So I've come to it. I'm just about to start my last week at school. On Friday, I will officially say goodbye to my kids.
Everything is happening really fast, and I feel like I'm not getting a moment to stop and think about it. That's probably good because I don't think I want to... I'll save the "being sad" part for the plane ride home. But on the other hand, things like this happen. I'm suddenly surprised that it's my last week, and I haven't really had it sink in yet.
I've been trying to avoid telling the students that I'll be leaving in August just because I don't want to be treated any differently by them (good or bad). A few of them knew anyway for whatever reason, but for the past few weeks, my JTEs have been letting them know that my last week is coming soon. And every time I hear it, I can only think to stare at the floor. I don't want to be arrogant and assume that they're going to miss me, but I don't want to look at those who I know are indifferent and feel like I've had no effect on them.
Everyday, now, I'm getting a student or two stopping me in the hall and asking me when I'm leaving. After the teacher makes the announcement at the end of class, I sometimes get a student or two that comes up to me and asks, "Really? So soon?" There's been this group of boys that I sometimes joke with outside of class. In class, they're rowdy, noisy, and not the best students. I thought they hated English and didn't really care about me. But just the other day, at the end of class, they came up to me, "Wait, so you're leaving?" "Yeah, guys." "Oh..." and they each decided they wanted to help me carry my books and materials back down to the teacher's office. This meant I had a group of boys walking with me, each of them only carrying 1 book, or a pencil case, or a rolled up paper (And the JTE with an armful of books and a CD player trailing behind). I like those guys. :)
I like all my students. What can I say? There are too many things that happen with them everyday to mention. There are way too many inside jokes and conversations and quick hellos and strange glances in the halls to type out. If there was ever a day where I was getting frustrated at anything, be it workload, other teachers, or just life in general, I would consciously make the decision to go into the hall between a class. Because I knew my students would make me happier.
And it worked. Every time. I'd wander over to my bulletin board to staple something up and suddenly there would be 5 kids waving at me and trying to practice English as they ran to PE. Or there would be a group of boys who learned the word "Cool" and would proudly shout at me, "Mr. Sandall! You... are... cool!!!" and await my reaction, only to shout, "Hai! Uso desu!" wink, then run off laughing. Or there would be that girl, Shoko, who I once told was always very polite in the halls, and since then is sure to give me a super-deep bow everytime I see her (which I of course return. It's funny to see a 6'3" American bow so respectfully ;) ). Or the "sex technicians." Or the pirate crew. Or that shy girl who used to lower her head when I said konnichiwa, and now smiles with a "Hello," everytime.
I was really afraid at the beginning that they wouldn't ever like me, as I'm sure most new teachers are. So I was content just doing my job and being there for those who needed it. I was in love with Japan, so it didn't really matter to me if I would grow on them or not. I couldn't imagine how it would be to be able to walk through the halls and almost instinctively respond to 400 Hellos, 100 Heys, and 20 japanese jokes every passing.
Now, I can't really imagine how it's going to be without it.
PS: My old principal who left in April, Mr. Higashi, came over to my apartment tonight to bring me a present and to say goodbye. Wow. I'm in shock. :)
Showing posts with label Goodbye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goodbye. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Sakura Season
This past weekend, I had the chance to participate in "O-Hanami." (hana = flower, mi = look. "Flower Viewing." The O often gets added onto certain words as a formality. Even the glorious bentos I keep writing about get the O treatment and become O-bentos, or, Honorable Boxed Lunches.) During a hanami party, people gather together to have picnics underneath sakura trees.
O-Hanami takes plac
e during the time of year when the Sakura are in bloom. Almost everywhere you look in this all-too-short season, you will see at least one bright pink, blossoming tree. In certain areas, entire parks have changed colors, lighting up the landscape and adding new flavor to a previously worn-out view.
On Saturday, the Kikuchi-gun ALTs decided to have a hanami party. Our directions were to go to Kikuchi city at around 7:00 PM and meet at a park that is famous for sakura. It seemed a bit strange going at night to see some flowers, but I was reassured it would be worthwhile.
