First School Day in Japan: Opening with Spring

There was nervous excitement around the school as the teachers welcomed the incoming first year students. First year boys try to look confident in their oversized uniforms with their mothers in tow. The girls try to hide their nervousness with small giggles and quiet smiles. Parents looked proudly nervous for their kids. Even the teachers, for all their smiles, were actually apprehensive. The splash of flowers in almost every corner in the school must have provided silent comfort and joy to these bundles of nerves.

flowers near my desk

When I came to school in the morning, two first year teachers were busy preparing gorgeous and vibrant flowers. I talked with them while they carefully designed and set the flowers in their vases. I can't help but express my appreciation. One of the teachers said that Japanese use flowers to express important events such as the first school day in Japan. In fact,  the cherry blossoms is a signal of coming back to school. It is a sign of spring. Along with the setting of flowers, a formal ceremony was prepared to usher in the incoming first graders.

(For more on School Life in Japan, click here)

Welcome Sign for the First Graders

one of the flower vases in one of the classrooms

Before the actual ceremony, the new students were led to their classrooms by the senior students. With the Japanese keenness on order, all students already have their books waiting on their desks. They also have student numbers assigned. To welcome the students, pictures of cherry blossoms are drawn on the board with a message.

Senior students welcoming a first grader

welcome message peppered with cheery blossom cut outs

In the classroom, the class teacher waited for all the students. When all the students arrived, the class teacher did some introductions, checked the attendance and talked about some system in the school.

Class teacher discussing the school system to expectant first graders

At around 1:30, all students fell in line outside the school gym. Class by class, the parents and teachers welcomed the new students with their class teacher.

New shoes for the new school year

The ceremony itself was formally opened by the vice-principal. Then the principal, the PTA president and the student leader gave their welcome speeches. The first year teachers were also introduced. There's also a symbolic passing of books from the principal to a representative of the first year students. After all the rituals, the first year students were led back to their classrooms. It got my interest how the students bow during the opening ceremony. Just before leaving the hall, the class teacher and the students bow facing the stage where the school's flag and Japan's flag are displayed. I remembered how the students bowed during the closing ceremony. They bowed facing the people.

(More on Japanese customs, here)

After some more discussions in the classroom, the first year students are ushered out back to their parents marking the end of the opening ceremony. Just like how spring symbolizes a new beginning, I believe these students are excited to begin their life in Junior High School. Gambatte!

Bright flowers on the sidewalk near my school

Chocolate Overload: White Day in Japan

Some of my male students are saying "Faye Sensei, do you like choco?" for several days now. At first, I didn't know why they are asking for chocolates. One of the teachers who heard the students explained to me that they are asking if I like chocolates because it's going to be White Day in a few days time- tomorrow as of this writing in fact.

cute bear-shaped chocolate 

I had heard of White Day several years ago when I started teaching Korean students. White Day is celebrated on March 14th, a month just after Valentines Day. It is the time when men and boys gave gifts to women and girls. White Day is only celebrated in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and maybe China.

kawai animal chocolates

Based on my internet research, this White Day celebration in Japan was started by a marshmallow maker in Fukuoka. He urged the men to return the favor when girls gave them chocolates and other sweet treats on Valentines. Eventually other confectioners followed suit. Initially they only gave white chocolates. Hence, White Day. Presently, dark chocolates and other things are given. 

(More on Japanese Celebrations, here)

fruit chocolates

Interestingly there are three types of chocolates given on White Day. First is the giri-choco. These are chocolates given to girls who gave something to a man last Valentines Day. These chocolates are obligatory with no romantic inclinations. The second one is the honmei-choco. These are special chocolates given to girls whom the man likes romantically. The last one is the tomo-choco which are chocolates given to friends.

(More on Japanese customs, here) 

planet chocolates

I asked a female teacher how they distinguish what category does a given chocolate fall into. She said it's a matter of guessing. Usually when the chocolates are expensive and beautifully-presented, it must be honmei-choco. Simple chocolates are either giri-choco or tomo-choco. She added that sometimes it can be confusing like if  a guy gave you a lovely giri-choco, you may assume it is honmei-choco. 

more and more chocolates

I hope to receive tomo-choco tomorrow on White Day! I love chocolates and I love it even more if they came from my students. It would mean they consider me their friend. 

