You say good-bye, and I say hello

Sticky floors, hellos and good-byes and people looking young and old crammed into the good ol' Big Apple bar in Fuku last night. Can't believe it's been a year since M. and I threw the Leavers' Party last summer, bidding adieu to the senpai and fellow noobs who shaped awesome memories from my first year living in Japan. 

This year, we chose the "diaper" theme for the night. I envisioned people dressed as old and young folk. I dressed in a floral muumuu and floppy hat, both purchases I made from Shimizu (aka the "ugly clothing store.")  Not everyone felt fierce enough to dress up... But the bottom line - I think a good time was had by all. The cheap booze was flowing, some people dressed up in diapers, one friend shaved a nice bald spot for himself and we all ended the night dancing to bumpin' house tunes at Neo. It was really good to see some friends I haven't seen in months, including M. Two years ago, we shared a hotel room at the Keio Plaza during Tokyo Orientation.

Some JETs are now in the midst of packing up and going home. Every day, my Facebook page is inundated with status updates with people announcing their upcoming departure. It's weird. Most of the girls that I bonded with in our first year are gearing up to go home. We somewhat lost touch over recent months, but we'll always have those inside jokes from our crazy times as noobs. ("Guys, I don't think he had teeth!!") The girls are now looking forward to reunions with family, friends and maybe even post-grad studies. I really do wish them all the best. I think they'll be happy going back home. And for now, I think I'm happiest staying in Japan for one more year.

Being on JET, you get used to saying farewell to people. Students graduate in March. Teachers transfers to different schools. And Fuku ALTs finish their contracts. I still haven't fully grasped that some of my JET friends will be leaving in the next two or three weeks. Next year, that'll be me who will be prepped to leave. (That's right, kids. You heard it first here... I'm most definitely coming home after my third year.)

I'm sure a lot of my family and friends are wondering why I've decided to sign up for a third (and final) year. I mean, I still don't understand the language. I don't want to be a teacher back home. And I'm terrible at saving money here. (I don't even go out as much anymore... but my yennies are going towards trips and such). So, yes, my job has its ups-and-downs. I can't exactly justify why I'm staying another year. I guess I'm just not ready to leave yet. The kids, except for a handful of lazy ones who don't care about English class, are still adorable. The biggest flaw being that I feel underused in the workplace. There are several hours during the week where I just sit at my desk, twiddling my thumbs.

However, when things are good... things are good. It's the little things that make me feel like I'm comfortable here. When a six-year-old shyly approaches me in class, to ask me in Japanese if I remember seeing him while I was on a walk around his neighbourhood last weekend. When the staff at my local MOS Burger bow and profusely thank me for the small gift bag of Canadian pins I gave them last week. That's awesome. When I can sort of decipher the Japanese characters on a pink invite left on my desk in the teachers' room. That's awesome. (The invite is for some drinking party next week. I don't know what we're celebrating, but I've asked my JTE to sign me up.)

Overall, I'm still keen to be in a classroom looking over Japanese kiddos. In the first-year classes, the students happen to kick off English lessons by singing some relevant Beatles' lyrics: "You say good-bye, and I say hello."

Funnily enough, that basically sums up my life right now. I've got some people who are getting ready to say good-bye and head off to greener pastures. Meanwhile, I'm quite content staying in Japan... where "I say hello" to every student when they walk past me in the hallways. (No, literally! In Japan, you're expected to greet everyone in the hallway. Most teachers and students exchange "Konnichiwas." But I've finally got all of my JHS kids saying "HARRO!" to me in their imperfect English. Some have even adopted the little wave that I flash to them).