So, around 7, a carload of us arrived near the Takemitsuko statue. We'd all been by it before, and we always notice the great bronze samurai in mid-gallop on his horse, war fan at the ready. It was always a passing, "Oh, neat... anyway..." This day, as we drove in front of it, I finally noticed it's backdrop; a large hill not too far behind it. Only now, the hill was absolutely covered in Sakura. Swirls of the pink flowers mixed in with the ordinary trees, helping the sakura to stand out even brighter against the darkening sky. In faint zig-zags criss-crossing through the trees, there were specks of what must have been street lights and paper lanterns leading the way. Instantly, this seemed like a fantastic idea.
We grabbed our supplies and began our walk up into the hill. The main entrance was a long walkway lined with sakura. A faint, red glow came from each of the chouchin (lanterns) hanging perfectly spaced down the center. At the end, a large, stone torii (gate) stood against the dark forest huddling around the jinja behind it. We veered right, off the path, and wound our way up the smaller footpaths leading higher up the side of the hill. We would occasionally stop to try and catch a picture, but even after we figured out the best way to take a night photo, we all realized there was no way it could ever do this justice.
The rest of the evening was spent sitting on tarps and roll-up tatami mats while eating underneath the cherry blossoms. Someone made the comment, "It's too bad that it's going to rain tomorrow. All this will be gone." Just like that, as quickly as it starts, the sakura season ends. Very soon, the pink blossoms that we've grown accustomed to will be gone. For me, it's most likely my last time to see them. But I can't ever forget them.
Several teachers are transferring schools this week. As I've mentioned before, March is the end of the school year. Some teachers will change schools within the prefecture, others will stay. Next week, the next school year will start.
It came on so suddenly. In the rush to finish the textbooks before the last class, or to cram that last bit of information for the entrance examinations, the last days of school crept up on me. Not an hour after the closing ceremony, the principal was already calling teachers one-by-one into his office to tell them if they'd stay or go. Some came out trying to remain polite an
d formal, others came out smiling with sighs of relief, and others came out fighting back tears. The teachers who are staying will have the coming year to celebrate and relax. These few weeks, though, are for the transferring teachers.
In the week to come, some really amazing people are leaving. There's the ichinensei math teacher who was one of the first to try out her English on me at an Enkai when I was randomly assigned to sit next to her, and has since struck up the odd conversation with me in passing. There's the librarian who would always greet me with a "Good morning!" as she'd walk by my desk to get coffee, often times stopping to practice more English, or teach me more Japanese. There's my principal who is blindingly convinced that I will become a famous singer and will then be too famous to talk to him when he visits the USA, even though we've already had many great conversations about everything from Steve McQueen to Jazz.
I've known these people for an all-too-short period of time. And these faces that I've grown accustomed to will soon be gone. This week may well be the last time I see them. But I can't ever forget them.
O-Hanami takes plac
e during the time of year when the Sakura are in bloom. Almost everywhere you look in this all-too-short season, you will see at least one bright pink, blossoming tree. In certain areas, entire parks have changed colors, lighting up the landscape and adding new flavor to a previously worn-out view.On Saturday, the Kikuchi-gun ALTs decided to have a hanami party. Our directions were to go to Kikuchi city at around 7:00 PM and meet at a park that is famous for sakura. It seemed a bit strange going at night to see some flowers, but I was reassured it would be worthwhile.
So, around 7, a carload of us arrived near the Takemitsuko statue. We'd all been by it before, and we always notice the great bronze samurai in mid-gallop on his horse, war fan at the ready. It was always a passing, "Oh, neat... anyway..." This day, as we drove in front of it, I finally noticed it's backdrop; a large hill not too far behind it. Only now, the hill was absolutely covered in Sakura. Swirls of the pink flowers mixed in with the ordinary trees, helping the sakura to stand out even brighter against the darkening sky. In faint zig-zags criss-crossing through the trees, there were specks of what must have been street lights and paper lanterns leading the way. Instantly, this seemed like a fantastic idea.
