The Ninth Day

This will be the last day that I write a full account of, as after this things fell into a pretty reasonable routine.
On the Monday which officially marked one week in Japan, I went to work and again spent the morning looking like I was working away. In truth I really was as I was planning a huge bulletin board by the English room and practicing my speech (once again in Japanese) for an important ceremony in the afternoon. After leaving work at lunch I ate some cup ramen before getting dressed in a suit again and hopping on the subway to downtown.
The ceremony was even more official than the last as we arrived two hours early so that the Board of Education representatives could teach us just how to perform the ceremony. Listen for your name, say “hai!”, stand up, hands clasped in front, step around the table, bow low to all the important people there, walk past them, turn, bow again as you leave their ‘area’, approach podium, man reads your name and school and hands you certificate, grasp certificate first with left hand, then right, bow very very low to this man, stand, turn, take a few steps, bow to important people, turn, return to seat. I’m not even exaggerating, It was so stressful. Then after they had one through everyone, we each in turn made our Japanese speeches again. Once that was over, a few of the important people made speeches and they closed the ceremony, We could all breathe again! We bonded as we discussed how we almost passed out from stress.
After the very formal ceremony we all walked to central Sendai to the British Pub where some of the ALTs had been making a habbit of visiting. I grabbed some pretty decent fish and chips before having a drink and shortly after hopping on the subway home.
Following this day, I began a routine of getting to school by 8:15 am every day, working on various English-related things, and going home around 4:30 pm. Every night I usually find something to do with some of the other ALTs, whether it’s just dinner and shopping or a festival or other culturally significant event. That first week was both amazing and an absolute mind-numbing whirlwind. Here’s to discovering Japan at my own pace!