Raise your hands if your Spring Break was way too short. I know mine was; I was incredibly busy the whole time.
That being said, have you ever wondered what the Japanese think of Spring Break?
Around this time last year I was just as excited as you all were this year, since my university was also going on break. But imagine my surprise when I found out that we were barely getting one at all; only a day or so, that’s it.
Not to complain, but I felt cheated. Here we were working our butts off as exchange students in what’s said to be the hardest language to learn ever and we barely got a well-deserved vacation for our troubles?
Okay, maybe I am complaining a little, but you have to understand my frustration with how we were treated with breaks and holidays when compared to native Japanese students. Just like it is in the U.S., Japan has many holidays throughout the year, some of which made my fellow exchange students and I jealous that we still had school.
However, when we did get breaks, I was left scratching my head and asking myself why classes were cancelled. Not that I ever complained really, a day off was a day off, but can you believe that Japan has 15 national, government-recognized holidays in comparison to our 10?
At Seinan Gakuin University we had breaks and holidays like any other school, but like I said earlier, what stuck out most for me were the holidays we had off and the ones we didn’t have off. For example, we had a Christmas Break, but we barely even got a week off to see our families or go on trips by ourselves.
It was even more of a pain last semester. I went back to Japan during our break in December and my girlfriend and I had to juggle our schedules very carefully just so we could have some time to ourselves.
For Golden Week, a Japanese celebration that takes place over several major holidays, students and workers went home for the week. We exchange students, on the other hand, carried on as normal. That’s right; the biggest holiday of the year and many of our Japanese friends were gone. We alone were forced sit in the classroom and study, even though our teachers encouraged us to ‘enjoy’ our Golden Week.
One holiday that particularly stuck out to me while we were there was the Coming of Age Ceremony. The Coming of Age day, or Seijin no Hi, is held on the second Monday of January. As the name implies, it celebrates those who turned 20 and became adults over the past year and helping them realize they are adults. Traditionally, many women put on a furisode, a type of formal, elaborate kimono, and men generally opt for standard Western suits.
Not only did we exchange students get a day off from class for the ceremony, but was it also was a very powerful and heartwarming moment to see our Japanese friends excited and happy that they had made it this far in life. I realized the meaning of this celebration while I was taking pictures with them before the ceremony.
It was amazing just how much I had grown and matured along with them and the other exchange students, which made me proud. In fact, I was honored that I could share such a precious, important moment with them.
While there were a lot of other holidays during this time that I experienced, most in the classroom but some outside, it was a wonderful opportunity to not only learn about them, but experience them, regardless of whether it was in the classroom or not. I recommend, no matter where your international passions or interest may lie, to experience those holidays for yourself someday. You never know where it might lead you.