We grabbed our supplies and began our walk up into the hill. The main entrance was a long walkway lined with sakura. A faint, red glow came from each of the chouchin (lanterns) hanging perfectly spaced down the center. At the end, a large, stone torii (gate) stood against the dark forest huddling around the jinja behind it. We veered right, off the path, and wound our way up the smaller footpaths leading higher up the side of the hill. We would occasionally stop to try and catch a picture, but even after we figured out the best way to take a night photo, we all realized there was no way it could ever do this justice.
The rest of the evening was spent sitting on tarps and roll-up tatami mats while eating underneath the cherry blossoms. Someone made the comment, "It's too bad that it's going to rain tomorrow. All this will be gone." Just like that, as quickly as it starts, the sakura season ends. Very soon, the pink blossoms that we've grown accustomed to will be gone. For me, it's most likely my last time to see them. But I can't ever forget them.
Several teachers are transferring schools this week. As I've mentioned before, March is the end of the school year. Some teachers will change schools within the prefecture, others will stay. Next week, the next school year will start.
It came on so suddenly. In the rush to finish the textbooks before the last class, or to cram that last bit of information for the entrance examinations, the last days of school crept up on me. Not an hour after the closing ceremony, the principal was already calling teachers one-by-one into his office to tell them if they'd stay or go. Some came out trying to remain polite an
d formal, others came out smiling with sighs of relief, and others came out fighting back tears. The teachers who are staying will have the coming year to celebrate and relax. These few weeks, though, are for the transferring teachers.In the week to come, some really amazing people are leaving. There's the ichinensei math teacher who was one of the first to try out her English on me at an Enkai when I was randomly assigned to sit next to her, and has since struck up the odd conversation with me in passing. There's the librarian who would always greet me with a "Good morning!" as she'd walk by my desk to get coffee, often times stopping to practice more English, or teach me more Japanese. There's my principal who is blindingly convinced that I will become a famous singer and will then be too famous to talk to him when he visits the USA, even though we've already had many great conversations about everything from Steve McQueen to Jazz.
I've known these people for an all-too-short period of time. And these faces that I've grown accustomed to will soon be gone. This week may well be the last time I see them. But I can't ever forget them.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sayonara, Sannensei :(
Pardon the long post (I think it's redundant to say that at this point... :D) but I have to write this all down. It's been quite the week over at school. Since school is only required through Junior High, graduation is a bigger deal here than back in the states. One of my teachers told me, "It's probably the most formal event of the whole school year." Man, she wasn't kidding. I felt like such a foreigner standing slack-jawed in awe of some of the stuff going on while the rest of the faculty looked bored as ever... silly Americans. :D
Practice, Practice, Practice
All week, the sannensei have been out of school. They've been taking their high school entrance exams (tests to get into certain high schools) and showing up for graduation rehearsals. Oh yes, rehearsals. At least 1 period a day all week was taken up by graduation practice (On Thursday, we took the entire morning to run a mock graduation... complete with reading all the
names but sans parents). Everything from proper bowing etiquette to music rehearsals to what sounded like death threats from the teachers promising much pain and suffering to those who dared to even blink.
I must say, the first corrrect "kiritsu" made me jump a little. The procedure is like this. As the students are sitting like perfect little soldiers in a row, the MC says, "Ichido..." (All who are present) then stone silence... then, "Kiritsu!!" At that, EVERY STUDENT jumps to their feet in a perfect single move. "Rei!" Each student bows at the waist and counts to themselves, "Ichi... ni... san..." and stands back up again in perfect unison. Finally, a last word (I forget :( ) and all sit again as a large, robotic mass. Seriously impressive. The standing up and sitting down happened in a fraction of a second with a fantastic, "FWOOSH" noise... imagine 400 students with that sort of discipline. I now fear them turning that amount of discipline on me. :( (not really. :D)
The Big Day
Anyway, Friday morning, everyone arrived looking their best (Yay for walking to school in a suit in the rain... woo) and the ceremony was underway. Once it started, not a single student spoke unless required. Any teacher would say that's an impressive feat, but these kids did it. Of course, the teachers had to sit at the front, so there I was in a suit sandwiched in between a couple other teachers terrified to even scratch my face with the thousand or so people all sitting out in front of us.
