Daito High Farewell Party

On Friday the teachers at my high school held my going away party. It was a really good time. They reserved a restaurant in Daito and about 12 teachers came. We started out the evening with a very lovely speech by Kawamoto Sensei and then Kanpai-ed. All of the English teachers came to the party as well as the Principal and vice principal, a science teacher, the school manager, and the art teacher. Since it was a small group of people the atmosphere was really good. While we were eating dinner Koto Sensei suspiciously took out a green bag and carried it to the front of the room. He provided the entertainment for the night. Apparently he knows how to do magic tricks. The first one he did was really hilarious because it was just goofy. He had a handkerchief with horizontal stripes and then turned them vertical! I thought it was the most hilarious thing I had ever seen! Then he did some real tricks. The vice-principal was so curious that he took a seat at the front of the room, right next to Koto Sensei, and inspected what he was doing. Too bad he never really figured it out. But it was really funny. He pulled Koto Sensei by the leg to get him to come closer. Fantastic.

This is a picture of all the lovely ladies at my party. It is (left to right) Abe Sensei (art teacher), Kaneda Sensei (English), Me, Kawamoto Sensei (English), and Fukui Sensei (English).
Kawamoto Sensei had arranged most of the party, of which I am very grateful.

The teachers also gave me lovely gifts. They gave me a think winter jacket because they want me to keep warm in the winter. They also gave me a big piece of cloth, usually used to wrap up your soap and towel when you go to the bath, with a picture of the school and the school song on it. It was really lovely. I don't have the heart to use it for my bath, so I will probably hang it up when I live in one place for a long time.

At the end of the evening we all Bonzai-ed. It was great fun. It really made me sad to leave. I had forgotten how much I had been taken care of by working at Daito high for two years. I had the best supervisor in probably all of Shimane and I really never had a big problems. All my teachers are lovely, my vice-principle is really nice, and Daito is a good town. I am sad to leave it! Don't worry Daito, I will never forget you! :)

Non-stop parties!

Soon I will be leaving Japan and I can think of no better way to say good bye than having lots of parties with the great people in Shimane. So I started my weekend out right and had a going away party with my JTEs at Iinan High and the other ALTs down in that neck of the woods, Signe, Trevor, and Mike. We has a great meal in Iinan to my surprise. This food is unrivaled by anything Matsue has ever provided. It was great to see my teachers outside of work, not to mention hanging out with Signe, Trevor, and Mike. Since the demise of my car, I am no longer as free to just go hang out in Iinan, so it was really nice. I must also say a big Thank You to Mike who drove all the way to Kisuki to pick me up for the party. The transportation in Shimane is horrendous but nice people make up for it! :)

Then on Saturday Todd and I went to the beach. We had plans to stay in cabins that night at Taki so we figured we would go early and get some swimming in! We were super lucky because it was a beautiful day, the water was warm, and there were not a lot of people there. So we swam, at ice cream, got sunburned, you know, the usual stuff. It was also good quality time for Todd and I since this was the first Saturday he has had off since he started working at Nova. Then at about 5pm we met everyone at the cabins and helped unload the food for the cabins. We barbecued and spent most of the night talking and hanging out. Fiona had a great idea to bring boards for people to sign and put pictures on. So now we have a great souvenir from that weekend. Also, the cabins at Taki are beautiful! They are bit more expensive than others but that is the price you pay when you get to sleep in a real bed!! :0 Todd and ended our weekend by attending a BBQ for the local Japanese class. It was a good time to say goodbye to some people we wouldn't otherwise have arranged to say goodbye to. We ate some food and just chatted with people. It was too bad that at the same time we were having torrential downpour!! But it was good.

Now Todd and I are happy to be home but it was such a good weekend! Thanks everyone!

Last Daito House Party

My house in Daito has been such an important part of my experience for the last two years. When I first arrived in Japan to see that I had a house, instead of an apartment, I took full advantage and hosted more than one party. At first the parties were random drunken messes but eventually they turned into knitting parties, birthday parties, movies nights, and pot luck dinners. I have had countless things broken and spilled on (not even to mention the damage kitty does on a daily basis) but I must say it has been quite worth it. It is difficult to find a place in Japan where you can take all your friends and let them be themselves!

So I couldn't leave Japan without having one more party. I invited the people who have made Shimane a place where I decided to stay for two years. I love living in Japan but if it weren't for my friends here I wouldn't have stayed so long. When you are sick, they come to the hospital in droves, freaking out the hospital staff. When your car breaks down, they are quick to drive to your rescue. When you are sad about livingn in a place that makes no sense, they let you cry on their shoulders. And when you have the most inappropriate comments to make, they all laugh. I never thought living in Japan would have me spending my time with so many foreigners (cause do I ever hate foreigners, with their devil speak) but it has made the experience for me! I love you all! :)

Hiroshima Weekend

Recently I went to Hiroshima with Sara, Janelle, and Hugh. It was a good time, especially since we drove down in Janelle's big car and Hugh did most of the driving ;0! Maybe this whole "not have a car" business is a good thing! So we only stayed for one night but we did some shopping and ate some good food. We also managed to go to Miyajima on that Sunday. The weather was ok and there were plenty of deer for Sara to harrass! Here are some pictures of our good time there!

80s party and the Toroko Train

I think this weekend is what all of June is going to be like, busy busy busy! It is true that every weekend in June I have something planned and even the weekdays are being filled up. So if you want to hang out with me before I leave, better get your diary out and find a date quick! (now I expect my blog to be flooded with eager people wanting me!)













So on Saturday JAGs hosted their, what seems to be annual, 80s party. They raised 50,000yen for their upcoming art exhibit. Yeah!!! It was also a good time. I didn't dress up this year but it was fun seeing everyone else make a fool out of themselves!! (wink, wink). Some of the costumes were really good. Like Will, I don't think you could have gotten any creepier than that, especially with that great mustache. Unnan's very own Himene won the 80s pop culture quiz and Sara represented Unnan by dominating in the 80s music quiz (which she paid for later because the prize for each question answered was a shot!!).













Then on Sunday, thanks to Jen's planning and expert ticket buying, we all rode the Toroko Train to Yokota. The Toroko Train is an open air train that takes you through the "full of nature" part of Shimane. It was fun. There were 8 foreign celebrities that went and none was more famous than Rob. As soon as we got on the train some old woman accosted him, offering beer, loud yelling, and peanuts! What would life be like without old Japanese people drinking at 10am! Then when we reached Yokota, Emily led us around her picturesque town. First, we hit the Poplar, then the river, and finally a shrine. It was really nice weather too, which added up to a fantastic Sunday.