Almost one year has passed since I first set foot in Japan. Now on Friday, we had our closing ceremony for the Japanese Bekka Program. I didn't receive a certificate, which is weird, but I might get something later I guess. I think it's due to me not being an "exchange student", but we'll see. During this past week, I have had an exam every day, finishing on Thursday. I ended up with a good enough score as my final note, and according to the Japanese Language Proficiency Test we took in class, I have improved quite a lot since the beginning of this semester. Now if we compare where I am now to how I was when I first came to Japan, I have indeed come quite the way. Not only with my Japanese, but in many ways, I feel like this experience has taught me much more. After one year of hard studies, training, all while living in a completely different country, it is now time to look back on my journey.

Since September last year, the beginning of my stay in Japan, I would be a fool to say that I haven't changed. In fact, one might even say I'm a completely different person. My Japanese has evolved from being able to say a few memorized sentences to having complex conversations with friends, teachers, strangers as well as my family. With that being said, I realize that I have much more to learn, but I can say that I have given my best, and the best has paid back.

I have also being able to experience the Japanese culture. I had the chance to visit many world renowned places, participate in many Japanese activities, and of course, fill myself with succulent Japanese cuisine. I was able to see different aspects of the country and from different perspectives, from Tokyo's busy life to the quiet villages; a student's life and more, of one being part of a sports club. Now due to my progress in Japanese, I was also able to hear the opinion of many of my friends, and understand their perspective on life. That is probably the most incredible thing I was able to receive from this whole trip.

I also had the incredible chance to make friends from all around the world. Those I was studying with, whether they were from Thailand or Spain, showed me that life is such a wonderful thing. I realized that no matter where you are from, everyone has the same needs. We simply express those needs in different ways. I was able to see this with my own eyes. I was able to interact with them, see them smile and laugh, get mad or frustrated. I was able to share my ideas with them and listen to theirs. If I thought, before coming here, that I was the only one fighting a battle, these new friends of mine taught me differently.

My stay in Japan is not over just yet, but now that my studies are completed, I feel as if I have reached another chapter in my life. This next chapter will be full of changes, full of hard decisions. But thanks to my family, I was able to acquire this experience which has prepared me for this next step. And for that, I am beyond words as to how much I am thankful to them.

Almost one year has passed since I first set foot in Japan. Yet I feel like it was just yesterday.

Ever since I found out there would be another speech contest during the spring semester, I was determined to participate in it. Last time, it didn't go as planned, and so I wanted a chance to redeem myself. Therefore, during the spring break, I had plans to write my speech ahead of time. But just as any other goal I set myself for that spring break, it didn't happen. But I did find a topic on which I wished to write my speech.

This time around I wanted to write something funny. Soon came the time where the teachers started mentioning the speech contest in class. This time, it would be slightly different. I could just sign up to the eliminations, give a speech and get to participate in the university contest.

No.

This time, I had to first be in the top three of my class. Then the top three would compete against the top three of the third class, making us six in total, but only ONE would be allowed to compete in the university's contest.

When came the time to write our speeches in class, it was at the same time we had our mid-term exam as well as making our preparations to go to the middle school in Yokohama. I had already told myself that I was going to make it to the university contest, but the teacher didn't quite realize that. They gave us very limited time to write our speeches in our own words.

See, I wanted to first write my speech in English, then get my dad to translate it, then review it many times with my friends, obtaining a variety of opinions, then lastly, revise it all with my teachers. It did end up going through all those steps, but during a much shorter amount of time than I had planned.

Finally, came the day for the 4th class's contest. I performed my speech almost perfectly. Having learned from last time, nerves were not needed here. According to plan, I was selected to be among the top three of the class who would then compete the next day with the upper class.

Video: https://youtu.be/KvSFlynERPM

The next day, the nerve level was cool. I had prepared enough, I was relaxed. I was there, in the moment. I ended up being the first one to present. I stood up in front of both classes, and performed my speech. I missed two quite important lines in the middle of my speech this time, but I still felt good about it. I had learned to just go with it, and not show that I made a mistake... which ended up working.

After a short break, the professors returned to the classroom with the results in their heads. The first girl called up was Sara, a Mongolian women from my class who had spoken about her life as a young mother going to university. At this point, I wasn't sure if this meant she was the one to compete in the university contest, but my friend Nadi kept reassuring me. Next called up was Mai, a half-Japanese, half-Israelian girl from the third class, who's speech had been about gay marriages in her country.