The Order of Events
So, the national anthem started off and I quickly felt like an idiot for not knowing the words. (Silly Americans!) Then it was on to the most ingenious bit of thinking ever. At my school (Probably throughout Japan) They put the conferring of diplomas AT THE BEGINNING! And even better, they have it down to a science and got through 200 students in about 25 minutes. Each student (seated in prefect rows by class) stands up and proceeds through a series of seven stations to finally recieve their diploma (think of it like being "on deck" in baseball). Like a well-oiled machine. But during this, only light music was played. The only other sound was each student saying, "Hai!" as their name was called. No cheering, no airhorns, no "YOU GO GIRL!" to my sister at her high school graduation. (ugh... flashbacks... :D) Completely solemn, formal, and whatnot...
...with the exception of two boys. First, one of the "yankees" ("bad students") rose his hand all super-genki-like when his name was called and cheerfully shouted, "HAI!!" much louder than necessary (Oh, you're not supposed to raise your hand or do anything showy...) which got a few laughs from the crowd. But he's a decent kid. he shows up to school and is a nice guy, even if he doesn't do any work or pay any attention. The other kid was later in the ceremony... this was a student that I had honestly never seen before. Naturally, he had no idea what he was doing so he caused quite a disturbance while getting his diploma. But yes. He still got his diploma. This boy hadn't been to school for almost 2 years and he showed up on Graduation to pick up his certificate. See, in Japan, it's a student's right to come to school. Students can't fail out of school. No matter what a student does, or how a student does in class, he or she WILL graduate. They won't get into a good high school without the grades, but usually the kids don't even care to go to high school and
just immediately enter the work force. Anyway, later on, the teachers were complaining about how disrespectful those boys were. Yeah, relatively speaking, they were loud and obnoxious... but they'd fit right in at an American graduation. :D
Yet more speeches
After the diplomas were given, there were a series of speeches by the Principal ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"), the Superintendant ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"), the Mayor ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"), and the head of the PTA ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"). Something I should've mentioned a while ago is the process for approaching the podium in an assembly (I had to do this my first day... good thing I paid attention). The speaker stands up and walks to the side of the stage. He turns to the highest ranking people, bows, turns to the other side (the teachers in this case), bows, walks up on the stage, faces the Japanese flag, bows, and finally gets behind the podium, where everyone bows together (synchronized to the "Rei!!"). After the speech is done, you reverse the process. This all adds about 45 seconds to the beginning and end of each speech. Imagine that for EVERY SPEECH.
Take it away, kids
Now the student portion starts. The sannensei all stand, turn their chairs around to face the ichinensei and ninensei, and sort themselves into boys on one side and girls on the other. Again, super fast and coordinated... maybe 30 seconds or less. In complete silence. :D Next years student council president (An awesome girl!) stood up and gave a short congratulatory speech. The student council came up from the back and handed out greeting cards to each row of grads (while saying in, again, perfect robotic unison, "Omedetto gosaimasu!" (congratulations)). Following this, the ichinensei and ninensei sing their musical tribute to the Sannensei. Just a single song, but a good one, anyway. After that, it's the sannensei's turn.
Sempai, show them how it's done
They had a presentation prepared where 4 students came to the microphone and talked about memories from their school days. After each speech, there was a song performed to the underclassmen. The most striking song was Tegami by Angela Aki. The lyrics are about a woman giving advice to the confused 15 year old version of herself. The melody is gorgeous. (and I know the lyrics sound cheesy, but it was the only song that I actually knew before hand... SHUT UP!!) It was interesting to think of it in terms of the sannensei "passing the torch," so to speak, to the ninensei and ichinensei.
