Random updates

I've been having a fun and busy month since my farewell party. I had a 'fireworks party', a day trip to Kannonzaki (down the Miura peninsula), a trip to Disney Land, a 'video games party' (everything is a party in Japan ^_^), a singles party, and a looot of food. I've worn kimono, tried calligraphy, sang karaoke, and lit fireworks.

Just looking at my diary now, I see that from September 9 until now (October 1), I've met up with people for drinks or parties or coffee, 26 times. 26!! I've met up with 34 different students, 8 different staff members, 2 friends, and met a whole bunch of new people too.

It's been rather sad saying so many final 'goodbyes', but the more I do it, the more I feel ready to leave. I often find that after I do something, my feeling is different than before I do it. For example, before I announced to students I was going to leave, I felt really sentimental, like I hated to leave. After I announced it, I felt less emotional about it; it felt more like 'oh well, this is what's going to happen'. Before - and while - I was saying my last goodbyes, I felt sad. But now, I've been saying so many, I'm not feeling as badly over each one.

Today was a good day. I met my co-worker for breakfast, met two students for coffee, and another student for dinner. That student has just done a 7-week homestay in Japan. His English improved greatly. I felt very proud of him. ^_^

I did a fair bit of Japanese study until this week. I did three weeks of Kumon and completed about 30 worksheet sets; about 20 hours of study in total. I also took several private lessons with my old teacher, and started on a new textbook studying JLPT 2-kyuu grammar. It's quite tough.

Also, I was mooching around Kawasaki as usual, and went to LaZona - the department store near my house - and the Backstreet Boys were there! There were sooo many people. They gave a free show - 4 songs - to promote their new CD. That's pretty cool!

Tomorrow will be my big 'Moving Day'. Not very much looking forward to that. Naturally I have, over the last week and a half, been cleaning and disposing of stuff, sending packages back, etc. Last night I gave a lot of my cooking ingredients and tea and coffee to random people in the guesthouse.*

Today I took some books to Book-Off (I bought them for over 10,000 yen, and sold them for 320 yen... hahaha... I would have been annoyed, if I weren't planning to just throw them away anyway). Tomorrow I'll take my printer to the school to give one of my co-workers who wants it. I have to transfer money to my Australian bank account, cancel my phone, wash clothes, take a final package to the post office, clean out my room, etc.

*(Actually, I had only met one of the people in the guesthouse - just saying a brief 'konnichiwa' to others I saw in the hall or kitchen - until last night. There were four of them sitting around finishing dinner, watching TV, chatting. First time I actually saw people socialising in the guesthouse. One of them offered me a snack from Hong Kong, so I got out my bottle of umeshu and offered it around. I needed to use it up anyway. I ended up staying down there for about an hour; three of them didn't speak any English at all, so it was good Japanese practice. ^_^)

I am a bit disgruntled now, because when I came back to my guesthouse, I found that the large communal garbage bin - which until today was full to bursting - was empty, and taped up, with a big sign on it saying 'Do not use'. So... what am I supposed to do now? Where are the 20 or so people in this building supposed to put their garbage? There is no information to that effect.

I am moving house tomorrow. Nice timing!! Couldn't you have waited one more day to disable use of our garbage bin? I am going to have a lot of stuff to chuck!

I shall leave Japan on Saturday morning, and go to Singapore. I'm going to Langkawi for a few days and then will return to Adelaide on Friday morning. Ja ne!!