This time, before calling the name of the next person, the teacher announced that this next student had performed the best speech, and would be the one to perform in the university's contest. Hopes high, heart beating, I waited.

...


...


...


My name was CALLED!

I walked to the front of the class, proud, ready to receive my certificate.

Now tomorrow, I'm going to perform my speech in front of many Japanese students for another chance to win this contest. I am prepared and ready to go. This time, I won't let the nerves get to me. This time, I won't hold back.

I performed my speech last Friday in front of all the Bekka students. I wore a purple dress shirt with grey suit pants. I was clean, ready and calm. I had practiced my speech enough. I knew what  I was going to tell my audience. When my turn came, I walked up to the microphone, took a deep breath, and let it all out. I ended up performing my speech a little too fast. I also unconsciously missed a few words here and there, but I still believe I performed well. I walked off stage a little frustrated but somewhat satisfied. By the time the last contestant had finished his speech, I was fairly confident I had a shot at winning the contest. While the judges left the room to consult, a few of the students had been asked to organize a few short skits to help pass time. I went over to my teachers, first Mrs. Nishiyama, who insisted I had performed well. After that, I spent a good ten minutes talking to Mrs. Miyagi. She told me that my intonation had still some work to do and perhaps the speech could have also been modified a little more.

Video: https://youtu.be/nUUFvv3yCQ4

The judged returned to the room, and the contestants were all called up on stage. The first girl to receive a prize was the girl from the lowest class. She had been first to perform, but yet had done it quite well considering her Japanese level. Next called up was... me. I was really hoping to win the contest, but I knew in that moment I had been placed in second. I received my certificate and bookstore-money-card-prize and returned to my place in line. The first place winner ended up being the student from the 5th class, one level below me. I personally had liked his speech, but I did find it a little cheezy. But if the judges believed it to be better, it must be so.

After the whole thing, how do I feel? Well, I do believe that I improved. Just as I say in my speech, my experiences (mistakes) of the past have brought me to a higher level of understanding and potential. I may not have won the contest, but I ended up being second out of all the Bekka students. That's quite an achievement if you ask me. I even beat many of those from the higher class.

About two weeks ago, there was an announcement at the end of practice: an offer of a part-time job for the following week's Friday's fourth period. It caught my interest so the next day, I asked the announcer about it. I told him that it might be odd, but I would like to try this job. He said he would enquire if it was possible.

About two days later, he informed me that it would be possible for me to go, but there would be no payment, just food. I told him I would think of it, although I was pretty certain that I would go. After verifying I had nothing that night, I told him I'd join, and on Friday April 17^th, I walked to the front of the university's gymnasium to catch the bus picking us up.

I wasn't the only one going of course, 20 other judo members had also been selected. There were others that had already walked over there. I stopped at the new convenience store near Comsquare (where International Friday Night was held), bought some cough lozenges and masks, and then got ready to ride the bus.

I got a seat near the front, and no one else sat next to me. I guess that has its ups and downs. We were given "bentos" which is the Japanese word for packed lunch, and ate while we received an explanation about our job that day. After confirming with my friend Kato, I found out that our duty that day was to bring a "o-mikoshi", a portable shrine all the way up a mountain, pulling it using ropes, that it would take 3 hours in total, and that some part of the mountain were up to 45˚, which made it fairly steep.


We arrived at the city of Oiso, and were immediately directed to a lounge room to wait until the beginning of the festival, which was about one and a half hour later. We were given cookies, and our outfit for the evening. Everyone then pulled their phones out to relax and chat. I just laid down on my back pack, and grabbed about 20 minutes of sleep. After that, we started getting ready. This was the first time I would wear something like this. I had never really thought much about the outfit before, but it is true that the festival's workers all wear the same thing. I was glad to be able to take part in this. Not many foreigners get to do this, especially be treated like a Japanese and not a foreigner.








Just the first climb up the mountain was ridiculously steep and dangerous. Soon, we got the signal to start and we pulled a little bit on the rope. Now I thought it was going to be much harder, but with the staff there, and everyone, we had quite a lot of breaks. The whole way up, we would pull for about 10 seconds, then wait for 5 minutes. They needed to anchor the ropes all over the place to ensure the safety of the shrine and so that the rope wouldn't get too tangled up. They would called out: "Hippatte!" which I found out means to pull haha, and we would then all pull until we were told to stop. We did this the whole way up.

