Minato Matsuri, Feelings of Leaving

It's 2 am as I write this.  Minato Matsuri, a 2-day summer festival with street dancing the 1st and fireworks and taiko (Japanese drums) the next, just wrapped up.

The festival was fun.  I got to dance with my students and see a lot of them that I'll likely never see again.  I went to Jonan before the thing started to record a video for the kids who are doing the speech contest, and the teacher will show it to the kids before the speech.  I hope they are happy and it inspires them!  I really want them to do good and I can't wait to see the video of them!  Ok end tangent.

The second day of the festival was taiko and fireworks right outside my apartment.  I saw more of my kids and got to take a lot of pictures with them.  It's hard to leave them.  One of the speech contest kids said she didn't want to be friends with the new ALT, that she preferred me.  I don't know if she was joking or not but she didn't seem to be.  I felt bad for the new ALT but I was happy that she was sad I was leaving.  She also wanted a woman but, too bad!  She said men were hard to talk to, and when I whined about that, she said I was ok because I wasn't a man.  Damn kids.

It's not the first time I've been in this situation, but the feelings don't get any easier.  It's weird being in places and seeing people for what I know will be the last time ever in my life.  It's almost like I can feel a part of me dying.  It's painful.  But it's good in that, those sad feelings are the validation that this journey was meaningful in a good way to my life.  I'm incredibly lucky to come on this program that not everyone can come on, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity.  Anyway, got to get back to packing.  Kuroneko is coming tomorrow!  I leave Kesennuma on Tuesday and Japan on Wednesday!  Here I come Oregon!

そろそろ (soro/soro) soon; momentarily; before long

Regret

One of my English teachers cried before we said goodbye for the last time today at a goodbye party.  It was then that I knew I had messed up.  One of these days I will make the right decision when it comes to women.  It won't be today.

Edit: Well, maybe I didn't make a mistake after all.  I never received a reply for one last meeting even though the message was read.  Whew!

やってもうた (expression) (yatte mouta) oops!

End of School, Goodbye Parties, Speech Practice, Getting Ready to Go Home

School has ended.  I've taught my last class I'll likely ever teach as an ALT.  I had to give goodbye speeches in front of all my schools and they presented me with flowers and goodbye gifts.  It was nice, but I'm glad it's over, I hate giving those goodbye speeches.  I also received a lot of those cards where everyone writes goodbye to you on those big cardboard things.  I'm going to miss all my students and teachers.  I had one student cry.  Secretly, that is what I wished for and I would have been really sad if I didn't get that.  Thank you for all the great memories, it has been fun!

Even though I'll have had two weeks to do things, I'm super busy and haven't had time to do everything I wanted.  I'm trying to fit in a bunch of goodbye parties in between trying to clean, it's a hard deal.  I've met a lot of awesome people over the 3 years I've been here.  It's hard to say goodbye to them, especially when I think about how everyone has moved on quite a bit back home.

I'm done with school but still going in for speech practice.  I've got one student who I'm hopeful for, she's got really good English.  She's writing about her grandparents' cooking soy boiled food.  Hope the new ALT can lead her to prefecturals because she definitely has the talent!

We've had a few meetings at the BOE on getting ready to go home, said our goodbyes there, and just today they came to pick up our trash.  They said they were going to the dump, but they were really going to the garbage/recycle place.  I didn't put my trash in bags so we all had to help do it before loading it onto the truck.  More lost in translation!  I'm going home on the 6th.  Going to Tokyo on the 4th after Minato Matsuri to hopefully meet some people, then Oregon awaits!

It's been a long journey.  Can't believe it's all coming to an end.

送別会【そうべつかい】 (sou/betsu/kai) farewell party

Vacation, Preparation for Returning Home

So I ended up going to Osaka, Okinawa and Matsushima on my way back.

In Osaka I went to see the Sky Building in Umeda and Takarazuka, an all female theater.  It was a good view, and interesting that a large part of the audience is all women.  I ended up losing my camera sometime though, and bought a new one right before going to Okinawa for around $350.  I like it, but it doesn't take panorama shots, which I really liked my old camera for.

Okinawa was cool too.  I ended up going to one of the smaller islands called Zamamijima for a night.  It was a calm little island and I probably should have stayed another night or two.  The next day I went to the Churaumi aquarium and that place, well the aquarium itself anyway, is BIG!  There were 3 whale sharks and a few really big stingray like things.  The next day I had planned on visiting a castle and possibly just enjoying the beach, but I came down with a migraine.  Of course, that was the only day that it was sunny.  I managed to drag myself out of bed around 3 or 4 and made it to Shuri castle.  A cool place, but not sure it was worth it at that point, I probably should have tried to just find a beach.  The place I wanted to eat at, a shabu shabu place, was full of people and I couldn't eat the dinner I wanted to either.

