I had my first last visit. The first of many final visits to my schools. Some schools aren't going to be hard to say good-bye to. Today's school was probably the most difficult of all. It is a small country school and I have become very close to the students, the teachers and the principal in the last 10 months. I don't know if it is because the school is in the countryside or because the school is small, but the kids are different than at other schools. They are more open and easier to form friendships with. I am going to miss Rokujo Elementary School a lot.



So my final day. Every class gave me presents. The 1st graders had each written a note and the teacher put them all together in a book. The 2nd graders had a book of pictures they had drawn. The 6th graders gave me a poster. Each time a group gave me a present I started to get teary eyed. I think the 4th graders were the hardest though. They came into the teacher's room in groups of 4 and gave me posters they had made. The posters had ribbon on them and were hung around my neck. The greatest part was that the students remembered all of the things that I like, and put them onto the posters. Lots of frogs and the color green. A few places I was drawn as a princess (can't object to that). The teachers didn't understand why there were frogs all over everything. But the students knew and I knew.



I took my current job almost as a temp, an 11 month temp, but still a temp. There are times when I have had trouble feeling like I fit in. There are times when just being a foreigner in Japan means I don’t fit in. Today was a perfect day where I felt like I fit in perfectly. I know I wrote about this a year ago when I was leaving Amity, but it is a lesson I keep learning, so I will write it again. I never understand my place or how I fit in or how much people appreciate me until I am leaving. It's bitter sweet because although it feels good to know people appreciate you, it is sad that you don't know until you are saying good-bye.



I don't want to end this on a sad note, because I am not sad. Although it doesn't make good-byes any easier, I am excited about everything that is coming up in the next few months. I am happy that I will be going home. And I am happy that I have had such a good experience in Japan.

Okinawa

Day 1
Off to Okinawa using the JAL Birthday rate (making the flight a third of the normal price). We arrive in Naha the capital of Okinawa and take a bus to our resort in Onna Village. The ocean is incredibly beautiful. It looks like a piece of blown glass—various shades of bright blue blending slowly together transparent and smooth. It is raining when we arrive and continues all day. Although I dislike rain, it does turn the jungle into the most brilliant green. We spend the afternoon exploring the resort and sitting in the outdoor Jacuzzi in the rain. I want to swim but it is too chilly for anything except the Jacuzzi.

Day 2 dawns on the most beautiful weather. We rush to the beach just in case it decides to rain again. It doesn’t. I am surprised how empty the beach is on such a stunning day. The resort is full of people but only a few dozen come down to the beach in the morning and by noon it is all but our own private beach.

After spending as much time at the beach as we can (before sunburns start to settle into our skin) we head back the resort and the onsen. The onsen is wonderful; it is surrounded by lush vegetation and the sound of exotic birds filters in. The birds are elusive but they sound exotic to my untrained ears. The showers are outside with several of the baths. There are salt scrubs, jet baths and an aloe filled bath (it actually has bags of aloe floating in it). Heavenly! Even more so because I have it all to myself.

I go to a glass blowing studio near the resort to learn about making glass. The staff only speaks Japanese but I catch the general meaning and only have to start over once (although the final product is still a bit lopsided). I think I will add glass blowing to my list of career options.

In the evening we eat Okinawan specialties which all seem to involve pork. They have salted pork and fatty pork and fried pork and grilled pork. For the braver of heart (it was my beach vacation and I wasn't feeling too brave) they even have scary pig parts (ears and hooves and snouts). I was warned about Goya before I went and although I won't be eating a lot of it, it wasn't as bad as people may tell you (I did eat it buried in an omlet). I was terribly amused by something called "Umi-budo" or Sea-Grapes. They don't taste like much of anything, but the texture is incredibly amusing. It is rather like eating bubble wrap, each time you bite down the little grapes pop open in your mouth.

Day 3

We take a bus North to Nago and visit “Pineapple Park.” It is incredibly touristy, but I do manage to learn about pineapple farming while riding around in a giant pineapple car. All the meals in the restaurant involve pineapple (Pineapple Paella, Pineapple Curry, etc). I also sample all of the wines in the pineapple winery. Brilliant planning by someone though—the pineapple winery with all the free samples is right before the gift shop on the tour route. Nago is a small town that seems to be made up entirely of tourists and people over the age of 50. I wonder if I missed something or if everyone under the age of 40 actually did move to Naha because Nago is so incredibly dull. I am not sure I would want to live in a town where the main attraction is a Pineapple Park. We take the bus back to Naha. The closer we get to Naha the more apparent the US military presence is. I won’t spend too much time on this subject except to say that is felt a bit weird to suddenly be around foreigners who are not English teachers. The US military presence is a controversial subject in Japan. Suprisingly, the Okinawans are not the loudest opponents. I think the Okinawans realize that if the US leaves their economy will be devastated. The people on mainland Japan don’t have to worry about that, they are perhaps more concerned with the symbolism of the US have military bases on their soil. We eat an amazing steak dinner that is cooked in front of us (similar to the restaurant Ichiban in the US).

Day 4
We are staying in a small guesthouse. on Kokusai Street, the main area for restaurants, bars and shops. I am enjoying all of the American food that is available. We have tacos for lunch (slightly Japanized but still delicious) and huge hamburgers for dinner. I go on a bit of a shopping spree in a vintage clothing store. In the evening we go to an anniversary party at Paul and Mike’s Canadian Bar. Most of the foreigners in the bar are English teachers so it is easy to meet people and we party the evening away.

Day 5
Not much time for anything in the morning. We catch a taxi to the airport and eat one last western meal at A&W. It is sunny again the day we are leaving. Figures. But at least the last memory of Okinawa will be the sun shining down into the crystal waters as our plane takes off. I stare out the window at the small islands and fishing boats until they disappear. Sometimes I buy postcards and feel guilty sending them off because I didn't see a single view on my whole trip that looked like the postcard. Not so with Okinawa. Naha airport is located on the edge of the ocean (similar to LAX) and as you take off and land the views of the water below make the postcards pale in comparison. The bright blues don't fade to darker but are lined up with darker shades as the beach shelf plunges off into the pacific. The small islands rising out with barely more than a tree or two. The coral, the fishing boats, the waves... All of it visible from the window of an airplane.