No classes today, just a few more ceremonies and a whole bunch of speeches. The teachers that had been transferred came to our school today in the afternoon to say one last farewell. First we had a meeting in which they each gave a speech saying goodbye. Some people just kept talking and talking – seizing the opportunity to have a captive audience with nowhere to run.
One of these teachers was Onishi sensei, who is a retiring teacher this year. He gave a speech last term in the staff room, he gave another one at the last major staff meeting, he gave one today at our meeting, and then he gave another one to the students. In two weeks we’ll have all these teachers over at a going away/welcome party, and that will be the final time I hear him speak.
His speeches aren’t bad, they are just a bit long and his voice is really hard for me to understand. The other teachers had a few short remarks and sat down, which was awfully considerate.
After our meeting they assembled all the students in the gym and brought in the teachers. They sat on stage and one by one came up and gave a speech. These speeches were pretty diverse, and for the most part interesting.
Finally, after almost 90 minutes of listening to speeches the students were set free and the teachers were free to mingle with the outgoing teachers in the staffroom. I had a nice talk with the vice-principal (who is now a principal), and also with Kimura sensei, Kawamura sensei, and Watanabe sensei. I’ll get a chance to see them all again at the big party in a couple of weeks.
I killed the rest of the day studying and chatting with Miyake sensei, who came in to check out her schedule and find out about my lesson plan for the first years. Since yesterday’s meeting about the first year plan left me waiting around for Mori sensei, I didn’t have much to tell her about. We were both kind of confused about why it has to be so confusing, but like me she will adapt and do just fine.
Now I’m back home, relaxing and thinking about the rest of the week. There are a couple of major things I have to get done in the next few months, so I’m working on getting started on those. Little details like finding a place to live, a new job, and planning a honeymoon in Europe. I better get my act together…