Now soon, it got really dark, and we couldn't see too much, which made it even more dangerous. You would often hear someone say: "Abunai!" which means dangerous, when they slipped or fell. Some of the old town folks were walking around with head lamps.

The whole thing felt like we were a team, which made it quite cool since like I said before, normally, I never could have been here. Thanks to my effort in class, this is what I get.

At about 5 minutes before reaching the top, the squad stopped us all to take a break. We were given onigiri and water while reporters and cameramen shot reports on the shrine and some of the judo guys. I was probably filmed in the background somewhere, but I didn't bother asking when it would be aired.


After that break, we carried the shrine up the last part of the mountain and the celebration started. They started bouncing the shrine up and down, like they do very often during festivals here in Japan. But what was even cooler is that I got to carry the actual shrine myself and bounce in a circle with everyone! It got quite heavy at one point, but I must say I was quite happy to have done it!

After that, they brought the shrine under a tent, and the formal part of the ceremony started. A man dressed in interesting clothes walked in and out carrying things, saying long monotone sentences which might have been a prayer? Names of the important related people were called out. When this whole thing was happening, I had found a spot higher up a tree so that I could see better. One of the man in front of me gave me a look, and told me to take off the ribbon I had on my head. After that, I looked around, and everyone else had done so already. They must have announced it, but I didn't even catch any of it or noticed when everyone took it off. Maybe it's just a custom during festivals.

Once that was done, we were served champagne, and were soon on our way down the hill. We all grabbed a part of the rope and walked slowly back. This was also dangerous but I made it back without injuries.

We handed the outfits back, and were served a meal. We only had about 20 minutes to eat before the bus left, but it wasn't too bad since I was given two bentos in total, which have since served me as lunch. We were dropped off in front of my dorm, lucky for me, and I walked back home, to my room, feeling accomplished and happy!

On March 25^th, almost a month ago already, I was able to attend the Tokai University Graduation Ceremony.

Now just to give you a little background on the Japanese culture, first of all, most students have a set time of 4 years of studies, with the first semester starting in April, the second one in September. They do this for four years, and as long as they passed all their courses, most of them all graduate at the same time. Also, it is very common for some people not to attend their own graduation ceremony. Some of them have already found a job and are working hard or being trained.

This day was a very special day. I would say that about... 80% of the friends I have made so far in Japan were now all graduating on this day. This meant that it would most likely be the last time I see them before I head back home. So I packed up some of the organic hand soaps I had brought from Canada into little packages, making one for all of my friends. I also printed out and framed a picture for Chipa and Anzu, who were the ones who helped me the most since I've been here.

Now I actually had to attend two ceremonies. Since they all had to graduate on that day (but there were too many students to fit the gymnasium), they needed to separate the arts and the sciences students. And still, the room was filled! First up was Chipa's graduation. He graduated from the Architecture Department. I watched the ceremony which lasted about 1 hour. Gift where given to those who excelled, speeches were made, a video was showed and it was then time to leave.



After that, I gave Chipa his gift, and he headed off to his department to receive his certificate.

Two hours later, I headed back to the gym to attend the art's ceremony. But this time, my friend Kenta who was a staff at the dorm, invited us to go down with him. Being a little crazy, four of us who aren't graduating headed with the graduating students to watch the ceremony from a student's perspective. It was quite funny, and it didn't bother anyone. Since I won't really be graduating from Tokai, this gave me the opportunity to know how it feels to graduate from a Japanese university. Besides that, the ceremony was exactly the same.


After it ended, I had to chase down all my friends to take pictures with them and give them gifts. They all had to head to their departments, so it was quite interesting to try and spot them out of the hundreds of students coming down the road. Here they are, all dressed up for the ceremony!







*I didn't get a picture with all of them since some of them took it on their phone and still haven't sent them over...*

Most of my friends were graduating from the International Department, so I followed them there, and ended up listening to the last speech they received from their teacher. I must say, it really felt like I was graduating. Many of them actually asked me if I was haha!

Random but funny, the judo guys that were graduating saw me at one point, and asked me to take a picture with them. Most of them had never spoken to me before, but I don't mind. I just don't think I'm never going to see that picture since I don't have them as friends on Facebook.

But yeah, after saying goodbye to everyone one last time, I headed back to the Kaikan. That night, we had a supper to celebrate Chipa and Kenta's graduation and departure from the dorm.