After the students finished (To the first applause in about an hour and a half), there were a few more short speeches including the parents thanking the teachers for their hard work (and due to my position, she was standing almost right in front of me... it was a bit unnerving. :D). Finally the grads recessed. The teachers rushed to the back of the gym to form a tunnel for the students as the rest of the audience applauded loudly and the band played Kiseki, another p
retty cool song that just sounded neat in the context. As the sannensei walked out, there were obviously lots of tears, but countless smiles. A few of my favorite students shot me quick toothy smiles and the occasional inside joke ("Wakachiko!") on the way out.
Teary goodbyes
And that was the end of it. The parents headed home, the rest of the students stayed behind to clean up the gym, and the sannensei went up to their classes for one final, teary homeroom with their teachers. I accidentally wandered upstairs as they were finishing and got snagged by a few students for pictures, yearbook signings and all that. One of my favorite students actually gave me a bag of cookies with a card (written in English!!) and thanked me. I hate to sound like I've got a big head, but dangit, the whole experience really made me feel like I'm doing a half-way decent job. Kind of a, "Ok... so they DO like me... I guess I'm doing this right." Confidence boosts are good and occassionally necessary, ne? :)
Anyway, I'm gonna miss those guys. The pirate crew is gone, the japanese comedians are gone, the guys who pretended to be MIBs when I was around are gone (if I'll even remember.. one of them mime-flashed me with a memory-eraser-thing before leaving). I was just starting to get the hang of this gig, the students were starting to open up, and wham. They're out.
That's life, I suppose. Looks like we get to start all over again in a month. :)
Practice, Practice, Practice
All week, the sannensei have been out of school. They've been taking their high school entrance exams (tests to get into certain high schools) and showing up for graduation rehearsals. Oh yes, rehearsals. At least 1 period a day all week was taken up by graduation practice (On Thursday, we took the entire morning to run a mock graduation... complete with reading all the
names but sans parents). Everything from proper bowing etiquette to music rehearsals to what sounded like death threats from the teachers promising much pain and suffering to those who dared to even blink.I must say, the first corrrect "kiritsu" made me jump a little. The procedure is like this. As the students are sitting like perfect little soldiers in a row, the MC says, "Ichido..." (All who are present) then stone silence... then, "Kiritsu!!" At that, EVERY STUDENT jumps to their feet in a perfect single move. "Rei!" Each student bows at the waist and counts to themselves, "Ichi... ni... san..." and stands back up again in perfect unison. Finally, a last word (I forget :( ) and all sit again as a large, robotic mass. Seriously impressive. The standing up and sitting down happened in a fraction of a second with a fantastic, "FWOOSH" noise... imagine 400 students with that sort of discipline. I now fear them turning that amount of discipline on me. :( (not really. :D)
The Big Day
Anyway, Friday morning, everyone arrived looking their best (Yay for walking to school in a suit in the rain... woo) and the ceremony was underway. Once it started, not a single student spoke unless required. Any teacher would say that's an impressive feat, but these kids did it. Of course, the teachers had to sit at the front, so there I was in a suit sandwiched in between a couple other teachers terrified to even scratch my face with the thousand or so people all sitting out in front of us.
The Order of Events
So, the national anthem started off and I quickly felt like an idiot for not knowing the words. (Silly Americans!) Then it was on to the most ingenious bit of thinking ever. At my school (Probably throughout Japan) They put the conferring of diplomas AT THE BEGINNING! And even better, they have it down to a science and got through 200 students in about 25 minutes. Each student (seated in prefect rows by class) stands up and proceeds through a series of seven stations to finally recieve their diploma (think of it like being "on deck" in baseball). Like a well-oiled machine. But during this, only light music was played. The only other sound was each student saying, "Hai!" as their name was called. No cheering, no airhorns, no "YOU GO GIRL!" to my sister at her high school graduation. (ugh... flashbacks... :D) Completely solemn, formal, and whatnot...
