Final Weeks

Hello! Yes, I am now back state-side. I had really wanted to write this while I was still in Japan, but the end was very busy and there was no time. And then I was immediately busy after I returned to America too, so this is the first time I have had to write a post!

My last two weeks after the sports festival were kind of crazy, I saw friends whenever I could and spent all my time preparing for the end, writing speeches, buying souvenirs, making things for my friends, and figuring out my return logistics. School was fun as we all felt the end approaching, and made an effort to have as good a time as possible.

On Sunday a week before I left, I took the train an hour and a half to go to the beach with my German friend Maya in Wakayama, where she lives, an area south of Osaka. It was beautiful, with fine light sand and palm trees, very unlike my regular image of Japan. It was full of surfers and actually may not have been open to normal swimmers, but whatever. It was ok anyway because we randomly met a surfer dude from California who showed us how to surf for the rest of the day! That was really nice. I stood up a few times! But then I had to say goodbye to Maya because it was my last time with her, and it was sooo sad ;( I also got a bad sunburn on areas I hadn't sunscreened well enough, and slept with cooler packs on my thighs…

On the Tuesday of my last week, I gave my final speech to the school and received a certificate from the principal. Then two of my best friends came up and read things to me, and they started tearing up so I did too and it was really sweet. We sacrificed a math period before lunch to have a takoyaki/bingo party with my class, which was great. We all made takoyaki, something I've greatly improved at, and slipped large amounts of wasabi in a few as booby traps. And, of course, we had to play Bingo. We had all brought presents as prizes, and it was great because one of my best friends got my Illini t-shirt and was really happy :) And then, because it had come up the day before that I had never done it before, I got to try watermelon breaking! It's basically piñata with watermelon. I was blindfolded and had to spin around a bat five times, then with everyone calling out directions, walked toward the watermelon lying on a tarp and took a swing. I hit it with my one and only try and made a crack!! I had baked chocolate chip cookies for everyone and they were a huge hit, everyone wanted the recipe. People don't seem to do nearly as much baking here as in America, so when I do, everyone is always really interested. And when they do make cookies, they are usually small hard sugar cookies that they cut out with cookie cutters, so my cookie dough blobs were completely new to my host family.

Thursday was my last day of school, because tests started on Friday so there was no point for me to be there. It was only a half day, and the morning was normal classes. I talked with everyone I could during breaks and goofed off with friends during class, and there was lots of picture taking. Then was the hard part. After cleaning and our normal finishing business, I went up to give my final words. I had a list of what I wanted to say but it was still hard, and people started crying. Then my other two best friends, who hadn't spoken at the school assembly, read things to me and neither could get through without stopping to cry, it was really touching!! So then I was crying too and it was very emotional, all the pictures after that don't look so great. I gave everyone my business card with notes on the back, which had taken an unexpectedly long amount of time to write, and Take 5's that my parents had brought because they're my favorite candy. I also made small boards with pictures and writing for my four best friends, but I hadn't had time to finish them all yet so I asked my family to get them to the school later… I think my Japanese actually improved a lot in this last month, writing all these speeches and notes/letters to my friends. My friends worked incredibly hard to make a wonderful album fulll of pictures of us, and with pictures and notes from everyone in my class. I also got a bento box and chopsticks from other classmates, notes, chocolate, and two other albums. I am so overwhelmed by how much time they must have put into the albums, they're beyond amazing. After everyone had taken their last pictures and said goodbye, it was just me and my four best friends, crying and talking until our sensei dragged us out. My friend Kaede wanted my blonde bobby pin because you don't see those here, and then it was kind of funny and weird because they all wanted a strand of my hair. My sensei was like, "Just so you know, this is not a Japanese thing, it's just them." So I took one of Kaede's hairs too lol. Some of us biked, and some took the train or walked, so I think we stood outside the school in the rain for literally fifteen minutes trying to figure out the logistics of parting ways, it was so confusing and hilarious and it kept raining harder. We were one umbrella short so the girl who lived nearby had to be walked home, and then the bikers walked to the train station with the girl who took the train, and then we finally had to say goodbye at the station. It was hard, but we went away with smiles, knowing we'll still be in contact and maybe someday we'll see each other again.

I spent Friday with the Takanos, my first family, and I always just feel so at home there. We made a cake and had a nice dinner with some cooking drama, and it was a lot of fun. I definitely need to see them again!

On Saturday I went on my last adventure! Three of my exchange student friends had gone earlier to get their ears pierced (double lobe or cartilage piercings), but my other friend and I had been busy. But we still wanted to do it, so I went with her and my friend Hannah who decided she also wanted one, and we found the nice clinic they had gone to with only a few complications. Once we got there, it was very straightforward and the people were friendly and helpful. I got my upper left cartilage pierced. The piercing itself was kind of intense. I was taken into a separate room and put on a bed that raised up, then covered with towels "so your clothes don't get dirty." I was like, "uhhh what are you planning to do??" Then three nurses came in and were swabbing my ear, and finally a doctor with a mask came to do the actual piercing. It was fast and didn't actually hurt that bad, and afterward there was a dull pain but mostly my ear just felt hot. They took they towels off (still not sure what those were for) and let me free, and now I have a cute new exchange reminder :)

I spent my last day packing, which actually wasn't too bad and I finished before supper, and also fit in a long run. My parents had taken some stuff home so I was able to fit everything into my two suitcases, each with a 50lb limit, and I made it with .4kg over the limit, shhh. Unfortunately, I had somehow caught a cold, which started a couple days before and was the worst on this Sunday. We had a big delicious sushi dinner, and I ate enough of the wonderful sashimi to set me up for a while. We took pictures and talked, and I actually wasn't feeling very emotional because the fact that I was leaving wasn't really hitting me yet, mostly I just felt sick and tired :(

On Monday morning I fit my last things in my bags and made it to the airport. Because it was a Monday morning, almost everyone wasn't able to make it :( My principal and the Takanos showed up though, and my friend Wesley with his parents who were visiting were awesome enough to come. Again, nothing was really sinking in yet, I was thinking more about getting through my long 26 hour transit, so I was able to say goodbye without tears.

The plane rides went smoothly, no problems or delays, and I had a good neighbor on my long flight. In Hong Kong though, where I went first before going to Dallas, I had to keep stopping myself from speaking Japanese to everybody. That was when I started realizing that no one is going to be Japanese anymore, and I was really sad. It was kind of strange and intimidating waiting at the gate with a bunch of Americans, I hadn't been around that many in a long time. I'm glad I was able to sort of get used to it there and in the airplane before being fully immersed in Dallas. It was still a shock to hear English all around me and be able to understand everyone, but I got used to it fairly quickly. I arrived in Chicago and was greeted by my parents and aunt, got to the car, and finally made it home.

I'm planning to write another post soon about return feelings, but for now, I'm back.