I meant to post this Friday, I had it all typed up and everything. Except this part, obviously. Oh well, it's still the same weekend, so I guess that counts. Friday, despite being mid-December, and thus months after I had returned, was the Midwest's JET returnee reception thing. It was hosted at the Official Residence of the Consulate General of Japan, which was way out in Evanston. So I had to have my friend wait in the car. It was a good thing he was with me though, but I forgot to double-check where I was going and almost went to the consulate in Chicago. I also forgot it was a formal thing. I only knew one person there, except a few of the people that worked at the consulate. Despite the fact that I literally just drove from work (and had to leave early), I was given all kinds of job offers. I gave a speech (remembered to say my traditional greeting, but forgot my special "thank you" [oh well]), we ate some tiny Japanese food (irony), I talked a little, and then left.
Sometimes I feel like JET is completely in the past, so it's nice to have a chance to do something involving Japan once in a while. But having just had my returnee reception here in America, this seems like a fitting day to finally draw this blog to end as well. Hopefully I didn't miss anything.
So, before I climbed Mt Fuji, I had my last days at work. Since I had four schools, I had four last days.
Well, technically, my first last was kenchou, the prefectural head office, ie my employer. We traveled to the capital, where we were reimbursed for our flights home. It was a lot of money to have at once, so we posed with it and took photos.
My friend gave a short speech about all of us leavers to some fancy government people in a small room. She wanted to include one thing we accomplished. I tried to tell her to say I accomplished nothing, but she insisted on something and decided on her own to mention my samurai-Kansai-unique blended dialect I created. I guess it played well into when I received my award or whatever and told him "thanks" in that dialect. I also said "good-bye" in super plain language, too, which everyone found amusing in a "You can't say that, he's the head of the prefecture!" kind of way.
We were then later given some kind of present which I believe the guy just bought at the train station.
But it came in a cool box.
Then I left, but stuck around to hang out with everyone.
Of course, several hours had passed when I was sent a reminder that I had a going-away party that night in my own city with my favorite teachers. I rushed back (to still miss most of the dinner) and met with everyone. Fortunately, they just assumed (or claimed to) that I was held up at kenchou.
So, as far as schools went, my Monday technical school was the first to go. Since they were in finals and then didn't have class with me and then had a holiday, I decided to use the rest of my vacation days to end any chances of me going to that school in July. However, on my last day in June, they finally realized (despite me telling them) that it was my last day. One teacher even tried telling me that we should talk more and be friends as we were both leaving to get lunch outside of school, to which I had to tell him it was my last day. Apparently, this prompted him to go buy me a present, which was super awesome of him. They asked if I could come in on the day I had taken off (that I wasn't in Taiwan) and give a speech in the morning, and maybe one to the students (yeah, that part never happened). I had basically taken the day off because there were no better days to do it, so I didn't mind coming in, especially for a short time.
I came back on that day, and gave my speech in the morning. Monday school was a school where I hadn't made many friends, and often they'd forget I was there. Even occasionally turning off the lights on me. So in my speech I joked that I didn't actually know anyone. They found it funny, and surprisingly, then told me they should have a party. I ended up staying a while and talked to some of the teachers, before trying to escape. The English club caught me as I was leaving and took some photos with me. I then took a picture of the school's moto rock thing and rode off into the sun
A few weeks later, we had our party. A lot of people came and I guess I realized I had better friends there than I thought. I even got a bunch of cool presents. The kendo instructor gave me a bokken with my name on it. And another person gave me a jinbei. Now I have three jimbei. They were worried how I'd get the sword home to America, but I managed to mail it in the box my shinai came in (along with the shinai and a few posters). I was also told I could wear the jinbei to work, "[they] couldn't, but [I] could definitely get away with it." And so I did. Wearing the geta no less. To which my coworkers asked, "Is today a festival?"
Monday school had a few motivation rocks, but this one looks most like the ones the other schools had (well, that did have one with the more round shape, but the writing on this one was more similar). The students and teachers probably thought I was strange taking pictures of the various rocks after saying good-bye, but I wanted my photos.
The next school was Tuesday, though a week after Monday's last day.
It was actually the day of a baseball game. They also said I might be making a speech (possibly at the baseball game [which also never happened]). So after a speech I made in the morning about how the school is old and sometimes smells funny, it was a good school, we all got into a van and went to the stadium near my house (though when I tried to walk home I realized it wasn't maybe as close as I thought [it would have helped if I had gone the right way though]).
Apparently my ex girlfriend's team was playing before us and though I saw her in the stands near us, she managed to avoid me.
I also discovered at the game that the symbol on the uniforms I had assumed was the medical symbol was actually the symbol for markets and commercialization and thus belonged to the commercial school I often heard about. I thought it was strange that I had never heard of a medical school, but often seen their uniform, but had often heard of the commercial school, but never saw any of their students. It turns out North Americans (and North American medical companies) often confuse the Rod of Asculapius with the Caduceus (Mercury's, God of Commerce's, rod). So I learned something knew while trying to point out why someone was wrong.
The day was very hot, and so I was reminded by the Japanese every second. I had decided to wear my fugu hat as I had been advised to bring a hat. This prompted women dressed in long-sleeve layered clothing, with gloves, and a scarf, AND A HAT to ask me if I was hot because of my hat. Basically every 20 seconds.