...with the exception of two boys. First, one of the "yankees" ("bad students") rose his hand all super-genki-like when his name was called and cheerfully shouted, "HAI!!" much louder than necessary (Oh, you're not supposed to raise your hand or do anything showy...) which got a few laughs from the crowd. But he's a decent kid. he shows up to school and is a nice guy, even if he doesn't do any work or pay any attention. The other kid was later in the ceremony... this was a student that I had honestly never seen before. Naturally, he had no idea what he was doing so he caused quite a disturbance while getting his diploma. But yes. He still got his diploma. This boy hadn't been to school for almost 2 years and he showed up on Graduation to pick up his certificate. See, in Japan, it's a student's right to come to school. Students can't fail out of school. No matter what a student does, or how a student does in class, he or she WILL graduate. They won't get into a good high school without the grades, but usually the kids don't even care to go to high school and
just immediately enter the work force. Anyway, later on, the teachers were complaining about how disrespectful those boys were. Yeah, relatively speaking, they were loud and obnoxious... but they'd fit right in at an American graduation. :DYet more speeches
After the diplomas were given, there were a series of speeches by the Principal ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"), the Superintendant ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"), the Mayor ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"), and the head of the PTA ("Saikosei!! Kiritsu... Rei!!"). Something I should've mentioned a while ago is the process for approaching the podium in an assembly (I had to do this my first day... good thing I paid attention). The speaker stands up and walks to the side of the stage. He turns to the highest ranking people, bows, turns to the other side (the teachers in this case), bows, walks up on the stage, faces the Japanese flag, bows, and finally gets behind the podium, where everyone bows together (synchronized to the "Rei!!"). After the speech is done, you reverse the process. This all adds about 45 seconds to the beginning and end of each speech. Imagine that for EVERY SPEECH.
Take it away, kids
Now the student portion starts. The sannensei all stand, turn their chairs around to face the ichinensei and ninensei, and sort themselves into boys on one side and girls on the other. Again, super fast and coordinated... maybe 30 seconds or less. In complete silence. :D Next years student council president (An awesome girl!) stood up and gave a short congratulatory speech. The student council came up from the back and handed out greeting cards to each row of grads (while saying in, again, perfect robotic unison, "Omedetto gosaimasu!" (congratulations)). Following this, the ichinensei and ninensei sing their musical tribute to the Sannensei. Just a single song, but a good one, anyway. After that, it's the sannensei's turn.
Sempai, show them how it's done
They had a presentation prepared where 4 students came to the microphone and talked about memories from their school days. After each speech, there was a song performed to the underclassmen. The most striking song was Tegami by Angela Aki. The lyrics are about a woman giving advice to the confused 15 year old version of herself. The melody is gorgeous. (and I know the lyrics sound cheesy, but it was the only song that I actually knew before hand... SHUT UP!!) It was interesting to think of it in terms of the sannensei "passing the torch," so to speak, to the ninensei and ichinensei.
After the students finished (To the first applause in about an hour and a half), there were a few more short speeches including the parents thanking the teachers for their hard work (and due to my position, she was standing almost right in front of me... it was a bit unnerving. :D). Finally the grads recessed. The teachers rushed to the back of the gym to form a tunnel for the students as the rest of the audience applauded loudly and the band played Kiseki, another p
retty cool song that just sounded neat in the context. As the sannensei walked out, there were obviously lots of tears, but countless smiles. A few of my favorite students shot me quick toothy smiles and the occasional inside joke ("Wakachiko!") on the way out.Teary goodbyes
And that was the end of it. The parents headed home, the rest of the students stayed behind to clean up the gym, and the sannensei went up to their classes for one final, teary homeroom with their teachers. I accidentally wandered upstairs as they were finishing and got snagged by a few students for pictures, yearbook signings and all that. One of my favorite students actually gave me a bag of cookies with a card (written in English!!) and thanked me. I hate to sound like I've got a big head, but dangit, the whole experience really made me feel like I'm doing a half-way decent job. Kind of a, "Ok... so they DO like me... I guess I'm doing this right." Confidence boosts are good and occassionally necessary, ne? :)
Anyway, I'm gonna miss those guys. The pirate crew is gone, the japanese comedians are gone, the guys who pretended to be MIBs when I was around are gone (if I'll even remember.. one of them mime-flashed me with a memory-eraser-thing before leaving). I was just starting to get the hang of this gig, the students were starting to open up, and wham. They're out.
