Saying Goodbye

I'm booked solid. I've got parities every day this week. Tonight I'll be having dinner with two teachers from school. Tomorrow night, I'm having my going away party, which all the teachers are invited to. The next night, I'll be having yaki nikku (grilled meat) with a few friends on Dejima Warf, and Friday, I leave for Fukuoka and my amazing South East Asian Adventure.

In between the parties, I've got to get a massive amount of cleaning done. I've pretty much gotten things at work taken care of, but I've been neglecting my apartment. That's gonna be grim.

Although I've been going to "last this and that" since last week, last night was the first time I felt that twinge of how much it sucks to have to leave friends and amazing people in a place without knowing when, if ever you'll see them again.

Yoshino and her friends had a dinner party for me and gave me a nice gift. Part of my stellar present was a set of collapsible chopsticks. They told me that I should pull them out like a sword (along with making the accompanying sound!) and yell "Eco-Life" when I use them in DU's cafeteria. We had a good time. Yoshino will be the most likely of all of my Nagasaki friends to visit me, so it feels a little bit better to know that I'll see her sometime within the next year or two.

Last weekend, Mrs. Yamamoto and Mrs. Hamoka took me out to lunch at a bistro overlooking the river and close to the famous "Megane Bashi" (spectacles bridge). The food was delicious and they also gave me a gift of Japanese pottery.

Last Thursday, the Language Club met for the final time. We had a party. I brought some snacks in from my last visit to the US. The kids like the cereal, but weren't too fond of the Twizzlers. They were pretty happy to be going on summer break, even if they still come to school and go to classes. Koshiro, the second boy from the left, is actually going to Geneva to give a speech on peace to the UN in August. Nishi kids are a pretty amazing crew.

Last weekend, I also had my last dinner party with some ALT friends. I'll miss that cozy little apartment above the gas stand in Shinchi.

I also had my last judo practice with the kids last week. Yoshida sensei wasn't able to come to practice that day, but Kanaya sensei was there (top right).
I've still got a goodbye trip planned for Ojika in late August. I'll flying home around the 25th of August. So after my trip, I'll be able to have a little more NIPPON. Woo Hoo!