March 11th Anniversary, Graduation

This is my 100th post of the Dustin in Japan blog!  It's unfortunate that I'm writing on such a downer of an entry this time.

Just a few minutes ago here at Jonan we all gathered outside.  Every year at 2:46 PM on March 11th they ring the city warning bell for 1 minute for the anniversary of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami that ravaged a great part of the coastal Miyagi cities and towns.  Even though I didn't experience the tsunami firsthand I couldn't help but think what a fearsome sound the warning bell was producing.  As we walked back in a lot of my teachers were fighting back tears and one was letting them flow.  While I am happy to join in on the remembrance of the anniversary, I don't feel exactly right crying along with people as I didn't experience it myself, nor did I lose anything in the disaster.  I know others (including the people who were here at the time) would tell me it's ok, but that is just how I feel personally.

On the radio and TV they are talking about how Miyagi has to do its best and to dream of the future.  But lately I've been hearing a common sentiment among the Japanese people and that is that those messages aren't exactly right.  I agree with them.  Japan is a country that doesn't express its feelings and I feel this severely hurts its people.  It's important to talk about things, but Japanese people are apt to just bottle it up and move on.  A common theme here includes the word 我慢 which, in the most honest translation, as its often used, is "just deal with it."  It doesn't matter how you feel about things, it doesn't matter if it's right or not, just deal with it.  It's how they get all the Japanese people on one page, and there are benefits to that, but overall I feel it's very unhealthy for the Japanese people's mental well being.  One Japanese girl was telling me how the people lost in the tsunami have become taboo even, that they're not supposed to talk about them.  It's only been 3 years and to think that those people are supposed to just be pushed to the back of others' memories so they won't make others sad anymore is nothing short of ridiculous.  Japan needs to get over it's "but talking about feelings is embarrassing!"  attitude.  For the betterment of its people.  Unfortunately, it either won't, or I won't live long enough to see it.

2 girls that wanted a pic w/me

 

Graduation was this last weekend on the 8th.  I went to Jonan this year.  Actually I wanted to go to Jonan's graduation last year and to Niitsuki's this year, it sucks I didn't get to go to those respective graduations.  But it was still cool to go to Jonan's.  I've had these kids since halfway through their 1st year, and now I watched them graduate as 3rd years.  It was the last graduation I'll see as an ALT.  I didn't cry though.  I thought I'd be able to change my social skills for the better when I came here, but so far, that's not the case.  I hope my kids now will get a much better ALT than I.  Someone told me that it'll be a shame when I leave back to America.  I wish I could live up to those words.


I am back to Oregon in roughly 21 weeks!

我慢【がまん】 (gaman) patience; endurance; perseverance; tolerance;