"Get over it..."

The kids have been counting down the days until graduation. Behind their homeroom teacher's desk, they have placed a sheet counting down the days. Each student has been given the task to decorate one sheet of A4-sized paper, representing each day. On Day 25, one of the kids wrote in English: "Get over it." Get over junior high school? Get over yourself? Well-played, kiddo. I have no idea what you mean, and I'm interested in the answer.

At Nichu, there are almost 90 third-years. I haven't been to my base school this week, but I think that they have less than 20 days left at Nichu. I've started skipping out on eating lunch with the other grades, because I'd rather spend my lunch hours with the senior students before they leave me!

I know I'll only be a little blip on their radar, but I feel like I've bonded the most with this crop of graduating students.

There's Homeroom 3-2, which is probably the most outgoing of the bunch. At recess, I was chillin' with the girls around a cluster of desks. We were talking about our respective nicknames. Outside on the veranda, the boys were playing a heated game of janken ("Rock, Paper, Scissors!") Janken determined who would rush into the classroom, yelling: "GEMMA-SENSEI! GEMMA-SENSEI! HOW DO YOU SAY THIS IN ENGLISH??" (while pointing to a classroom object, like the cleaning bucket or a clothespin.) Adorable.

There's T-kun, whom N. and I have dubbed "Bape-kun" since he was wearing that logo tee last time we ran into him at the local bookstore. He's one of my favourites. He knows that I listen to hip hop and stuff, so he often asks: "Do you know Ne-Yo? Do you T-Pain?" One of his English compositions was about his interest in listening to T.I. He even printed off a photo from the Internet.

There's Te-kun, who thought it would be OK to pet me on the head after I chased him around with my camera. He's a funny kid, that one. At lunch, I asked him who was his fave Canadian singer. He spent all afternoon thinking about it, then ran around after-school looking for me. When he finally found me sitting in a classroom, he gasped: "CERINE DION! TITANIC!!!! CERINE." Amazing.

I can't forget my speech contest girls. Forcing them to repeat after me: "Unique New York!". I fulfilled my dream to do that tongue twister, as shown on my all-time fave movie: Anchorman.

I won't forget Yuki-kun, who has three other siblings that I teach at elementary school. Last month, he showed up to school with a shaved head. Being the mature teacher that I am, I joined his friends in yelling: "No hair! No hair!" He loved it.

My 25th birthday party was also rendered memorable by my third-years. The senior boys of the baseball team were at the Asahi Beer Factory with their parents and the head coach. It just so happened that I was walking over to the factory with 30 of my closest Fuku friends that night. They were tickled pink to see me rock up with so many gaijin (that is, foreigners). I captured the moment with photos, and laughed when Yuki's mom joined in as well. That's right, kids. Gemma-sensei likes to partay.

I can't forget the twins, who sent me a lovely greeting over the holidays: "Marry Christmas!" Cho kawaii. They also taught me some puns in Japanese. In return, I taught them some simple ones in English... which they probably didn't understand. "What do you call a Disney cat who tells lies? A Lyin' King!" Lame, I know.

I will always remember F-chan. He is known for being the hungriest of all third-years. If I can't finish my milk at lunch, I'll give it to him. But I also turn to him for advice on magic. He taught me a cool trick from the dollar store, pulling apart metal rings in the blink of an eye. So, I bought a cheap trick from the store... and got him to show me how it's done. Oh, F-chan!

I think that I could write a nice warm fuzzy about all of my third-years. They're such a great bunch! It will be a sad day when I have hear "Pomp and Circumstance" waft through the gymnasium, as they get ushered out the doors one last time.