So It Goes

As I walk through the school I hear kids shout my name from the stairs, they hang out the window to say hello to me, they applaud when I walk into class. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a normal day at the all boys technical school. I always look forward to coming; the scenic train ride is peaceful and my i-pod always plays the right music for the soundtrack of my day as I walk from the station to the school. The rice fields are no longer barren--the rows and rows of rice seem to sprout up overnight and the green is so brilliant that you would think they had been spray painted. Tadpoles swim in the water around the rice and snails cower back into their shells as I walk by. Lately, the clouds have been rolling thunderheads moving quickly across the sky, skimming the lush mountain treetops as they go.

Yesterday I stopped to take a picture of a Japanese style house; the dark tiles created a stark contrast to the soft colors of the sky and the almost neon rice was placed perfectly for the foreground of the picture, looking like the scene was set just for the purpose of a picture. After a year of teaching Thursdays and Fridays at this school it is already time to say goodbye so my teachers make sure I can attend every class for a little while to play a game and say my final farewells. It is not a sad occasion, but rather a more content one, knowing that the kids enjoy my classes and because of that I consider my mission accomplished. The teachers I teach with thank me for the year and invite me to a farewell party to enjoy each others company one last time. The kindness and respect of this school will not be soon forgotten--they have helped me out more times than I can count and I will be forever grateful for their hospitality.

As my time in Japan is coming to a whirlwind of an end I reflect on the year I begin to realize what an unbelievable experience this has truly been for me. I was able to travel to three countries outside Japan and within Japan I was able to go to over 10 different cities within 6 different prefectures. I met people from all over the world, I went down water slides, I rode elephants, I pet tigers, I swam with dolphins, I went white water rafting, I hiked in the mountains, I swam in the ocean, I camped on the beach, I saw hundreds of shrines and temples, I danced in the streets of South Korea, I took a bamboo raft in Thailand, I chased a duck in Laos, I walked across a vine bridge in Shikoku, I sang in a crowded Japanese train station, I battled with giant spiders, I tired to speak Japanese, I taught English, I went to a wedding, I country line danced near a volcano caldera, I jumped from waterfalls, I visited historic sites, I went row boating in a gorge, zorbed down a hill, sang karaoke more times than I can count, and met the most incredible people. I know I have said it time and time again, but I will never forget what a monumental and life changing year this has been for me. I am so thankful for the time I have had to develop as a person here and the things I have learned about myself.

There were so many struggles for me the biggest being that I lived on my own in another country where the language and costumes were far from my own, yet choosing to embrace the unknown was the best decision I have ever made. I see this year as a stepping stone to the rest of my life, prepping me for what I would not have been able to do before, getting me ready for anything that comes my way. This year was the solid rope that ties my life together--past to future. I just had to take a swing to get to the other side and what a wild ride it turned out to be!

I have 10 days left in this country. TEN. Of course every single day is filled with things to do and people to see so I have no doubt that it will be crazy. I will be coming back into a just as crazy if not more week of wedding glee and catching up. I will try to update one more time before I leave to say farewell to this blog. It sure has served me well and I hope it has served my readers well too! Here I go into the final week of Japan life!

A little fun at the end:
To sum up the year of teaching here are some of my favorite phrases said by students on the worksheets I gave them:

Why do you want to travel?

"I am very eated!! And I very bought! I`m very happy."

Where do you want to go?
"I want to travels to Frence because Frence breats"

New Year's Resolutions:

1. I study English
2. I practice basketball
3. I get skill
4. I help my family
5. Change the world
Best one. Above.

1. Keep life
2. Get Game
3. Never Die
4. Get book
(?)

1. Get girlfiend and boyfriend (He has his work cut out for him)

1. Get a good grade in English
2. Study English
3. Practice English
4. Do my best at English
5. Work harder in English
What a brown noser!

1."Level up, catch my dream. I'm God."

Apparently he is since he had no other resolutions.

What was the worst thing this year?
"I was a lonely boy"

My favorite part of the trip was skiing because shopping.
Utimate multitasking activity. I love to shop while I ski.

After a listening exercise:

Correct sentence: Birds fly in the sky
What some students heard: Birds fry in the sky
Correct sentence: People live on the land
What some students heard: People live on the rum.
Probably more accurate anyway!

Gotta love it :)