Last week, I had a legitimate excuse for uploading my post so late. This week I have no real excuse. This week, my blog is far from the top of my list of priorities…. I started this post almost a week ago, but I had been working on it and after a few times of typing a bunch and then having the app crash and delete what I wrote, I decided to wait until I could write this on my computer. I hope I can remember things.
This weekend I got all packed and moved into a hotel for the week. This week the new teacher who will take over my position will be observing my lessons and getting comfortable in the office while I am still there. She will be living iny old apartment during her time here so I had to move out to make space for her.
So Saturday night after work I packed a little bit in between dilly dallying around my apartment. Moving out is always so distracting because you find things you havent seen in a while. I found several pictures, maps, and letters that I kept getting lost in. Around 1030, just as I was starting to dread spending the rest of my night in my apartment, Koichi hit me up and asked what I was doing for the night. I took that as a sign and rushed to catch the last train to Osaka. As usual We ended up staying out until sunrise. I ended up catching the last train hoke though so I could finish up packing before meeting some other friends later in the day.
I got a couple hours of sleep then woke up to try and finish up packing. I got almost everything done before 1 when I went to meet Asuka, my friend who worked as the assistant manager at our school for my first 4 months here. I always enjoyed working with her and we have kept in touch some, but I really wanted to see her again before I left. She was always a good friend to me when we were working together and someone whom I would like to keep in touch with. We ended up getting some italian food at a restaurant near my station then going to starbucks for a drink. I hadnt seen her in a long time, but when I met her at the station things felt like we were still working together every day. She said she was worried about her English, since she hardly speaks English at all now that she is not working with me any more, but I didnt notice any difference.
We ended up hanging out and chatting for a few hours, then she had to head out to meet some other friends for dinner that night. I headed home with the intention of catching a nap before heading out for dinner.
Thankfully, I ended up packing instead, and finally got everything into my suitcases. I felt a bit more relaxed then and decided I could afford another long night out after dinner. So I took a 15 minute power nap and then headed out to Kyoto to meet Elizabeth and Hideo for dinner.
Hideo was an interim head teacher at my school from May to September. He is another coworker who I really enjoyed working with. He was always very lively and kept things fresh and exciting around the office. I really enjoy the office now too, but I had a good relationship with both Asuka Hideo, they are more like friends to me than coworkers. They both made work seem like it wasnt really work, which is something I always want in a coworker.
So we met Hidoe around 7 in Kyoto. As soon as we met up, he said he “needed to buy me a bottle of Japanese sake” as a going away gift before we went to dinner. He went to a sake store and ended up walking around and shopping for about 15 minutes before selecting something he deemed acceptable. Seeing how much time and consideration he put into choosing the bottle makes me really excited to drink it. I will be saving it for until I get back home though. I want to give some other people a taste of the good stuff too. I actually ended up making a few purchases as well in the few minutes he took to look around. I am developing a little bit of a taste for Japanese sake…. Just in time to leave Japan…. /:
After the Sake bottles were wrapped and packaged we headed to our dinner destination. Hideo had found a really traditional Japanese restaurant he wanted to try so he made reservations for the three of us. The food was really good. It was an 8 course meal with a nice all you could drink menu. After the sake shopping fiasco, we decided to stick with the theme and ended up drinking sake the whole time. We left the dinner around 11 and I headed across town to meet up with Mr. Koyama and Greg at a bar by Greg’s house.
At the bar with Greg, Hideo and Mr. Koyama there was a little band playing some English songs. We all ended up singing along and I am pretty sure we were much louder than the band. This seems to be a common theme for me recently. I get together with my friends and we all become much louder and obnoxious than any one else around us.
We stayed at the bar for a little while. Hideo caught the last train home and then Greg and I left a bit later. I crashed at Greg’s place for a few hours. Since he and I trained together, our contracts ended at the same time and thus he was moving out at the same time. He had already taken out his futons, so I ended up crashing on his floor and using my jacket as a pillow. I was kind of glad to be sleeping in less than comfortable conditions, I had to wake up early and go back to my place to pay the rest of my bills and get out of my apartment by 11. The bill collectors were scheduled to come between 10 and 11 to collect whatever I owed for gas and electric.
