Home Sweet Home

I've made it back safely! I got home a couple days ago, and after getting over the jet lag I've been soaking up every bit of home while I have the chance. I've already seen most of my family, eaten lots of Mexican and Chinese food, and took my dog for some runs and a hike. Now I'll be getting ready for my whirlwind round of interviews starting next week, and hopefully start working when I get back.

Thanks again to everyone back in Fukushima for being such great friends, especially Mayu, who went with me all the way to the airport! I miss you all so much, and I'll keep you posted on all the news in California!

Here are the pictures I promised earlier:

We took a boat ride around some of the various little islands of Matsushima. The seagulls follow the boats, and you can throw them some food and watch them catch and eat it! 

Val and Mayu on the boat! 

A bridge we crossed to get out to one of the bigger islands where there was a beautiful shrine. We also ate the best chocolate swirl soft cream on our walk over! 

An incredible view of some of the islands. 

Mayu and me posing in front of some beautiful little islands. 

Eating a huge sembei (rice cracker) in Matsushima! 

Miss Megumi and me! She's so cute and sweet, and her speech brought me to tears! 

Oga, Yumiko, Yukari, Aya and me. My students are so fun, I'll miss them! 

Iuki and me after the tearful speech. 

Mayuko and Michelle after lunch. Mana's was my favorite restaurant in Fukushima! 

My Last Weekend in Japan!

Well, my farewell party was amazing! It was great to have so many students come out to say goodbye, and we had a lot of fun eating, drinking and playing games. Later in the night I was surprised when I learned that two of my students had written speeches for me. The first one was by Arato, an outgoing and engergetic student, who wrote a funny and entertaining speech that had the whole room laughing. The next was by (Miss) Megumi, the one who baked me the chocolate cake, and who I think of as my little siter. Her speech was really touching because she brought up a memory of the two of us discussing colleges together. She was in a class where sometimes she was my only student, so we would often have long chats at the beginning. One time she was trying to decide what college to go to so we talked about that for a while and I shared my own experience with her. I was really moved that she remembered that night, and that it meant as much to her as it did to me. Sometimes teaching can be really tough and stressful, but there are moments when it is so incredibly rewarding that they overshadow the difficult times completely. When Megumi reminded me of this, I was suddenly moved to tears. The whole night I was being really good, and actually never felt the urge to cry, but when I remembered those quiet moments with students when you really know you are connecting with them I couldn't bite my lip hard enough to fight back the tears. Unfortunately, I was expected to give a speech after this, and although I had worked on and memorized a speech beforehand, I was completely at a loss of words. I tried desperately to maintain composure as I thanked my students and explained how much this experience has meant to me. I'm not sure how articulate I was, but I think everyone knew I was being sincere and will truly miss them.

The next day I woke up late after staying out for the second party, and met Michelle for lunch at Mana's for the last time. I got to say my goodbyes, and then Michelle and I went off for a lazy day of shopping and a fabulous massage before meeting with more friends for Alex's birthday dinner.

Today I got to go for one last run around Shinobuyama, and then met up with Kaori to close various accounts and mail off a last box. Then we went up to St. Anna's Garden for some shopping and coffee. It was so beautiful up there and we sat for a long time enjoying the view from the outside cafe. Later we saw an awesome movie about ninjas, and then went to dinner at the Pineapple House. I finally got to eat Okinawan food and it was fantastic! We finished off the night with drinks on top of Corase (a tall building with an nice view of the city). It was the perfect final day in Fukushima, and I'm so glad I got to spend it with Kaori!

Tomorrow I'll meet Mayu bright and early at the station to buy our train tickets to the airport and then have a quick breakfast. A few of my co-workers and friends are going to see me off at the station, which is super sweet of them! I've been really lucky to have such amazing co-workers and friends during my brief stay here in Japan. I'll never forget any of them or my time here!

Also, I'll post pictures when I get back to the States. Something is wrong with my computer right now and it's not letting me get into the program I need to post my pictures. I guess it'll just give you all something to look forward to when I get back!

My Last Day of Work!!

Hi everyone! Today (Saturday, September 24th) is my last day of work at AEON! I'll post pictures of the farewell party and also of my trip to Matsushima later. I just wanted to put up a quick post. This past week has really flown by, partly because Friday was a national holiday, and also because we've been having counseling week for our group lessons. Instead of having actual lessons for those classes we've had the students take check tests where they have to answer questions from a booklet and a tape, and also write an essay. Later Alex and I were trying correct some of them and here is our favorite. See if you can figure out what she's trying to say:

I want to learn dance because I like body exsersize, and I loves dancer!! So I will do time apointment work, I want to love dance, very move!! . . . So!! I want to be a smart face!! (lafh) I always sleep before exsaize for smart face. I have been to end soon.

Good luck! I'll wrtie more soon!

Flowers and Chocolate!