The game was pretty boring, and we ended up losing, then I walked home.
Unfortunately, my picture of their motivation stone is completely illegible. That's what they get for putting it so far away. They also had some other stones by the stairs past the entrance, but I figured this was the more significant one.
The next day was another last. My last day at my blind school. I only went once a month on Wednesdays and there was like a billion staff, but they were very nice people and the ones I worked with especially. I gave a super short, but funny good-bye speech and did my usual waiting around for the only two classes I had. Apparently the teacher I normally worked with who would spend a lot of time talking to me in my own special room, was off for, and I quote, "mental problems", so I had some new teacher helping out. Who had apparently been bit in the eye by a mukade and had to wear an eyepatch.
...Conveniently when the pinkeye plague was spreading among students because of eyeball licking. Coincidence?
Classes continued to be as futile as always and eventually I went home (early as always). I did finally remembered to bring in my foreign money and let them look at it though.
Fortunately, this school only had one stone for me to choose from!
(Though this one does look more like one of the stones at the first school that I opted out of posting for symmetry reasons. I really have no idea how these stones work.)
Finally the day came when I had to say good-bye to Minami, my base school.
I had actually given my going away speech during the closing ceremony, which happened well before my last day of work. I had been thinking about my speech for months. I was trying to balance being too critical, with no expressing what I wanted to. I wanted to mention how the Japanese avoid travelling because they view all other countries as "dangerous", despite the fact that Japanese suicides outnumber American homicides, and that they simply know what they hear from the news, which naturally just wants to report what people want to hear. I had the other teacher help me, and I think it turned out pretty alright. Naturally, it used some of my special dialect.
I wanted the students to do the wave as I had taught them without having to prompt them to do it, or at the very least not sit there quietly like the only thing they do, even going as far to yell out "You're all too quiet!" But they didn't get it. Also, instead of standing behind the podium, I planned to sit at the edge of the stage, more at their level, and try to be informal. Unfortunately, there was a short bit in the beginning introducing me and thanking me, so I had to sit in a chair, which I did in an amusing way. On top of just being too nervous from doing a speech in front of people (a fear which is so baffling to me that it took me 20 years to realize I had), I was extra nervous I would be rude or mess up my carefully scripted speech. I had even searched for a while for someone to read some prepared lines she would read at the end of my speech.
So, I told my speech, and donned my straw hat I had hid in a bag I had brought on stage containing their cookbooks I was going to give them later. Then I hopped down, which was the queue to read the lines, but the girl delayed, and then applause happened. So I just read my response, which was an adaptation of the opening of One Piece, announcing my (still yet unburied) treasure and my plans to send the first clue from America when I arrived. Then she realized she was supposed to read her lines, so she hopped up and did so from the crowd. I then repeated myself, felt kind of embarrassed and tried to walk off, but I had to give back the mic.
In my head it was supposed to play out like this:
I kind of figured something so scripted would go poorly, but I wanted to go for it.
I'm not sure how well it really went, or that anyone believes me about the treasure (I did later set up), but the one teacher said a lot of the teachers were nodding in approval of some of my points.
I then spent the rest of the week cleaning out my desk and preparing my treasure to leave for the students.
And their cookbooks.
For their treasure, I prepared five clues and a final message. I hid the final message and four clues, and I was going to mail them the first clue from America until I made the mistake of going to FedEx and finding out it would have been like $80. (I guess the post office would have been fine, but then I just told one of the teachers to print it and post it out front for me.)
I even laminated them so they wouldn't get damaged!
And then hid them!
Hopefully no students read this blog before they find it (though they have taken a few months already...)
I even buried one.
Unfortunately, not very well as some of the students found it almost immediately accidentally. Fortunately, they didn't recognize what it was and tried giving it back to one of the teachers and it found its way back to me. So I reburied it.
Except then they found it again, (again basically immediately) but this time realized what it was. Worse yet, it was the last clue.
It all leads up to a bunch of pictures and a message telling them my treasure is the time I spent with them, and that if that wasn't worth their effort, there's $20 for ice cream.
Before I left, the English Club had a good-bye party. Complete with the human bridge-tunnel thing they do.
And some really sweet thank yous.
However, I wasn't completely done with the school yet.
I agreed to come pick up my successor (it's quite rare for predecessor and successor to meet) at the airport. (Apparently the Japanese Boy Scouts also came back around the same time [I had seen signs at Kenchou about the big jamboree for a long time now {and Choruru in his Scout uniform}]). My successor was an interesting fellow.
Then I finally said good-bye to Minami High School.
I arrived and rushed back to town. My friend also agreed to come see me one last time, but didn't realize that there weren't going to be other teachers and felt awkward about the whole thing. We ate dinner and then went to the arcade to take way too many purikura. Then they also gave me a mini-scrapbook picture frame thing with pictures of us together, complete my name spelled with an L instead of an R.
I'll never forget the wonderful people and wonderful times I met and had in Japan, and all the adventures I had. It wasn't always fun, and actually most of the time it was terribly boring, but I have great memories of my time here. Even if I still haven't learned everyone's names.
It was an adventure.
So long, and thanks for all the sushi.
あばよう！