Feelings:
 - First, most of my friends are going to leave, which makes me quite sad. I had really built this family atmosphere with all these friends I would come across on the university campus. Many of them had helped me at least once and I was really thankful for them.
 - This means that next semester, I get to start "anew". Since most of my Japanese friends are leaving, this makes me anonymous again. Not a bad thing I guess.
 - Every single one of them said that their four years had gone too fast and they wanted to stay here. All I could think of, is how fast my own trip had gone so far, and it really just made me scared that I wouldn't be able to accomplish all my goals within the remaining time.

One thing you might notice, and that I also noticed that day, is that most of my friends are girls! Well, what can I say... haha, no I did not do this on purpose. It is because most girls' Japanese is quite easier to understand, and they actually teach me Japanese. Also, guys in Japanese simply approach me to have "international experience", and so I prefer to keep my distance, although I believe I might change this for this next semester, but we'll see. ;-)

In Japan, the school semester ends at the end of January. Therefore, on January 31^st, the judo club held its annual graduation party for the 4^th year students graduating. At the same time, they use this celebration to congratulate the participants in the All Japan University Team Competition which was held in Osaka last October.

First, let me start by explaining the practice that morning. Everyone was obviously excited for the celebration that night. But there was also something else completely different. As I watched, I came to realize that all the 4^th year students were fighting, and it seemed like they were not allowed to say no to anyone. Therefore, fight after fight, they fought and fought, becoming more and more tired. But I guess since this might be one of their last time fighting, they had fun. Everyone was laughing at how tired they were.

For the last 30 minutes of the practice, the graduating students were all put in a line in front and they were allowed to call anyone they wanted to throw three last times. After getting thrown, everyone could throw the senior three times as well. In that moment, I could really see the years that had passed through each member. Every member wanting to get thrown one last time by his seniors, no matter the size, laughing and reminding each other of old jokes. But in that moment, I didn't really feel part of that group. I was still the lonely foreigner. Except, I realized soon enough that one of my friends, Daisuke, was up in line throwing everyone. I had forgotten he was graduating. My leg was still hurting, so I hesitated for a moment, but then trusting my heart, I stepped up in front of him to take my falls. He smiled at me and thanked me for coming. He threw me lightly due to my leg, and then I had a go at three throws myself. We bowed, I congratulated him, and I walked back to join the others waiting on the opposite side of the mat.


The practice ended by an announcement that we had to wear suits for the ceremony.

Except the only problem is that they all own the same exact suit, and I knew that. Three hours later, I showed up at Comsquare, with my grey suit. One of the 4^th year students told me I looked sharp, but as soon as I walked in, as predicted, all eyes landed on me. Imagine this, all these Japanese guys in their black suits, white shirts, and me, the foreigner, showing up with a grey suit and a purple dress shirt. I kind of felt proud, but then again, I believe I was a hot topic of conversation for the first 15 minutes.

Finally, after about 20 minutes of waiting, we were called to the front of the room. Many people came and made speeches, most of which I didn't know, and congratulated the winners of the team competition as well as the graduates. The food had been served in front of us, and only the 4^th year students and the coaches had been allowed to eat. The first, second, and third year student had to wait. And booy did they wait! After about... two hours of speeches and comments, and all these things, they were finally allowed to eat.

I chatted a little bit here and there with some members I knew, took a few pictures, gave a gift to Agemizu sensei, and then I had to say my goodbyes. I had to go DJ at the Farewell party for the International students. Besides, most of them were going to go drink, if they hadn't already. Most of the 4^th year students were already drunk, which made it really funny to watch. After congratulating Daisuke one last time, I took my leave from the room, wondering what is must feel like to be them.

After the graduation ceremony for the students who were leaving, I had to head over to my judo practice. But once that was done, I rushed over back to my dorm, changed my clothes, and headed down the hill to meet my class at the "yaki-niku" (BBQ style meat) restaurant.

On the last day of January, we had the graduation ceremony for the students who are leaving this semester. This included most of the Koreans, the Hawaiians, and some others as well. Our teacher had asked us to go (even the ones not graduating yet like myself), just to support our classmates who were. The whole ceremony was taking place in the Comsquare building, the same one where the International Friday Night had taken place, and where most celebrations take place here in Tokai.

All the students were called one by one to receive their certificate, which is quite normal, but what differed from Canadian ceremonies, was that each one of them had to bow to the crowd, to the officials, then, again once they received their certificate. With about 30 students graduating, that makes for a lot of bows...

After the ceremony, there was a buffet served and we were allowed to talk and enjoy what would probably be our last time together. I had to leave a little early, since there is apparently no rest for the judo club.