ドリュー先生 or "Drew Sensei"

My Last Day in Asago

Drew — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:51:59 +0000

Since I will be leaving for the airport tomorrow morning, today is my last day in Asago. It’s strange to think that very soon I will no longer be struggling to be understood in my little town. I think it would be normal if I were to say that I don’t know where the year went, or it feels like I only just got here, but that wouldn’t really be true. While sometimes it did feel like time was passing very quickly (the last month for example), other times it felt like each day was dragging on and on (such as during the winter). Also, the fact that I have seen and done so much in this last year makes it impossible for me to think of it as being short, because I have so many memories.

I wouldn’t say today has been the most exciting last day in Japan, but so far it has been good. In the morning I met Nohmi sensei at school and then we went to the bank to cancel my account. Since it seemed to be a pretty complicated process with a lot of sitting and waiting, we were able to talk a bit and I guess because I don’t work with her anymore she was noticeably more casual. She talked to me a bit about her thoughts on this year’s exchange program, and made it pretty clear that she wants me to meet up with the group when they come to Toronto. She had mentioned that before, but it was nice to know that it wasn’t just something she felt like she had to say.

Anyway, tomorrow I have arranged it so Matt will drive me to Himeji (my supervisor didn’t seem very confident this was a good idea, but I promised to give Matt very detailed instructions on how to get home by himself). From Himeji I will take the bus to Kansai Airport, and then a plane to Toronto via Vancouver. I expect to be pretty tired, but also for my family to be pretty surprised.

Goodbye Kaneko Sensei

Drew — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 07:11:23 +0000

Yesterday was Kenji’s last day in Asago-shi, and today he flew back to the states. Mark, Matt, Kenji’s replacement Andrew and I met him at Ja-lan for lunch before he left. Also, on Thursday Andrew and I helped Mark and Kenji film a music video for their song “the Wad”, so I think Kenji probably enjoyed his last few days here.

Last Day and Matt’s Arrival

Drew — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:15:10 +0000

Yesterday was my last actual day at Asago JHS, because I have enough summer holidays to last until I leave. It was a pretty uneventful day though, because I only had one hour of class, and that class was only 12 students. It wasn’t as sad to leave as when I left Okuganaya though, probably because everything wasn’t all at once.

This afternoon I went back though, because they wanted me to be there when my replacement arrived. Basically I think his arrival went pretty much the same as mine. He dressed up more than was necessary, and seemed a little bewildered by the Japanese greeting. After that we helped him get moved in, and then I took him to the grocery store and then to dinner with Mark and Kenji. I think in some ways it is a bit unfortunate for him that I’m still here, because I don’t think the Japanese teachers are really trying as hard. I know I am obviously better suited to get him ready for living here, but pretty soon I will be gone and won’t have had the same opportunities I had to get to know the teachers he will be working with. Anyway, even though I am pretty jealous of him for taking over my position, I will do my best to get him up to speed, and see if I can keep him away from just sitting at his desk with nothing to do (I am thinking some trips to Osaka, and maybe the beach are necessary to get him used to Japan).

Amanohashidate

Drew — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:01:45 +0000

On Sunday I went to Amanohashidate (“Bridge to Heaven”). It is considered one of the three best sights in Japan, and since it was only about a three hour drive away I decided I should see it before I leave. On the way there I drove through about the worst storm I have seen in Japan yet, but by the time I got there it was only slightly raining. Although it wasn’t perfect weather, it was still an interesting thing to see. Basically there is just a really long sand bar connecting two sides of a bay, but there is a forest and a few little shrines along the way, as well as a really long beach. Here are some pictures:

See the Whole Album

Sayonnara Meghan Sensei

Drew — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:15:24 +0000

Meghan left Japan this afternoon, and although she will be coming back for a job in Toyooka, I won’t see her again before I leave. Some personal stuff came up and she had to get a last minute flight home, so her departure was pretty stressful. Fortunately she was able to get everything taken care of and pack up and leave on time.

Our supervisor actually told me that since she was really tired from everything, that I would have to drive for her until she left. So I drove her a bit, but she went to the onsen by herself and got in a small car accident. I guess Nakashima was right. She was ok though, just broke a headlight.

Anyway, she was a great neighbour (translated, cooked sometimes, and even saved my life once), so I will miss her a lot.

