ただいま!

Over 6000km overland passing though 8 time zones, handling 9 different currencies, hearing and seeing countless spoken and written languages, viewing dramatic changes in scenery, people, customs, culture and food and I am finally home in the UK, affectionately known by the Brits as "The Land of Blighty"... ただいま!

I left behind a flood stricken cloudy and wet Japan, which reflected my sad mood. It wasn't until I arrived at the ferry terminal in Shimonoseki that it finally hit that I was not coming back and the saddest feeling swept over me. I had to accept that it was time to leave, although until then and for some time later it did not hit me that I would not return (at least for the foreseeable future). Saying goodbye to the best three years of my life was extremely hard and emotional. The leaving ceremonies seemed to never end to the point where it didn't actually feel like I was going anywhere!

One of the things that touched me the most was speaking to the students on the days leading up to leaving. On several occassions I was nearly bought to tears by things they said, the farewell notes they wrote, the wonderful personal cheerleader show at Onoda High and just how they made me feel so valued. The most poignant of these memories was at Onoda High where, in the last few days some of the students came to me to say goodbye and wish me luck. This happened at all three of my schools, but ironically it was Onoda High, where I struggled so hard to come to terms with the shyness of many students and the unwillingness to communicate openly in class. In some ways I felt sad that I was not able to communicate on the same level that I had achieved in both Tabe and Onoda Technical High where the class banter (in English or Japanese) meant two-way communication and where I felt more like a mentor than a teacher. That said I learnt a lot from Onoda High students despite their reserved nature and shyness. The chance that I had to really communicate one-on-one was during oral examinations which, despite the long days (owing to my own partly deliberate inefficiency!), I loved because this was the time where I was able, (in a very small way) to get to know the students individually and not collectively as class 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4. During oral exams I could barely diverse from the scripted questions due to the sheer volume of students and time, but on the odd occasion I would get far more from the students than I had expected which really made me happy. I find the way people express themselves through a learned foreign language (myself included when attempting to communicate in my ropey Japanese or rusty German) very interesting. Having studied Japanese for three years I still struggled to express what I really felt on so many occassions, so I knew exactly how my students must have felt. The thing that I was most impressed with was the students' willingness and determination. I will never forget three wonderful English club students at Onoda High whom I really admired.

Leaving behind such great people, lifelong memories and of course my lovely girlfriend Rie who I had barely had time for in the rush to get everything done leading up to leaving was hard. I owe a lot to my great friends and colleagues who helped me so much in the last few days, not least sorting out endless paper-work, contracts etc (special thanks to Hori Sensei who was incredible), clearing my apartment of three years (and many more years from previous ALTs!) etc. I was never really able to say thank you properly.

This is the beginning of a new chapter of my blog where I will document my life back in the land of blighty.... Stay tuned!! I will also post some pictures here soon of my trip home which are now long overdue.

Finally, to all my friends still in Japan, all of the kind and supportive colleagues at my three schools, two incredible bosses and close personal friends, Hori Sensei and Yoshiji Sensei who deserve a special mention, my wonderful calligraphy teacher Hamazaki Sensei who was a true inspiration, all the great students and not forgetting Rie chan whom means so much to me, from the bottom of my heart
ありがとうございました
I miss you guys so much and I hope one day we can meet again in the future.
Mark