At the moment it is a very busy time of year. Tomorrow is the last of term, which means no lessons, just closing ceremonies and cleaning and mucking around with the kids. Ok, I know that doesn’t sound like much is going on, but it is also the time when ALTs go home and new ALTs start arriving in Japan. It is also the time when all the teachers have enkais (parties) to celebrate the end of school, the start of summer, the end of the rainy season . . . actually, any excuse is good enough for an enkai.
Last Friday our Board of Education had a leavers enkai for Dan, Rosie, Jo and Pauline, who are all leaving. This means that yours truly is the new leader of the Hagi ALTs. Scared? I know I am! Basically it means I get the oh-so-exciting job of organizing the new ALTs who start arriving on August 1st. Already I have been racing around like a headless chicken sorting things out at the Board of Education, getting in contact with the newbies and answering questions, etc. This is on top of teaching and also doing proof-reading for the Hagi Tourism Board (I think I mentioned that in a previous post?).
Anyway, the enkai on Friday was bittersweet because all the ALTs from Hagi and the surrounding country came to the party and it was great to hang out, but it was also the last time we would all be together, so we had no choice but to drink the pain away :)
The drinking led us to a karaoke bar where bad singing (and Y.M.C.A.) was perpetrated. Unfortunately (or maybe luckily), the typhoon was already starting to make its presence felt, so we called it a night a little after midnight. The next day was the All Blacks vs. Australia rugby game, and we had talked the barman at our favourite bar to open up just for us to watch the game. He opened at 4:30, and by 6pm the place was absolutely full of ALTs from all over Yamaguchi because a few weeks ago we sent out an email inviting everyone to come and play and Hagi, and a huge group came in spite (or maybe because of) the typhoon. Saturday night it really hit us, and Sunday the weather was absolutely shit. Monday was a public holiday, and by about 7pm, the wind and rain finally buggered off and the sun came out. Just in time for the working week to begin. Typical.
This Friday Jo and I are going to an enkai for one of the schools we both teach at. It will be the last enkai we will have together, so we will make sure it is a good one.
Saturday and Sunday there is a sand-art festival / competition in Hagi and I am going with some of my students. Looking forward to that!
And then on Monday Dan and Rosie are leaving! I’m dreading it, because I know there will be tears! Jo leaves in a week and then I have maybe 2 days before the newbies start arriving. This year has gone insanely fast, especially when I look back at how long I thought it would be when I first got here. I know I said I was only going for 1 year, but it is so much fun, I’m not ready to come home, yet. Maybe after 2 years I’ll be sick of it. . .we’ll see.
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