I've never received so many flowers or chocolates for my birthday in my entire life . . . my students know me well! This past week I've enjoyed many beautiful bouquets and delicious candies and cakes, my students are so sweet! I also went out to dinner with a bunch of them along with Alex, Michelle and Donna on Saturday night. Our plans for the Pineapple House fell through, but we went to Tsuki no Hana instead, which has really great tofu. The interior is really cool too, and it has a great atmosphere. I had a fantastic time laughing and drinking with my students, and I know I'll miss them all very much.

Today I met Michelle, Donna and Rumiko for lunch and then an aromatherapy massage. It was so relaxing, I will definitely have to go again before I leave! My friends from training, Valerie and Matt, are coming to visit me next weekend so Mayu and I are planning on taking them to Matsushima. It's supposed to be one of the top three sightseeing places in Japan, and I haven't been there yet either so it'll be good for me to see before I leave. Maybe we'll hit up the Pineapple House too since I couldn't go the other night.

I still can't believe I'm leaving in two weeks. Even though I've started a little packing and mailed off a box today, it still doesn't feel like I'm going anywhere. I know these next two weeks will pass quickly, and before I know it I'll be on the plane back to the States. I guess I'll just keep enjoying every last moment here until then!

The chocolate cake Megumi baked for me! It was so delicious and tasted kind of like fudge. The frosting is white chocolate and strawberry flavored. I shared most of it with my co-workers, but I still had a couple slices all for myself! 

Happy Birthday to me!

I just spent my first birthday in Japan, and it was fantastic! I honestly thought it would be like any other day because I wasn't planning to do anything really special until this Saturday night when a big group and I will go out for Okinawan food at The Pineapple House, but I was pleasantly surprised. For some reason, the actual day of my birthday has never been that great although the celebrations later were always fun, so this year I didn’t really expect much.

The first surprise came when my manager, Ayako, gave me a really cute coffee mug and a very sweet card. I was just shocked that she remembered and even bought me a gift, but it turns out that everyone remembered and everyone bought me a gift! Kaori gave me some really cute traditional crafts, Akiko gave me some fun candles, and even my student, Mayu, gave me a nice tea set and beautiful kimono bag. Later I went out to have Indian food at Nana’s with Michelle, Donna, Alex and Une. Of course I had my favorite meal: hara bara murgh- SPICY! I also got to open more gifts: a tea set and lots of panda stuff from Alex and Une, and a gorgeous picture frame from Michelle. Then Mayuko, Nana’s wife, brought us all complementary chai tea! It was the perfect end to a delicious dinner, and a wonderful birthday.

Now it’s off to start another day, but I’ll write more about the party on Saturday!

BIG NEWS: I'm coming home early!

As some of you know, I've been applying to medical schools since this summer in the hopes of starting somewhere next fall. Well, I'm really happy to report that I've already received several interview offers, which was a really big surprise for me. I'm incredibly excited about all of this, but unfortunately it also means that I'm going to have to leave Japan earlier than I had originally intended.

Of course I feel horrible about breaking my contract and leaving my students, co-workers, and friends, but everyone has been really understanding and supportive. They know this is my dream, and that I have to go to my interviews in order to be accepted to a school. If I wait to finish my contract before doing my interviews, then most of the spots at the schools will probably be filled. I'm having such a wonderful experience here in Japan, and the last thing I want is to resent my time here as something that prevented me from getting into medical school. There are emergency teachers for these types of situations, so I know that I'm am replacable here, but no one can attend my interviews for me. I still feel guilty about leaving early, but I know that this is something I must do in order to follow my dream. I guess there are decisions in life when you know you're going to disappoint someone, but you have to do what is best for yourself in the long run. Of course everyone has been really great about the whole situation, even people from the head office, so that has made everything a lot easier.

I'm going to miss all of the friends I've made here, but I can honestly say that I've done everything in Japan that I wanted to do and I can leave without any regrets. I've visited Hiroshima, Tottori, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji, Tokyo, stayed in a ryokan, did onsen, wore a yukata to a festival, and climbed Mount Fuji. This past weekend I went to Aizu with my co-workers and had a fantastic lunch, made pottery, and visted an old-style village. There are still many things I'd like to do, but at least I've done all of the essentials. Plus, I still have a few more weeks to go so I'll squeeze as many things into them as possible.

My last day of work is September 24th, and I'll fly home on the 27th. I'll be doing my interviews during the first few weeks in October, and then hopefully I'll find a job and an apartment in the Bay Area until I leave for school next August. At least that's the plan for now, but stay tuned for any updates. Until then, enjoy pictures from my weekend in Aizu!

The outside of the restaurant where we had lunch in Aizu. The place had two floors and was really traditional. 

Our lunch! Everything about this meal was traditional and local to Aizu, even the bowls and lacquerware. 

Akiko and Iuki enjoying our traditional Aizu lunch! 

Ayako and Kaori having fun at the pottery place! 

Mitsuko inside of the big oven where our pottery will be baked. 

Some rice fields across from the old traditional village we stopped at. 

One of the shops at the old village that we visited. The lord of Aizu would stop here on his annual trips to Edo. 

Looking back on the road lined with the traditional houses.