All in all, it was a decent trip, but I am never going to do this sort of thing again alone.  It was really depressing seeing all the couples walking around while I had no one.  Traveling by yourself sucks.

I've started getting ready to go.  Slowly cleaning my apartment and just sent 2 boxes of around 15kg (33 lbs) back to the states.  That'll lighten my load for suitcases.  I've also started the process for getting the pension refund, I'm set to get over $8,000 dollars so I'm quite pleased with that!

I'm telling the kids that even though I'm leaving, a new ALT will be coming.  They say that they'd rather have me.  Even if that is tatemae, at least this time, I'm able to let it make me happy.

水族館【すいぞくかん】 (sui/zoku/kan) aquarium

Bye bye Maria, Osaka and Okinawa soon

It's been a while.  It's actually getting really close to the time I leave Japan finally.  I'm feeling really good about finally going back.  I have no regrets about not signing up for another year and I'm anxious to see my friends (what few I have left back home) and family.

I'm actually getting rid of Maria, my car, tomorrow.  It's been a great 3 years babe, you treated me great.  No major problems and you only cost $1,000.  I'll miss you, but you aren't worth the ridiculous shaken I'd have to pay to keep you another month and a half.  I'll be renting a car from the Ishida garage for around $250 for the next month and a half.  Not a bad deal actually.

I'm taking tomorrow, Friday, off until next Friday and am going to Osaka and Okinawa for a few days.  Just bought the tickets today and still haven't booked any hotels or things to do yet.  I'll be by myself which dampens things a bit but should be a fun getaway.  I'm bad at traveling by myself so hopefully I can will myself to have some fun.

The schools had a track and field meet the other day and my school cleaned up.  They took a bunch of first places in the relay races, I was pretty happy for them.

Guess I should start looking for a place to stay this Saturday...

旅行【りょこう】 (ryokou) travel; trip

Random Update

There's roughly 75 days now until I go back to the states for good.  Time is winding down.  I've decided to try and take a week off near the end of June to go somewhere interesting, but I'm not sure where to go.  I'm also sure that I'll be traveling alone, and I'm not a big fan of that but I really feel I need to go somewhere so I don't waste my remaining time.  Right now I'm thinking of Okinawa and Osaka.  Plane tickets would be around $350 in total I think... not sure yet.

I'm not really sure what to write here anymore.  My life has been pretty boring actually.  My shoulder still hasn't healed up enough to play any kind of sport yet.  The 3rd years as retiring from their club activities I believe at the end of this month, so while my shoulder still probably won't be healed by then, I'll probably try and play a bit with them since it'll be the last time I can.

I also really want to get to Matsushima.  Maybe in a week or two...

つまんない (tsumaranai) dull; boring

My Car, Shoulder Still Injured, 3 Years in Japan

Finally managed to get those postcards sent off to Diana and Chiem, a year after saying I'd send them.

I went in the other day to ask about options for my car for the last 2 months.  The insurance is due in a month and it's going to be at the very least, $700 and likely more because I know it has some problems I've been ignoring for the past few months now.  I just want to rent a car or lease one for the last 2 months as $700 at the very least is too much for a car for that time.  I love you Maria, but your time has come!  She's been a good car for 3 years though, no major problems even though she only cost me a grand.

I was taking my shirt off one day about 3 days ago and seemed to slightly re-injure my shoulder.  Now I can't walk with my arm down or it feels like it'll fall out again.  I need to go buy a splint for it I think.  Doing that after school.  It sucks because it doesn't feel like it got any better after those 3 days either.  I don't want surgery...

3 years was a good amount of time to be here.  A while after I get home I'll be able to look back at this experience with fond memories and stories, but I'm definitely not as enamored with this place as I used to be.  Which is good in a sense as it's making it easier to go home.  I'm not going to get home and wish so much that I had stayed another year.  It's almost weird thinking that almost 3 years has passed and that I have less than 3 months left in Japan.  Definitely when people get all otaku crazy about Japan they only see the beautiful outside of it, but like sakura, it doesn't last long, and once you're here for a while you start to see all of what's wrong with the country.  I still love it and will come back for traveling and such, but I couldn't live here forever.  It's hard to live in a country that thinks work is more important than family and that bases a lot of its societal rules off of lying.  It's also hard to be an Asian American male here :)

車【くるま】 (kuruma) car