Goodbye Asago Chugakko

Drew — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:23:14 +0000

Last night my teachers had a farewell enkai for me, and it was really good. They took me to an all you can eat barbeque place, so for the first time ever I didn’t need to have “betsu menu” (separate food). They gave me a new jimbei, and some other Japanese souvenirs. On the way home one of the teachers I was with, who was pretty drunk, said “I want to buy you ice cream!”, so we went to the convenience store and got some ice cream.

Today was Closing Ceremonies for this term, which means the last day before summer vacation. Since I will not be back next term I gave a short speech that was translated by Kakio sensei. After that two girls came on stage and read a speech to me, and then gave me flowers. Then all the students made a path for me to walk through, and I left the gym. It was a pretty dramatic way for me to end my time here. I’m glad that I still have a few extra curricular classes for the exchange group, because if I had to just finish up completely today it might be too much. It will be really strange when I’m not coming to this school anymore. Although the year has seemed to fly by, it still feels like I have been here for a really long time.

“Lasto Day”

Drew — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:55:39 +0000

Everyday Nakamura sensei passes out a schedule for the following two days, and if I am at my desk he says something like “Doryuu sensei, tomorrow’s…” Today he handed the schedules out, and then pointed to one and the following conversation took place:

Nakamura: “This day…your lasto day. So…[points to a bunch of Kanji] sayonnara ceremony”
Me: “Ok, thanks”
Nakamura: “You will…”
Me: “Make a speech?”
Nakamura: “Ah! Hai! Hai!”
Me: “Ok, how long should it be?”
Nakamura: “Etooo… [points to Nohmi sensei's desk, and then back at me]“
Me: “I should talk to Nohmi?”
Nakamura: “Hai”

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I really appreciate the effort Nakamura sensei puts into speaking English. Considering he is a math teacher, and not particularly young, I’m impressed with how much he can say and even more so by how much he can understand.

Anyway, I guess I have to make a speech. I just hope it can be English only this time.

Taj Ultimate

Drew — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:20:45 +0000

This weekend was the Taj Ultimate Frisbee tournament, which some of the other JETs from my city, some Japanese girls, and I played in. Despite my assumptions that a tournament hosted by a bunch of JETs from Tajima (there is another team from around here that includes basically everyone but the people on my team) would be a pretty low key thing, there were 300 players, some coming from as far away as Tokyo.

Our team, “The Wad”, consisted of Mark, Kenji, Meaghan, Mario (Kenji’s friend from the states), Mario’s girlfriend Wendy and her two friends Yui and Haruka, two guys we picked up from Shikoku, and myself. Before this weekend, the two guys from Shikoku were the only ones to have ever actually played ultimate frisbee, and the Japanese girls had never actually thrown or caught a frisbee before.

The Wad

Our first game was against Tajima Gyu (the other local JET team), and they beat us. Then we played a Japanese university team, and they really beat us. Then we started winning games, because we learned how to play. In the end we played Tajima Gyu again, and beat them quite decisively. We ended up placing 9th in the entire tournament, which is way better than last place like I expected.

Goodbye Okuganaya

Drew — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:41:47 +0000

Today was my last day at Okuganaya Elementary, so the school had a goodbye party for me. We played some games, they gave me some presents they made, and then we said a lot of speeches. It was a really good way to end my time there I think, but it was still very hard to leave at the end of the day. Even though I was only this school for one day a week, I still got to know the kids pretty well, especially because there were less than 40 in the entire school. I was really impressed at how well all the kids work and play together. I guess because the school is so small they have no other choice, but I never saw anyone getting picked on, or even left out of any games. The teachers here were also great, which I think played a huge part in the way the students have turned out. They have certainly set the bar pretty high for the schools I will be in when I get back to Canada.

Okuganaya Elementary

The students drew me some pictures to remember them by, but there are too many to show on this page. I have made a separate page with all the pictures, plus my attempt at translations (they are all in Japanese).

See The Pictures

Mega Macs

Drew — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:27:45 +0000

Last night a bunch of other ALTs and I went to McDonalds, because Mark and Kenji thought it was necessary for everyone to try the Mega Mac (basically two big macs in one). To make sure the evening was memorable, Kenji downloaded “I’m in love with a McDonald’s girl” by Weird Al Yankovic, which he played on Veronica’s portable iPod speakers as he and Mark danced into the restaurant. Mark brought his camera, and while we were all ordering our “Mega Mac setto”, he filmed Kenji explaining to some Japanese girls that it was Mega Mac day, which meant they also had to buy Mega Mac sets. The burger itself wasn’t actually as gross as I expected. It was, however, much messier and more difficult to eat than a regular big mac.

Mega Mac

ドリュー 先生 or "Drew Sensei"