring Has Come!

For some reason, this phrase is known by almost all Japanese, regardless of how little English they actually speak. I suppose it's one of those phrases, like "zis iz a pen" that gets stuck in people's heads, where it gets let out from time to time, in an annoying way.

Anyway, Spring IS here, and I was hoping that by March, I'd be wandering around in a t-shirt, blinking at the bright orange ball in the sky that I wouldn't have seen for the past few months. And though I have been wearing a t-shirt (minus the four layers that go on top of it during winter), because it has been a heady 15C, there hasn't been that much sun. Blame the Chinese. Which is exactly what the Japanese do. There are weather reports that tell of "yellow sand" from China, that blows into Japan and blocks out the sun. But whatever, it is becoming warmer, and I've finally had to hang up the snowboard.

Speaking of snowboarding, during those two hour drives each Saturday morning, I spotted this.
My mother thinks that "Legacy" is a stupid name for a car, so I can't imagine what she'd think about the "Dump". I guess if I'd known that I could get a dump instead of a legacy, then I may have reconsidered. Who wouldn't wanna say, when asked, that they're "driving a `98 Dump?" I guess it's to be expected though. Given that there are already the following gems:

• - Mitsubishi Dingo
  
• - Mitsubishi Toppo BJ
  
• - Mazda Bongo Friendee
  
• - Daihatsu Naked
  
• - Daihatsu Wit (which I mistakenly read as "Wilt" – whatever, it's still a stupid name)
  
• - Honda Dunk (and Dunk Turbo)
  
• - Honda Today Humming
  
• - Toyota Windy
  
• - Toyota Noah (What Jesus would drive? Suitable for monsoons?)
  
• - Toyota Mark II Blit
  
• - Nissan Homy (A large van – possibly big enough to live in…home, homey, homy?)
  
• - Suzuki Lapin (French for "rabbit" – adds a certain je ne sais quoi, no?)

Anyway, the arrival of March means that it's graduation time for the ninth graders. Graduation i

s a very serious occasion in Japan. The students spent at least two days 

rehearsing for it, mainly practicing how to walk.

 And bow. It's incredibly militaristic, and I guess the boys' Prussian soldier style school uniforms and the girls' sailor suits add to the effect. You can see some photos of Liz and I holding our own, somewhat less formal graduation in front of the castle.
The thing I find most creepy about graduation is the way that the students can be so eerily silent. You might think that Japanese students are quiet and obedient all the time anyway, but I can assure you this is definitely not the case. During the ceremony, you could almost hear a pin drop. The graduating students march in, down the red carpet, sit and stand 

as one, and bow like they are machines. It kinda freaks me out, and the precision of the whole thing has to be seen to be believed.
After the whole ceremony, the headmaster praised all the students and staff for finishing at precisely 11:50am. Being on time is a highly valued quality for the Japanese.Anyway, seeing as I had my last classes with the graduating students, they wrote some messages to me, which was nice. Here is a selection.

On the front was written, "You are my sunshine"...

"Oh! You are so cool. You are my best friend ever!"

"You are nice face and nice body."

"NICE BOY!!"

"Thank you for teachingme English. I have seen you in Tokyo. Your face is beautiful! Finally, thank you so much!"