The Great Japan Earthquake: Remembering March 11 2011

There was a great tsunami that caused nuclear meltdowns. A lot of people died, became missing and lost their properties. The earthquake that shocked the world with its tremendous damage is also the same quake that paved the way for me to be in Japan. Hundreds of ALT's flee Japan after this quake leaving a large need  for teachers. I heard that a lot of Americans and British were not too happy to work here. Because of that, Japan opened its doors to Filipino English teachers. I was one of the first batches  of teachers to be hired. The grueling process of application and paperwork took me a year to finally come to Japan in June 2012.

A wave caused by a tsunami flows into the city of Miyako from the Heigawa estuary in Iwate Prefecture after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck Japan March 11, 2011. (Mainichi Shimbun /Reuters)
photo credit: http://www.modernism.ro/2012/01/13/best-photos-of-2011-part-2/

Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that my first teaching assignment was in Morioka City, Iwate in the Tohoku region. It is one of the most affected places of the March 11 earthquake. I was expecting washed out lands and tin houses as I saw in the news. I was half-prepared for sad and devastated people. But when I arrived there, there were only a few traces of devastation. 

Most of the area that I've been to in Iwate showed works-in-progress. Sure there were places that would need a lot of work but I am amazed how Japan was able to recover so quickly. This is especially true when I  compared it with  how my country, the Philippines, is taking decades just to eradicate the slums area. I was impressed with Japan's determination to rebuild just a year after the earthquake when in my country it takes painstakingly long years just to recover from a flood. A flood's devastation seems to be nothing compared to an earthquake, a tsunami and an ongoing nuclear meltdown.

Residents and others in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, observe a moment of silence on April 11, a month after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The government has decided to hold a memorial ceremony in Tokyo on March 11. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
photo credit: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/life_and_death/AJ201201210016

I told one of my Filipino friends about this and she defended the Philippines saying that our country is poor. Before coming to Japan, I thought the same thing. Now, I don't think that the Philippines is poor. We are poor because we think that way. We think we need the help of other countries to be progressive. We think we need aid for every disaster that happens every year. We think we have so little compared to Japan when in reality Japan and the Philippines are in the same region where earthquakes, typhoons, floods and volcanic eruptions can happen anytime.

(More on Nature in Japan, here) 

I think there is more why Japan rebuilds so quickly. I know a lot of countries came to their aid, sent help and prayed for their recovery. The Philippines also experienced those during Ondoy, during the flashfloods in the South, even as far back as during the Pinatubo eruption. There is just something more in Japan that I believe the Philippines should learn from. I don't know what they are but I can point out one- the people.

When I arrived in Iwate, I wasn't really expecting much from the people there. They lost a lot while I gained something with it. To expect more seems to be rather selfish of me. So I admire them even more when I saw how they accepted the things that happened, how they try move on and support each other in the process.

In one of the high schools I worked in, a lot of students lost their parents. Within a month, they were placed in homes where they can be taken care of. Schools and work resumed. All of the schools I've been to acknowledged the disaster and placed an area in remembrance of it. Students posted messages and words of encouragement . Areas who were not so much affected gave immediate aid to those who were in need. Various prefectures in Japan, up until now, provide financial support to those who would like to transfer to another place. The Filipinos are also like these-to some degree. But what I think we fail to understand as Filipinos is that rebuilding lives is a process with tons of hard work. The Japanese just don't quickly help then forget about it. They remember it acknowledging that a lot of work must be put into it. I hope the Filipinos would also care as much as help as much.

As great and dark the shadow of the March 11 Earthquake is, I am one of its tiniest light. I was given higher odds to get a job here. I am not saying I am thankful that it happened; just that I am thankful that I am here. As I build a better life here, I pray that victims of the March 11 Earthquake will soon have a better life too.