Thoughts on the Entrance Ceremony

This week has been a crazy week--It's my very first week as an ALT in Japan. Since it coincides with the first week of school for students, this means that I had to attend the entrance ceremony. While we do not have entrance ceremonies in the States, I have been to a small one for exchange students when I was a student in Japan. The full blown experience in a junior high school was unique to say the least.

Photo credit:

http://www.bit.urayama.ac.jp/japan/english/information/

I was given very short notice of the entrance ceremony. I was told very last minute at a work party the Friday before. This being my first one, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was to look nice. 

Fast forward to this morning, I was given brief instructions on where to stand (for the first half), and on my short introduction. This lead to a bit of confusion on my end, but it all worked out in the end. Aside from my keigo that is. I knew the keigo. I was repeating the keigo in my head... Yet the moment I was handed the microphone, it disappeared. Haha. Oh well! But seriously, having a room full of parents stare at you is pretty nerve wrecking. 

Aside from my keigo blunder, the ceremony went smoothly. However, it was very, very, very long and dry. The teacher next to me even nodded off!! Plus, there was soooo much bowing. It felt like every two minutes we were bowing. At least the teachers got to stay seated for some of them! The poor students had to keep standing back up.It was interesting to try and guess when the next bow would be. Has my senior counterpart put it, if there is a pause, just go ahead and bow. Haha. 

In all seriousness, I did love getting to see my students. I can't imagine how the first year students felt, aside from bored that is. Plus, I think it is a good thing that the students took it seriously and were respectful with there bowing. However, I do not look forward to the next one because they are so long. I was getting a bit drowsy myself!

Bonus: For anyone that has not gone to an entrance ceremony before, men should wear white ties and women should not wear jewelry in most cases! (No one told me, so I figured I would share the information!)

How do you feel about entrance ceremonies? What was your first experience like?