I had another busy day at work, but I did score some fresh vegetables from one of my teachers, Kuroda sensei. I gave her a taco the other day, and so she must have felt a little guilty and wanted to return the present. The veggies were grown by her mother, who apparently has retired and pursuing gardening as a new hobby.
My classes went without a hitch. Every time I walk to my next class I pass students all rushing around killing time before their next class, and everybody calls my name in passing to say hello. I do my best to answer them all, but sometimes there are way too many people saying hello. It is still a little overwhelming – I just haven’t gotten used to it.
I took the train home, but instead of going to Okubo, I got off at Akashi and then caught a train to Takasago. Tonight was the welcome/farewell party for me and Brenda, and so I got to go back in time a little and revisit my old school.
At Takanan I said to hello to my old co-workers, and sat around talking with Brenda. She is settling into her new job and it seemed like she had a lot of free time at work. I was in the same situation, but I used that time to study Japanese. She is spending that time right now surfing the web on her computer, which I guess is a good time-killer.
One interesting thing was that she came up with the idea to give her first year students Western-style names. She downloaded a list of the most popular names in America, and she had the students choose from the list. It sounded a little weird – somehow to me it seemed like a bad idea, but I’m not sure why. I know that when I learned Spanish I had to pick a Spanish name (Pancho). I was amused to hear from Mori sensei that the most popular name among boys was “Bryan”. Ha!
Brenda also talked about how she has had trouble keeping the history teacher away – something I know a lot about. I got a chance to talk with some of my students as well, and it was fun to talk my ESS students, who are all in the process of choosing colleges. Time flies – I remember when they were just a bunch of scared first years peeking in my classroom door nervously.
We walked from the school to the restaurant, and there was a really big turnout – around 20-25 people. I sat in the middle next to Brenda on one side and the principal on the other. The food was pretty good, but I was there for the conversation. Mostly I was stuck talking with the principal, who really enjoys the fact that he can communicate with a foreigner. We talked about all kinds of stuff, and the more he drank the more obscure the topics became. I was also on the hook to translate to Brenda, despite being surrounded by English teachers.
Some teachers chipped in and bought a big bouquet of orchids for Kuniko. They were beautiful, and I really appreciated all the nice things that everyone said about me. It was really good to see everyone again, and think that even though I’m having a great time at my new school in Nishinomiya, I wouldn’t mind at all working at Takasago Minami again.
The school nurse, Yamamoto sensei, offered to drive both Brenda and me home, along with the baseball coach Morita sensei. It was really nice of her to do – since I’m a little farther away now, and I had orchids to carry. In the car on the way back I translated for Brenda and we talked for a long time. I think she is just starting to speak to the teachers, but the language barrier is pretty tough. I hope that she will be able to make progress, though.
It was a really fun night, and everyone seemed to have a good time. I came back and gave Kuniko the flowers, so now we have some color in the house again. Kuniko got me a present today – a neck massager to work on my still sore neck. I don’t know what I did to it, but the neck massager works pretty well.
I’ve got the next three days off, since Monday is a holiday (Respect for the Aged Day). Time to relax!