That's life, I suppose. Looks like we get to start all over again in a month. :)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Takusan no soubetsukai
It's March. Aside from all of that usual stuff that comes with this time of year, I've got some new things to worry about now that I'm in Japan.
There's an interesting thing about Japan. The business year (for lack of a better term) starts in April. At the very beginning of April, government officials get shifted around to new offices. Maybe it's to prevent boredom, maybe it's to keep people fresh on the job, maybe it's a way to evenly distribute good service, I don't know. Along with this, the school year also starts in April. It would follow, then, that the school year ENDS in March. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the midst of soubetsukai (leaving party) season.
As I've stated a lot in the past, I'm not a JET, but I'm lucky enough to be using the same program that they do meaning I arrive in August, I leave in August. I have a couple of non-JET friends who aren't so lucky. I'm in the exact middle of a 4 week run of weekly soubetsukai for a lot of friends. Two weeks ago, it was for Jaime who had to return to South Africa. Last weekend, it was for Julie, an ALT went home today for America after 4 and a half years, but has been a great friend for my relatively short time. This weekend, it's for Ryo, a government wo
rker who is getting shifted to Tokyo next month (this is a much farther transfer than the average job... he's kind of specialized), which then leaves my weekly Japanese class/dinner group down one member. In a couple weeks, it's going to be for Jolene, another non-JET ALT who will have to return to Canada once the school year ends. All of these people are amazing. All of them have had second thoughts and wish they could stay longer. Sadly, though, that's just not how it works.
Now, as I said before about Government officials getting shifted around... Teachers are government officials. No one knows yet who will stay at my junior high school for the next school year. We won't find that out untill right before they have to leave. I've spent 7 months slowly building up an office rapport with the group we have now. It's strange to look around the office and imagine any other configuration of teachers scribbling frantically at their desks. I know of a couple that are leaving for sure. One may be a welcome departure, but the other leaves things to chance. Who knows if my new JTE will be better or worse than what I'm working with now? Who knows if they'll view my perhaps-crazy antics as good relationships with the students, or as distractions in their strict, lock-step classroom? And the Principal is retiring, too. Among other ALTs, I think I'm lucky. They always talk about how bad or impersonal their principals are. Mine is the opposite. Is my new principal going to be as eager to try broken english with me as this one is? Will he actually sit down occassionally next to me and practice reading english while looking to me for approval? I have no idea. Here's to hoping, right?
And of course it wouldn't be the end of the school year without Graduation. That time that seemed so far off back in August has now hit. I've spent all this time slowly building relationships with my sannensei. Real, honest relationships. The sannensei at my school are incredible people and I've enjoyed every strange joke, japanese comedian quote, confused expression (both from me and from them), and just plain conversation I've shared with them. All of a sudden today, I was having 2 very last classes. (Of course, we're going out with a bang: English Jeopardy game complete with cheesy game show host voice.) And these are 2 of my favorite classes in the entire school, and 2 of the most genki. One class actually asks the teacher when I'm coming on days when I'm not there. But, we wrapped up Final Jeopardy, and before we knew it, the bell chimed and I was standing in front of them for their last "Goodbye, everyone!"s, arigatou's, bows, and "See you"'s. I
t occured to me right then that this really sucks. I've spent 6 months getting comfortable in Japan. I'm finally here and these guys have to go. To say "Nuts," would be a massive understatement.
