Day Before Graduation Ceremony

It’s Friday, March 13th, 2026. The protein-packed beef bowl along with the cold soggy fries and the typical veggies and white rice sit comfortably in my stomach. I was starving to say the least, but the typical school lunch (kyushoku) in a Japanese elementary school measures around 600 calories. For my size, it is hardly considered a proper lunch but for the students, it is just enough to get them going for another four hours before walking an hour or more back home, depending on the student’s location. I sit in the teacher’s office while writing this blog. Doing a quick headcount, I see three, sometimes four or five depending on who’s rushing in and out to retrieve a textbook or make dozens of bingo sheets at the copy machine. The warm jet-stream-like flow of hot air breezing above my head circulating around the office reinforces a quiet but malevolent push to keep me drowsy. I think it’s working. Nothing to me matters more than a king sized bed and open window. 

Behind me, the students are outside playing during recess. Some are playing dodgeball, while others are playing tag where one or two take on the role of a demon (oni). And a select few students wander just near the outskirts of the playground to explore. This all depends on the grade level of course. You rarely see different grade levels playing together. Maybe 4th and 5th or 5th and 6th do, but I just haven’t seen 3rd graders playing alongside with the graduating classes. For the graduating classes of the 6th graders, it is their final recess. The last recess before their graduation ceremony tomorrow and from there on, embark to junior high school where recess, heads up seven up, and just being a kid dissipate. I remember in 2010 when I finished fifth grade and went to middle school. If I had known that recess would be for a limited 5 or 6  years, I would try to savor every minute of it. It’s where friendships are formed, but also where friendships come to a climactic halt over disagreements and spite. It’s where the students can be themselves.

After recess, classical music plays on the announcement speakers. It is the music to clean. And by clean, I mean clean. Scrubbing toilets, brooming every corner of dust, taking out days worth of discarded paper, watering the small succulents, rearranging bookshelves, and wiping down the handrails of the stairs. Each student completes their assigned tasks in an impeccable manner. Occasionally, I will pick up the broom and start sweeping. Even 8 months into this program, their eyes allude to curiosity or eyes of resentment as maybe I am making things worse or slowing the process. 

Witnessing and being part of the last day of the academic school year before tomorrow’s farewell ceremony is melancholic. Young teachers who just started out get rotated to new schools every three to four years. I don’t know yet who the specific teachers are. After completing every last unit and activity on their respective school textbooks, the teachers resort to other educational teaching materials. Videos, personal anecdotes on life, or a simple open discussion to guide the young student’s minds to junior high school or out of the ordinary. And that is something Japanese, more than often not, cannot fixate on. Out of the ordinary. Rhythm, repetitive patterns, and non-direct communication are all the right gears needed for the cog to keep moving.