I am currently writing this on word-processor in the den of a hostel I am staying at in a town called Fukuoka. Meaning, no longer in Okinawa and currently sans internet connection on this computer, so making due with what I have! I guess I will try writing and then uploading my various posts when I can.
My last days in Okinawa were really great ones:
Friday was my last day of school. Taught a few classes, said goodbye to my favorites (the sports boys!), received a card and “leis” of candy from one first year high school class (so unexpected!). I wrote cards for all the teachers who had helped me out (there were many!) and passed those out. I also got to meet the Principal and Vice Principal- such formal occasions! I haven’t had to be on my best behavior like that for a while, but it was great to meet them and they had many kind and encouraging words to offer me. Finally I had to give a little speech at a teacher’s meeting at the end of the day. It was scary, as I had to use my polite Japanese, but it was a good practice in using proper grammar and vocabulary! Sad to leave Okisho, but many many happy memories were made there. I wasn’t able to be sad for long though because right after I met my friend Yuka and her boyfriend for dinner. I mentioned meeting her in one of my earlier posts ,but never followed up on it. I’ve actually been able to meet her three times now in Okinawa. She is going to school on the US military base and works at a restaurant at night. She is also an avid salsa dancer, which is how she met her boyfriend, Ray. He is in the US military and it was really interesting being able to meet him and hearing about army life and getting the perspective of a soldier working in Okinawa. I have talked with my Okinawa host dad about the US military base and about his opinions on it, and his responses were really enlightening, and I liked getting the opinion from a real-working US military member. Anyways, seeing Yuka has been a really fun and wonderful experience- I got to meet her mom and sister and it was so wonderful to reconnect with her. It is such a good feeling that I have many people I can count on all over the world, and I am happy to count Miss Yuka as one of them!
Saturday I spent the morning and afternoon with the host fam. We went to a really nice hotel on an absolutely beautiful beach. When I say absolutely beautiful beach, I mean post-card knock-your-socks-off beautiful. I don’t think I really posted about this last week, but I got to go to a tropical island on Feb 26th (Mimi’s birthday!!!). How great is it for a MN girl to spend the 26th of February biking, swimming, napping in the sun, eating ice cream on literally the most beautiful island I have ever seen. Great, right? So hanging out, eating brunch with the host fam at a restaurant overlooking the beach this last weekend was really great. Then we headed a little further south to another ocean front. This time, we were able to walk out onto a giant stone dock-like structure- treacherous walking but beautiful scenery. So beautiful, plus to top it all off there was a band practicing in the background for a concert happening that evening, so we even had lovely background music with which to take in the sights. After that, I attended a dinner party hosted by Buscuri Sensei, the head teacher of the international studies department at Okisho. She invited myself, the four other US teachers, and the three other international studies department teachers. Dinner was delicious, company was wonderful, and afterwards the other americans and I went out for karaoke! Fun fun for one of my last nights in Okinawa.
Sunday was spent packing, talking to my lovely family on the phone, and hanging out with Miyu and her boyfriend, Chiba. Miyu and I shopped a bit, then met Chiba for a showing of the movie, Social Network. We took pictures together and then went bowling. Her parents met us after and we all went to dinner together at a steak house- one where the waiters prepare all of your food right in front of you. It was very delicious, but the best part was the end of the meal. Miyu gave me a card and a key chain she and Chiba had made for me, and then gave me a card that the students in her homeroom had made for me. It was so touching- I can’t really even describe. I can’t lie, the tears came and I was so grateful to my Okinawa family in that moment I really couldn’t speak. My host dad and mom had really kind words for me and it was such a special way to end the night. What wonderful people I have been able to share the last four weeks with.
Monday started early- had to be at the port at 6:30 am, boarded at 7:00. From Naha to Kagoshima (the southern-most city of the Japanese island of Kyushyu) it took about twenty eight hours. Twenty eight hours. On a boat. Now, I have never really ridden a boat. Boats are very very very turbulent. I was happy for the first few stops of the trip that no one was really boarding, so I had a room to myself (when I say room, I mean a room with space on the floor for about twenty people to sleep). But starting from about 12 noon onwards, it got busier. Really though, because the waves were so choppy all anyone really wanted to do was sleep. I could only be up for a few hours of a time without feeling sick. It was a long voyage, but 9:55 am I was able to leave, and did so with a new founded appreciation for anyone who has to work on a ship, especially waiters. A difficult task, as I wasn’t even able to walk around without looking like I had consumed more than one-too-many….
The bus to Fukuoka from Kagoshima was unremarkable but beautiful. Actually, a woman I had met on the ship was taking the same bus as me showed me a small act of kindness by giving me half of an ice-cream snack she had bought, explaining the coldness of it would help ease my stomach, which it did. Nice people! I am now in Fukuoka, the place in Japan where my dad lived for a few years! Really neat to be here! I’ve met lots of interesting people already- people from Germany, Canada, England, Australia. The hostel owner, Ken, took us out to dinner at a sushi restaurant and we had a great chance to chat and get to know each other better. It is really great way to feel out what is worth seeing in the city and what can be skipped. Tomorrow am exploring the city! So excited!
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