Thursday, November 20, 2008

The top ten

I am officially done teaching English! It's crazy to think a year has gone by already, when it seems like just yesterday I was stepping off the plane feeling completely bewildered and lost. I don't feel lost anymore, but I don't feel like this is home either. There are some people who come to Japan and feel like they fit in here, like this is where they belong, but I don't feel that way. Living here for the time that I have has been so incredibly amazing, I've seen and experienced so many new and interesting things and I feel quite sure that I have changed as a person because of those experiences, but I think if I stayed here for too long I would lose the admiration I have for Japan and its culture. My highest level student wrote to me in a card, "You have adjusted perfectly, it seems to me, and have kept a good balance of working and playing. You are not a visitor, or sightseer. You have lived here. That's important." Her message made me really happy and I am glad that she does not just see me as a tourist, because I certainly don't feel like one. Some people have mentioned experiencing "reverse culture shock" upon returning to their home countries from Japan, but two of my friends have told me that it really doesn't take long at all before things that are different from Japan seem normal again. I don't think it will take me long to adjust back to the way things were "pre-Japan" but there are some things I will miss, these are the top 10:

10) The crepes from Harajuku

9) Standing to the left on escalators to let people in a hurry get by

8) Receiving omiyage (souvenirs/gifts) whenever people come back from a trip

7) Always removing our shoes at home and at traditional style restaurants

6) Hot cocoa in vending machines from October-March

5) Reliable public transportation, specifically, the trains.

4) The beautiful shrines and temples that are all over Japan

3) The random acts of kindness from Japanese people that I meet. Just two days ago an old man and his wife paid for my entire meal at my local sushi place.

2) My bike, Clementine. Yes... I named my bike. I sold her yesterday. Clementine, I will never forget you.

1) My amazing friends, whom I will also never forget.

I still have about two weeks left before I leave Japan, but if a year can go by so fast then two weeks will literally be nothing. But hey, a lot can come from nothing.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

All good gifts

I'm sorry I've been slacking on my blog lately, I haven't ventured out into the city much or done anything particularly exciting as of late since I want to try and save some money for my travels. I have 3 DAYS of classes left, YESSSSS!!!! I will miss my students, well, some of them (especially the ones who gave me presents!!), but I'm ready to move on to something new and of course I'm ready to see all my friends and family back home! I have been checking higher education job sites like crazy for the last few weeks and have applied to a few jobs already, so I'm hoping that getting a head start will help me to land a job not too long after I get back to CT, but heaven knows what could happen with the terrible job market these days.

For the time being I'll just focus on the more near and certain future which includes lots of packing and lots of traveling! I'm so incredibly psyched about my trip to Thailand and I'm also pretty excited about the time I'm going to spend just traveling around Japan a bit more. I'm going to visit Nikko, Hakone, and Matsushima, the last of which is another of the three views of Japan (in my post before this I spoke of Miyajima, one of the other three views). A few days ago I went over to Akihabara a.k.a Electric Town and bought myself a new digital camera which will be reimbursed to me as a Hanukkah present from my parents when I return. I am now the proud owner of a beautiful white Casio Exilim EX-Z77... looking back at this last sentence it sort of sounds as if I've given birth to a camera, well, you get the idea. So now I'll be able to take pictures of all the beautiful places I go without lugging around my 100 pound lump of metal considered by some to be a camera.

I mentioned in the first paragraph that some of my students have given me gifts. I should also mention that two of them have treated me to meals! One student took me to a lovely traditional style Japanese lunch at the Tokyo Dome Hotel. The meal had maybe 5 or 6 courses and each one was presented absolutely beautifully, which of course is the Japanese way, everything from food to gardens needs to be aesthetically pleasing. My other student and I went out for Thai food in Ikebukuro, we'd gone to the restaurant once before with Jenn, but Jenn could not come because she ended up flying home last month for surgery on her wrist and is currently residing in Georgia. My student and I had a good time together though, she is really a lovely person, I'm definitely going to miss her. In addition to my meals I've received a traditional Japanese bag that the first woman who took me to lunch bought for me, some lovely hand made stationary and paper holders, and today one of my students brought me a GORGEOUS hand painted ornamental fan. I'm seriously in love with this fan, I had been thinking of buying a nice one for myself but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on something like that, but now I'll have this one, which is so much better because it will have the memory of my student attached to it.

My absolutely beautiful fan:


This weekend I'm going to farewell parties for two of my friends and the next weekend is my party. Saying goodbye to everyone is going to be sad, but knowing I'm coming home to so many amazing people certainly makes it a lot easier. I am just counting down the days! One month and six days to go!