In the month to come, I'm going to say goodbye to more friends, more teachers, more students... and it's really sad because I don't know Japan without these people. They've all been "Japan" to me. Everyday, routine dictates that I will see these people at these times just because that's how things work in this new culture. Now it's all getting shaken up. However, I suppose with my new-found Japanese spirit, I'll be sad for the goodbyes but excited for the changes ahead.
After all. Thinking of all of these great people I've met over the last 6-7 months actually has me excited that I get to do it all over again for the next 5-6 months.
There's an interesting thing about Japan. The business year (for lack of a better term) starts in April. At the very beginning of April, government officials get shifted around to new offices. Maybe it's to prevent boredom, maybe it's to keep people fresh on the job, maybe it's a way to evenly distribute good service, I don't know. Along with this, the school year also starts in April. It would follow, then, that the school year ENDS in March. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the midst of soubetsukai (leaving party) season.
As I've stated a lot in the past, I'm not a JET, but I'm lucky enough to be using the same program that they do meaning I arrive in August, I leave in August. I have a couple of non-JET friends who aren't so lucky. I'm in the exact middle of a 4 week run of weekly soubetsukai for a lot of friends. Two weeks ago, it was for Jaime who had to return to South Africa. Last weekend, it was for Julie, an ALT went home today for America after 4 and a half years, but has been a great friend for my relatively short time. This weekend, it's for Ryo, a government wo
rker who is getting shifted to Tokyo next month (this is a much farther transfer than the average job... he's kind of specialized), which then leaves my weekly Japanese class/dinner group down one member. In a couple weeks, it's going to be for Jolene, another non-JET ALT who will have to return to Canada once the school year ends. All of these people are amazing. All of them have had second thoughts and wish they could stay longer. Sadly, though, that's just not how it works.Now, as I said before about Government officials getting shifted around... Teachers are government officials. No one knows yet who will stay at my junior high school for the next school year. We won't find that out untill right before they have to leave. I've spent 7 months slowly building up an office rapport with the group we have now. It's strange to look around the office and imagine any other configuration of teachers scribbling frantically at their desks. I know of a couple that are leaving for sure. One may be a welcome departure, but the other leaves things to chance. Who knows if my new JTE will be better or worse than what I'm working with now? Who knows if they'll view my perhaps-crazy antics as good relationships with the students, or as distractions in their strict, lock-step classroom? And the Principal is retiring, too. Among other ALTs, I think I'm lucky. They always talk about how bad or impersonal their principals are. Mine is the opposite. Is my new principal going to be as eager to try broken english with me as this one is? Will he actually sit down occassionally next to me and practice reading english while looking to me for approval? I have no idea. Here's to hoping, right?
And of course it wouldn't be the end of the school year without Graduation. That time that seemed so far off back in August has now hit. I've spent all this time slowly building relationships with my sannensei. Real, honest relationships. The sannensei at my school are incredible people and I've enjoyed every strange joke, japanese comedian quote, confused expression (both from me and from them), and just plain conversation I've shared with them. All of a sudden today, I was having 2 very last classes. (Of course, we're going out with a bang: English Jeopardy game complete with cheesy game show host voice.) And these are 2 of my favorite classes in the entire school, and 2 of the most genki. One class actually asks the teacher when I'm coming on days when I'm not there. But, we wrapped up Final Jeopardy, and before we knew it, the bell chimed and I was standing in front of them for their last "Goodbye, everyone!"s, arigatou's, bows, and "See you"'s. I
t occured to me right then that this really sucks. I've spent 6 months getting comfortable in Japan. I'm finally here and these guys have to go. To say "Nuts," would be a massive understatement.In the month to come, I'm going to say goodbye to more friends, more teachers, more students... and it's really sad because I don't know Japan without these people. They've all been "Japan" to me. Everyday, routine dictates that I will see these people at these times just because that's how things work in this new culture. Now it's all getting shaken up. However, I suppose with my new-found Japanese spirit, I'll be sad for the goodbyes but excited for the changes ahead.
After all. Thinking of all of these great people I've met over the last 6-7 months actually has me excited that I get to do it all over again for the next 5-6 months.
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