a singer must die
for the lie in his voice

New things going on here at Saniku: Well, the weather's changing. It's getting warmer, and a little more rainy--in just a few weeks, we'll be full-on into "rainy season" and the air is going to turn into a sticky, mucky wall of nastiness. But Amanda and I are enjoying the nice weather for as long as we can. I don't have A/C in my apartment, so I'll probably be spending a lot of time in my office.

A couple of weeks ago, we (Amanda and I again) attended the annual Kofudai Elementary Sports Day. It was a lot like last year's, so you can go read the entry for May 24, 2004 if you want the low-down. Yes, MORE freaky cultish group exercises, MORE bizarre marching-band remixes of hits past and present, and...another relay, although this time our team finished 2nd because nobody fell and had to incur our corporate wrath. Oh, this time it was cold and rainy to begin, and the kids were STILL out there in their T-shirts and '70s basketball short-shorts. Kids, it's all fun and games until someone gets pneumonia. Just a thought.

I won't post a more involved report, since most of the games and other shenanigans were the same as last year. But it DID remind me of more Kofudai Elementary-related weirdness. I hope no one gets the impression that I'm picking on Kofudai, because it's probably the same all across Japan. But way back in March, we went to the graduation ceremony for the school and boy did I ever get a cultural education then.

First of all, the graduation was absurdly long. There were like 12 kids graduating from 6th grade and the thing went for like four hours total, although the last hour and a half maybe was the potluck afterwards. (The potluck was heavenly, by the way). The graduation service proper was sort of like a combination graduation/Christmas pageant. All the classes got up and did some special number paying tribute to the graduates. Then--the highlight of the service for me--the various groups (little kids, older kids, teachers) paid tribute to the graduates...in SONG. This whole group of people would stand up and sing something in Japanese, and then the graduates would respond, also in song. It was the weirdest but most awesome thing I've seen in a long time.

Of course, I couldn't understand what they were singing, 'cause it was all in Japanese. Since I had nothing better to do, I jotted down what I imagined them to be saying. Now through the magic of the internet, YOU too can experience this. This is what I imagined them to be singing, to the tune of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody":

Graduates: (stand up)
Sensei--we're done with school
learning never was so cool
haven't broken any rules
sensei--class had just begun
and now we've gotta go so far away
(grads sit down)

Teachers: (stand up)
Students, oh-oh-oh-oh
no need for you to cry
you'll forget you were even here
by this time tomorrow!
Carry on, carry on
None of this will matter...

...and so on. I think I might have been imagining all of this a little too vividly and Amanda gave me an elbow in the ribs when I started snickering. Or I may have imagined that too.

I tell y'all, it's a lot of fun here. Really. If you're ever in the position to witness a Japanese elementary graduation, you really should seize the day. Just try to keep the giggling down.

I'm out for now.