It's probably annoying that I usually start off with how busy I am, but it's true. I am very busy! ^_^
My time in Japan is almost finished. Next week, I will leave the country that has been my home for the past two years. My time here has been absolutely amazing! Sure, it wasn't always fun and glamorous, but I have made many friends and have had some really incredible experiences.
I came here with ideas and plans to (hopefully) make change. As I look back, I only hope and pray that I was able to teach my students as much as they taught me.
I have learned many things. Most importantly, I have learned that you never really know who is paying attention to you and what they will remember. I had a few 13 and 14 year olds come up to me and tell me that they didn't like English in elementary, but then when I started giving them stickers and acting silly with them (when they were 6th graders), they became more interested. By the way, they still ask me for stickers. Even the boys.
I learned that the classes that are the most rowdy and difficult in the beginning, often become the favorite classes. Today, the class that I didn't like going to at the beginning of the term, gave me a standing ovation. I was shocked!
I also learned that the kids who are the rebels are often the ones who cry or choke up when you leave...they really have good hearts.
While I hope that I helped to teach the students (and many times the teachers) English, I hope that I was able to show them that there is a bigger world out there and that they should learn to think for themselves and dream for themselves. English is not something to learn so that they can do well on their high school entrance exams, it is a tool for communicating with the outside world. It is a way to learn about global ideas and forward thinking. In many ways, Japan tries to live by out-dated societal rules in a country that has no choice but to become modern. I want the students to see that they are be given the tools to make a change by combining the best of Japan and the best of the western world.
There I go again, getting side tracked. Anyway, one of the greatest lessons that I have learned here is patience. Even though there are times when I really wanted and needed something, I learned that no matter how much I wanted to change the outcome, sometimes all I could do was wait.
Japan has also given me many opportunities to make some life-long friends and family. I will miss them a lot and I hope that we will be able to meet again.
I have had many experiences with many people in this wonderfully, strange place. I know that I will look back fondly on my memories of Japan...
...but I am SO THANKFUL to be going back to the US. Even though the US is not perfect, it will be refreshing to return to a very diverse country. I always thought it, but have never felt more strongly about it: Diversity IS beautiful!