A Perfect Goodbye

ひさしぶりね！(Long time no see.) I apologize that I have not written since May, the past two months have just flown by and it is time to leave Japan day after tomorrow. I leave Japan with a fairly normal mix of emotions; sadness, excitement, and a bit of confusion. The last month in particular has been a whirl of so many things, packing, preparing for the new JET, saying goodbye to friends,students, and teachers, and trying to decide what I will do when I get home to the United States. But amidst all of that, the month of July has been really fun.

4th of July weekend Mariel and I went to a beach party in Tottori, on the Sea of Japan. The beach was a short strip in between tall cliffs, with hundreds of people camped out and a stage for concerts. The crowd was quite an eclectic mix, drawing a lot of foreign English teachers and more Japanese hippies than I thought existed in the country. Mariel and I's weekend took an interesting turn when we arrived at the beach at about 1AM to find that the tent we had borrowed did not in fact have any poles to stand with. We searched the beach for sticks or anything we could potentially use to hold it up, but found only a few short sticks that flimsily supported a pathetically low tent. We decided to make the best of it, and use the tent like a tarp and sleep out under the stars. It was a rather sleepless night, but what can you expect when you sleep outside with a raging party going on only a few hundred feet away. The next day there were performances ranging from the didjeridu to capoeira. We met up with a lot of other friends and had a great weekend. In the end, I think our homelessness only made the weekend even more exciting.



Of course the month has been filled with lots of good byes as well, some offered more closure than others. At some schools I gave speeches in Japanese (in front of the whole school, yikes!) and at some they even threw me a going away party. The hardest good bye was one of the first. All the teachers and students at Obou Elementary School came to a party for me the last day. The kids planned the agenda, which included a lot of singing, dodge ball, and tag. The kids there are really sweet, and the school is teensy tiny, so they are all really good friends. It was the best, and certainly the most emotional good bye.

Students working on a wish tree for the たなばた祭 (Star Festival.)

Finally, the Tanabe Matsuri last weekend ensured the my year in Japan went out with a bang. The Tanabe Matsuri is the biggest local festival of the year. A bit like a Japanese state fair, their are vendors with all different kinds of food, martial arts and drumming performances, and a parade of mikoshi (portable shrines) lit up at night. I love festivals, and have made it a point to go to a lot during my year here, but nothing compares to a festival within your own community. I decided since it was my last festival here that I would go dressed in a yuukata (summer kimono). A lot of women wear them during the summer, but especially to festivals. Tina has taken Kimono classes during her time here and she attempted to teach me how to tie one myself. They are incredibly complicated, and I am proud to say that although not at all perfect, I did my own by myself! Everywhere I looked I saw my students shouting "Julia-sensei" or "Junia-sensei" for those who can't seem to say Julia. It was a wonderful reminder or the community that I have been a part of during my year here. I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect last experience.

Adorable children dressed up in flower hats and face paint for the parade.

Women dressed in Yuukata for the festival.

Girls performing in the shrine before the parade.

Me with some of my students from Takao Junior High School.

Some of my students from Shinjo Junior High School.

Children peeking out from the floats as they are paraded through town.

One of the Mikoshi.

Tina and I in our yuukatas.

All the Mikoshi lined up on the bridge at the end of the night.