I guess between the packing, farewell parties, packing, and more packing, I haven’t had much time to write. It’s almost impossible to believe that our two years are finally up. Every time I think about that fact that one week from today we’ll be on the way to the airport, I feel like I’m dreaming. I never thought that two years would go so fast. The only time I felt that our time here was dragging by was during those few days where it seemed as though the snow would never stop falling.
Last Tuesday, I had my farewell party with Kamiokoppe elementary school. Upon arriving, I found myself seated in front of the five students and the teachers. The kids then took turns either reciting a poem for me or, in the case of Naoki, playing me a song on the recorder. They then each presented me with a gift they had made, mostly watercolor pictures. Each student then made a short speech wherein they thanked me for teaching them. They were all very cute! Afterwards, I made a short speech as well. Having been in Japan for two years, I felt like I was now fully prepared to handle an event such as this, so I was ready with my translated speech. First I read to them in English, then in my halting Japanese (I had my friend Fusae translate my speech for me). When the speeches were done, we played a short game in English, led by one of the other teachers, and then switched gears for lunch.
I had decided that one of my “farewell” gifts for the students would be to make root beer floats. People here are completely unfamiliar with root beer, and it took some doing for me to convince the teachers that this really was a kid’s food! About halfway through lunch, I dished and served root beer floats to everyone. I believe they were a hit, especially the bubbles on top.
Later that day, after I had finished my work for the day and had finished meeting with Nao to practice my Juneau/Texas slideshow, I got a phone call from the middle school. Apparently, one of my friends from the middle school, Aya, was planning on wearing her yukata to my big village farewell party. She thought it would be fun if I did, too. Wow! How could I say no? So, about an hour before the scheduled start time, I showed up at Aya’s house so she could dress me. I had to change into a special bra (like a sports bra, but less binding) and slip, and then she started to wrap me up. It seems that the yukata that I wore was one that her mother had made for her. So, I stood with my arms up to the sides as she wrapped and tied, folding the yukata into the length that she wanted, then wrapping more cloth around me until it was finished and she tucked a pre-tied bow onto the back. I think it took about 15 minutes, total. Then, it was time for her to dress herself, which took an additional 25 minutes. This is because Aya wore a real “obi” (the wide cloth that wraps around the woman’s middle) and tied the bow herself. Let me tell you, this is no easy task! I was really interesting to watch her do this all by herself.
Afterwards, we slipped on the famously uncomfortable “geta”, or traditional sandals, and hobbled our way to the hotel. I discovered pretty quickly why Japanese women traditionally walk with a little shuffling step; it minimized the pain between your toes where the sandal is crammed!
The village farewell party was a little elaborate, I suppose. There were about forty people present: mostly teachers and members of the board of education. The evening began with some speeches, including my own and Aaron’s. I read my speech in English, and Nao read the translation for me. Aaron read his own in translated Japanese. After speeches and toasts, folks were free to eat, but I had other duties. In accordance with Japanese custom, I walked around each table and poured a drink for each person, while saying ‘thank you’. This, of course, takes a bit of time, since people usually want to chat with you, if possible. Once I had finally made it around the room, I had to stand and accept a few gifts. After the third gift, I thought I might be able to finally eat, but that’s when I was informed it was time to do my slide show.
Mr. Kamaya had asked me to put together a short slideshow, similar to what teachers before me had done. It’s sort of a way to say, “Hey, look at how cool our home is. You should come visit!” So, my slide show began with a few photos of Juneau, but then I transitioned into photos of Texas. I entertained them with longhorn cattle, armadillos, roadrunners, bull riding, barrel racing, the Alamo, and pictures of my dad fishing. Aaron’s mom’s boots also made an appearance. Mr. Kurata accompanied my English with his own Japanese explanations, and between the two of us, we had folks rolling with laughter and gasping with surprise. Once we finished, however, I was exhausted!
As the party neared the end, Ridge and Holt began to get more and more goofy. One of the men from my office gave them the microphone (I couldn’t even begin to guess at his reasoning). They loved it, and started to get really silly with it. Finally, I convinced Ridge to sing a traditional Japanese song for everyone, and they replied by clapping and cheering him on. He was totally beaming when he was done!
Finally, the party wound down and everyone said their official “goodbye” to us. I hobbled home with the kids, leaving Aaron to attend “second party” at the bar, where he proceeded to sing karaoke for the rest of the night.
Up to this point, I had yet to cry. I think I’ve just been too busy to really start to feel sad. However, that changed on Friday, during my middle school student farewell party. We began with my auction (I have been giving them fake money as rewards, and I occasionally auction off cookies and brownies for them). It was great fun this time, because the kids were all together for this event, and the bidding got very high. My plate of brownies, the most coveted thing I can make for them, went for a grand total of $575. I must be a really cook baker! After the auction, we played a hysterical tongue twister game (try saying “77 benevolent elephants” three times fast), which had us laughing our heads off.
Once the game was over and the students had settled down, I was instructed to stand in front of everyone while they stood and prepared to sing a song for me. Apparently, they had learned a new song in English without my knowledge. Later, I asked Mr. Kurata about it and he said he started teaching it to them about two weeks ago on the days I didn’t come, or in the afternoon. So, accompanied by a teacher on guitar, 31 Japanese teenagers proceeded to serenade me with James Taylor’s “You’ve got a Friend”. Now how’s a girl supposed to not shed a tear during that?! Midway through the song, they paused and two students came forward to read me the speeches they had written in English. They were incredibly kind, praising both my teaching and my brownies (I’m telling you, that’s what I’ll be remembered for, here – brownies!). As the kids finished their speeches and presented me with a fan that they had signed, they sang the last verse. I was practically speechless, which – for those of you who know me- is really saying something! It was a most unforgettable experience.
Today I taught my very last class. This afternoon will be my farewell party at the elementary school. I have no doubt now that I’m going to cry about a bucket of tears. Each day that goes by just reminds me of all the special people we have met here and how much I’m going to miss them. I’ve already had to say a final goodbye to our friend, Colin. He’s leaving for Australia on Tuesday to spend five weeks student teaching. He’s been such a great person to know, it’s really hard to say goodbye.
I’ll try and keep writing over the next few days. I can’t make any promises, though, as we are busy and our Internet connection at home is so slow as to make blogging nearly impossible. I’ll try and take a photo of all our luggage, and us as I did in the beginning. So, check back frequently, and maybe you’ll get lucky and I’ll have written something.
Not bad for a six-year old, eh? Ridge took this picture of us on Sunday.
