Dazaifu, Day 28 - Last Day

My last day.....

The morning news has pictures of the Yamakasa race held in Fukuoka early this morning (like 4:00 AM!) Last night's news had lots of pictures of the floats and their runners, and I tried to get some still shots off the TV - we'll see how they turn out. There was also a childrens' version (actually more of a march than a race) held early last evening, not only in Fukuoka, but also right here in Chikushino/Dazaifu as well. That one, I watched from the back balcony of my apartment; the children have small floats that they carried up and down the street beside the apartment, then they took them into the temple grounds about half a block away from my building. I had a great view; sometimes there are advantages to being on the 8th floor.

(An interesting side note - much as American cities do when major parades are held, the local news last night was reporting street closings and available train service for people wishing to see the race this morning. Even with a language barrier, I understood "JR" and "3:50 AM" - and no, I did not go view the race - that's too early!)

The heavy suitcases are loaded into Ishii's borrowed van (his car is DOA and is in the repair shop for an extended rehab). I'm intrigued by his loaner - it's one of those 'box vans' that have been popular for a couple of years in Japan, and are just now becoming generally available in the U.S. The best-known versions for Americans are early versions of the Honda Element, but in Japan, many car manufacturers make a model of this type because they have a lot of storage space but are very narrow and easy to maneuver in tiny Japanese streets. This one is a Nissan and very utilitarian; think English panel van with straighter sides, and you'll get the idea.

I have to make a very short speech at the morning teachers' meeting, and shed a couple of tears during it (I told them I probably would). I hope that I manage to get through the longer speech at the afternoon farewell without too many tears.....

Lunch today is with Ishii's class - appropriate because he is my partner in this endeavor. The students have written farewell messages on the chalkboard and are very ready to talk a bit today. Hopefully I will get to see a few of them again in the fall on our video conferences.

The afternoon farewell ceremony actually goes very well. It is a measure of how much I have been accepted as a member of the staff that Principal Yagi and I come into the gym while the students are still assembling. (What a change from four weeks ago, when we waited in the office until everyone was exactly in place...)

A speech is made by the principal, and I make a speech. Then the president of the student body comes to the stage to make a farewell speech. At its close, I make my final presentation - I have business cards from me for each student (counted into small bundles, one for each class). The student accepts the cards and takes them to each home room teacher for distribution in the classes. Business cards are an important part of the communication process in Japan, and presentation of a card is considered to be a mark of courtesy or respect. It is my hope that my cards (which are bilingual, English on one side and Japanese on the other) will encourage these students to continue to work on their bilingual capabilities as well.

After the gathering, I join the principal and members of the PTA in his office. They have gifts to present, for me and for my school. My gift is a wonderful surprise - a pair of handmade wooden getas, and they actually fit me! With a little help I put them on and prove that I can walk in heels, even those that are made of wood. They are surprisingly comfortable - the thong strap is made of heavily padded jute and doesn't cut into my foot as I expected it might. Perhaps that's the trick - get a carefully made pair that is big enough for my larger than average foot size.

Principal Yagi surprises me with an announcement that he has asked students to consider what animal might make a good mascot for Gakugyoin JHS. Apparently he was very intrigued with the jaguar that I presented to the school on my first day there (and my explanation that most American middle and senior high schools have mascots of one sort or another to encourage school spirit), and decided that a mascot might be a very good thing for his school as well.

Students are to think about possibilities during their summer vacation break in August, and come back in September with drawings of their favorites. When he comes to visit in mid-October, Principal Yagi hopes to have a mascot to present to Jefferson Middle School.

The PTA group and I spend quite a bit of time talking about many subjects, including one dear to the hearts of all of us females - shopping! Other topics are covered as well - differences in school structure and funding, classes available at different levels in each country's schools, political structure (states' rights vs. national government, a necessary offshoot of our education policy and funding discussion - not all Americans realize that our way of organizing public education is rather different than that of many other countries, with far more local control than Japanese schools, for example.)

It's a wide-ranging conversation, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed as a finish to my stay in Dazaifu.

Then it's time to say goodbye, and that's when the tears come again. We all promise to stay in touch via e-mail; the English teachers are especially interested in more chances to 'talk' and hope that we will be able to foster some student-to-student messaging as well. I will get to see most of these teachers on the video conferences, but it's still hard to leave after having worked together for these past four weeks. Even they are blinking back a few tears.

Home to the apartment with Ishii, where he joins me at the front desk to settle the final bill (he has money from MTP to cover the utilities' cost, the only part of my stay that was a variable). He tells me that he will meet me at the train station tomorrow morning and ride with me as far as Hakata, where I will catch a shinkansen to Nagoya. I suspect that some of the others will be there as well.

Another adventure awaits......