Sitting, waiting, wishing

It was a hot and sticky August morning. I think it was the principal or the vice principal who ushered me to my seat in the "teachers' corner" of the gym, and told me to wait for the opening assembly to start. This would be the first time I would see all of the students at Motomiya 2nd J.H.S.

I heard a rumble, and looked up. The students were entering the gym through the side doors, each carrying their wooden classroom chair. Split into two lines, the girls and the boys proceeded to the front of the gym. Each class had one line for boys and one line for girls. So, there must've been about almost 20 lines. Some of the kids sneaked looks over at me, probably curious to see the new ALT. But for the most part, everyone was rather quiet. They arranged their chairs in straight vertical lines facing the stage. It was obvious that this was the regular seating arrangement, because everyone was able to create perfect spaces between chairs and the aisles. They did it quietly and without complaint. I was impressed. Every kid was sitting up with perfect posture. The boys had their hands turned into fists, resting on their laps. I didn't really recognize anyone, except for Yumi-chan. One of the speech contest kids, I had met her earlier in August when I started coaching them.

Over the years, I got used to their general obedience and their knack for precision. The chair thing didn't surprise me after attending several assemblies, pep rallies, formal ceremonies and school festivals. That dilapidated gym held a lot of events for us.

Now that we're in the community centre, we no longer have space for general assemblies. We don't have room for all of the students and teachers to congregate. If something needs to be said to everyone, the message is usually announced over the P.A.

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Last week, we held the annual relay race day at the big city gym. About four or five buses drove up to the big complex. It has a spacious gym, equipped with a second-floor that has bucket seats on all four sides for spectators. Anyways, the kids sat down on the shiny wooden floor to listen to the principal's message in the morning.

Similar to three years ago, they proceeded quietly into the gym and somehow shimmied themselves into 20 lines divided by gender. They lacked chairs this time, so they ended up sitting on the floor with their legs bent at the knees. Their arms were lightly wrapped around them. You would never see my peers and I successfully do that back home when we were kids. We preferred sitting willy-nilly with our friends, legs crossed while we half-heartedly listened to the assembly.

Classic. This litttle thing: Japanese students getting seated in the way that they do. I'm going to miss that simple moment. I admire their obedience and their sheer devotion to having things done in an aesthetically-pleasing way. The way they sit also shows their adherence to group mentality, which bears its pros and cons. They sit quietly. They wait for the message. They wish for climate-controlled gyms. (I can't tell you how many times I've seen kids actually faint while sitting in the gym, because it's either too cold or too hot.)