kenleewrites in 日本

Of course, the press were all present to capture my brush with royalty. ^^.

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My graduation experience in Japan.

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony. A couple of my friends were graduating and I was there for the pics. ^^. Not to be in them, but to be the one behind the camera taking photos.

So. About graduation ceremonies in Japan. Graduations are held twice a year (at least for my university). In April during Spring and in September during Autumn. Always during the school holidays. I’ve been to 3 so far, 1 of them my own; all at the same university. There’s no real dress code. No academic dress, no graduation cap. You don’t get your degree in a roll, but rather in a booklet.

It starts off with a big ceremony. The president of the university will hand degrees out to representatives from each batch; he’s a busy person, can’t individually give out degrees to everyone. Once the main ceremony is over, graduates separate into different groups and head off to different halls to receive their respective degrees from the head of their respective schools. *phew*. Photos here are from the smaller ceremony which includes everyone… except that representative.

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Keirou no hi. Today’s public holiday in Japan is the Respect-for-the-Aged Day. Don’t forget to wish your old folks a happy holiday. ^^

I’m still in denial. It was so sudden and I still find it hard to believe. I still think that I’ll receive an email from him anytime now. I haven’t been sleeping very well for the last few days. Have to get myself really tired so that I’ll automatically doze off.

People move on. I have to move on. My research lab is going to disappear from April next year. The students will all be sent off to other labs. It’s kinda sad… But, at least we still have 6 months together. We still have 2 official lab activities left for the year. Participating in the campus festival and a study trip. Hopefully this will give all of us some closure.

Chest still hurts a little, but I’ll manage. I do have some regrets though. Some usual ones like “I should’ve studied harder”, “I should’ve listened to him more” etc. Alot of “should’ves”… actually, now that I think about it, I did not always do my best, but I always did what I could. So those regrets, are not really regrets. He was a mac otaku too. My biggest regret is that I did not show him my iPhone. ><

This is a personal post. I lost someone dear recently. He succumbed to cancer 2 nights ago. I can’t find words to express my sadness. He was my boss, my mentor and my friend. I went to his wake today and will be saying my last goodbyes at his funeral tomorrow. My heart aches and I feel some kind of heavy thing weighing above me… He was a great man and I had the utmost respect for him.

Noguchi sensei, I miss you… I’ll never forget you and what you have always tried to teach me. May you find rest and peace.