12
Apr
Kai’s Kindergarten Graduation
Topic: Japan 2007, Kai
[mpiphoto=226,right,scale,200]From an American’s perspective, Kai’s graduation from kindergarten was fairly typical… for a high school senior. From beginning to end the whole thing took about three hours. There were songs, slideshows, speeches, the ceremony itself, and multiple rounds of various group photos.
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Most of the dads took at least part of the day off work to be there, and many local dignitaries were also in attendance. Several of the moms were there in formal kimonos, which is a big deal, as getting them put on just right, plus the requisite hair and make up work, is something of an undertaking. Many of the moms were also crying as the kids got their diplomas. I had to restrain myself from blurting out “it’s just kindergarten!” 
Actually, many of these kids are only children, and - generally speaking - the Japanese seem take the milestones of childhood development more seriously than Americans. So, with those things in mind, their feelings are understandable. I genuinely felt for one of the moms as she burst into tears when her son got his diploma: he’s both mentally and physically handicapped, and this graduation was probably one of the last experiences he’ll have where he can participate just like all the other kids his age (I imagine in first grade or soon thereafter he’ll be moved into a special program).
The first video on the left is Kai getting his diploma. The second one is a portion of one of the songs the kids sang. They paused at various points during the song so the kids could shout out what their favorite activity was during the school year. Kai’s line is at the end of the clip. He memorized what to say in Japanese “Ken wo tsukutte asobu no tanoshikatta desu.” That roughly translates to “I enjoyed making swords for playing.” There’s actually a lot going in the grammar of that sentence, some of which is beyond my experience (like the katta suffix on the adjective tanoshii (enjoyable), which I just looked up - it makes it the past tense). For now it’s just something he memorized, but now that he’s starting first grade and getting some Japanese lessons, I imagine his Japanese will be better than mine by the end of June, when we head back to the US.
Kai had a great time in kindergarten. He made friends with the two other boys in the class who speak English. Even though Kai won’t be in the same school as them for 1st grade, he’ll still see them for playdates (the girl in the picture with Maria is Naname, the younger sister of Kai’s classmate and friend Kaito - their dad is American). I’m sure Kai will make new friends in first grade as well.
[tags]Japan, Tokyo, kindergarten, graduation[/tags]
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August 5th, 2008 at 1:29 am
hahaha… I laugh… reminds me of The Incredibles… “It’s not graduation! He’s just moving from the fifth grade to the sixth grade…” - bob