MARCH 23
I went shopping again today. There’s no more time to
look around, so I bought a one-piece from GU, some foundation and make-up
things at the hyaku-en shop, and finally a belt and bag from the
underground shopping mall. Couldn’t find any good shoes, so hopefully what I
have is good enough. Tomorrow night is the Send-Off party, and before that is
the actual Graduation Ceremony. Mixed feelings~
MARCH 24
The day starts early so I can find my way to the
Graduation Hall by 10am. The venue isn’t on campus, probably because there is
no large auditorium at the Nagoya campus. The event hall they chose was one
stop away from Kanayama, and a couple blocks walk away from the station. I
figured out I was going the right way when I was surrounded on all sides by young
men in suits, and young women in kimono
and hakama. I felt like a salmon
swimming upstream, even though we were all headed to the same place.
I arrived at 10am, but the actually ceremony didn’t
start for an hour. During that time I was able to greet many of the other
seniors that I haven’t seen for months. Of course, I found the BPM members
also. Our greetings were brief unfortunately, as everyone seemed to either have
family or close friends with them. I simply floated amongst the groups until we
were able to enter the auditorium. Then it was the same drag as with all
Graduation ceremonies: band introduction, some speeches by teachers and heads
of the school, more band music, and finally having representatives from each
major receive their diplomas. The individuals didn’t receive their diplomas
until afterward, when they were separated into rooms by major.
(Female graduates dressed in kimono as we watched the school band perform.)
As I watched the events go on, I realized that in a
way, today was also my graduation ceremony, too. Officially, I wouldn’t
graduate from university until the end of the spring semester, which was May
back in the States. I wouldn’t be going home for that event, so today was my
day, too. The process is the same anyway. Congratulate your friends, hope you
can see them again, and then reminisce before returning to real life. For me,
real life meant I had to leave the event hall around 2pm so I could go home and
get ready for the Send-Off party tonight.
The party was held at a restaurant on the basement
floor of a building near the station. If anything, you could say it was a real
classy bar. We had the whole place rented out. It was 5000 yen to get in, but
part of that money also went to paying for the senior gifts. The graduates weren’t
set to come until a little later, so I talked with some of the students from
the Toyohashi campus. The food wasn’t brought out until the seniors arrived, so
even though it was buffet style, we weren’t able to finish the food.
Each of the seniors in turn gave a small memorial
speech, a thank you for the past four years they spent in and out of BPM.
Hearing that even some of the amazing members that I respected for their dance
pursuit had conflicts over the years, and even considered giving up dancing
gave me more inspiration than anything to continue to dance. To somehow make
them proud; even if I couldn’t meet them again, I wanted to show that I was
grateful somehow. But, despite, even my best intentions, I have to accept the
fact that our time together has been too short. We may always be distanced
because of that fact. It’s not a culture thing, simply a matter of time.
MARCH 25
Last night after the Send-Off Party ended at the
classy bar, we continued the night down in Toyohashi. It was another night of
endless drinking for them, and another helpless time for me as I watched over
them. I don’t mind if they drink, but over-drinking is a serious problem
amongst these university students. I’m tired of watching my friends get sick
from drinking. If they weren’t also watching after each other, I think I would
condemn the act more harshly. There’s always someone to have their backs, at
least for that I am grateful.
I caught the first train back to Nagoya again, which
meant I didn’t get home until about 9am or so. Today was Tuesday, so the only
plans I made was to go to dance practice. Surprisingly, several people showed
up, even though they had been partying late last night.
MARCH 26
Today, I just needed a break from everything. No
training this week, which means I’m not leaving my room today. It’s just time
for some good ole R n’ R.
MARCH 27
More dance practice today~ I’m starting to worry about
how this choreography is going to turn out for the showcase. We’ve made little
to no progress on the choreography since last week, and the showcase date is on
April 15th. Not only that, but we still have a whole second song that hasn’t
been decided yet. I trust they’ll figure it out, but I really wish it was set
so we can practice properly.
MARCH 28
Tomorrow there is a BBOY EXPO up in Seto. A couple of
the graduated break dancers wanted to get some last minute practice in, but
they had already turned in their student IDs so they couldn’t rent out the
studio. I wanted to practice some more as well, so I rented the studio for
them. There were only four of us, but we had fun time practicing. They even
helped me out with new handstand freezes.
Friday is also Open Mic Night at Heart n’ Soul Cafe.
Rachael has
wanted to go for some time, but we couldn’t go in January because I had
training, or in February because she was in Korea at the time. We ran into a
lot of people who we haven’t seen since the Christmas Cake party back in
December. The performances were also amazing, everyone was really talented. I
think Rachael should try to perform there once before she leaves because she’s
such a good singer! She seems like she wants to sing there, too. Now I just
have to figure out how to convince her to do it.
MARCH 29
I woke up a little later than I should have, but I
tried to start my adventure to the BBOY EXPO on the right foot. It was my first
trip to the city of Seto, so I was careful to memorize the train changes as
best I could. Unfortunately, my mind had been too focused on the transfer I
needed to take at Ozone, that when I was changing changes at Hisaya-Odori I
accidentally exited the station. As soon as I passed through the ticket gate, I
felt like I was in the wrong place. Why my brain didn’t comprehend my location
faster is a mystery to me. I ended up having to buy another ticket, for about
the same amount as the first one, just to catch the Meijo Line train to Ozone.
Once boarded that train however, it was smooth sailing.
Usually I try to arrive at an event right before it
starts, but when I arrived at the EXPO it was already well into the 1st string.
Knowing more people outside of BPM made the overall experience a lot more fun.
I was able to cheer on more teams, take videos for people, and exchange casual
words with familiar faces. My new friends often asked me, ‘Are you dancing
today?’ But I had to say ‘No.’ They are very encouraging; I’m the only thing
holding me back.
This time I
stayed until the end of the EXPO. Since I went to the event alone I didn’t have
to come and go on anyone else’s time. But, at the same time, when it was all
over, I was heading home alone as well. I would have liked to hang out with
someone, but everyone seemed to have their own plans.
(The level at this event was incredibly high as well.)
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