I got everything out of the apartment and paid my bills. There was a lot of extra stuff that I had to throw out to lighten my load, but my suitcases ended up still being way too heavy. I was extremely grateful to have Elizabeth around to help me lug my 3 suitcases to the hotel I would stay in for the week. I bought her some ramen as a thank you and then she headed back to her place to take care of her stuff. I went to meet another friend for dinner. It was a pretty rough day, and I didn’t sleep much at all the whole weekend. Even in the hotel with a real western style bed, I still had a rough time getting to sleep.
Honestly the whole rest of my week was pretty stressful. Lots of goodbyes, plus some extra craziness to make things more difficult. I did get some nice parting gifts from my students though.
My last day of work was Friday. I had a nice party with a group of students and coworkers after work. We went to the restaurant downstairs from our office. We got “nomihodai” (all you can drink). Everyone had a great time. Like at all of our work parties all the teachers kept switching seats to make sure we were able to talk to everyone. I was happy to be able to see everyone and have a chance to talk. It did take me a while to bid my final goodbye though. I had plans to head to Osaka for a house party after my work party. Koichi is leaving Japan for Australia in a few weeks so he decided to include me in his going away festivities.
Elizabeth helped me again with moving all my stuff to the train station by Koichi’s and then another friend, Nanako, met me there and helped me drag my bags to the party. I was a bit late to the party but I was able to see almost everyone before I left. I had a great time at both parties that night.
After the house party, we headed out on the town. We hit a few of the normal places then ended the night with, not ramen, but sushi! we decided to change things up for some reason. I was pretty happy with the change of plan. The sushi was pretty great. I was happy to end the night with such a great last meal.
We made it home to Koichi’s and everyone passed out.
I had to wake up a bit early on Saturday too (9am). My flight was at 1:40 and I still had to get my things together before I could head out. I had a nice crew to walk me to the train station, and then Koichi did me a huge favor and helped me get the rest of the way to the airport. I had to pay a bunch of money in baggage fees which really sucked. I also had a 9 hour layover in the Beijing airport. 9 hours was really long but I was kind of glad to have that time in the airport to myself. I was able to digest the end of my Japanese experience a little bit.
I am in Hawaii now. Still a bit bummed about not being in Japan anymore, but yesterday I surfed in the morning, and then played lacrosse for the first time in almost 2 years. Lacrosse was a lot of fun. I played defense and did ok keeping up with everyone. I did have a little problem when clearing a ball. I was running up the field and all of a sudden as I tried to speed up, my hamstring cramped up really bad and I almost fell over. Luckily I was able to get rid of the ball and hobble off the field to lay down for the rest of the game. It was an awesome time and the field was in a pretty gorgeous place, right below Diamond Head mountain. All the guys who played hung around after the game to drink a few beers and barbecue some. I am pretty sunburnt now, and I have this lingering cramp in my leg.
I am staying with my friend Brendan and his girlfriend Krysta here in Hawaii. They are at work for the day. I am planning to run a few errands (Brendan is letting me use his car) then probably meeting up with them after work to do some surfing. I am pretty happy to be here. I still haven’t really planned much of the rest of my time here but I am going to get some things together today. I wasn’t really able to sleep in today so I have a lot of time on my hands. Which is kind of nice.
I will post again soon to let you know more about how things are going here. Thanks for reading. And Thanks to everyone in Japan who made this past year so memorable. It is still really new, and I still feel like I will be heading back to Nara in a few days. I know I miss everyone, and the food, and I kind of miss my routine a bit… something I have always been afraid of. Anyway, I feel very lucky to have been able to have such a great experience. I really hope that I can stay in touch with everyone I have met this past year. Thanks again to everyone. Also, to everyone back on the East Coast, I will see you in a few weeks (early Mayish).
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