finishing up the school year

I just got back from my final class with some of my favorite students at Naruto Jr. High and this is the first time feeling the way that I do at the moment. I've been here long enough to develop relationships with the students here and saying goodbye to them was not easy. It feels really strange because on one side I'm really sad to see them graduate and go to high school but at the same time I've got to be happy that we got along so well in the first place. These 9th grade students would write letters to me every time I came to school, visit me in the staff room in the morning and during cleaning time in the afternoon, and they really, really liked English class. Things will be very different when going back to this school but I'll be looking forward to meeting the new students that will be coming in April (when the new school year starts).





It's been a pretty good week for me. On Tuesday night I was invited to Naruto University to attend a discussion about the '08 U.S. presidential election and I jumped at the chance because I realized that I wasn't too clear on the candidates' policies on a few issues. I spent the day researching the election so that at least I knew what I was talking about to some extent. A small but diverse crowd showed up, including university students from Indonesia. Laos, Japan, America, and Malawi (next to Zambia). The whole thing reminded me of being back in college and I realized that I miss being around that atmosphere.

The weather has been nice over the past few days...I've been opening up the doors and windows of my apartment and remembering what spring feels like. I don't think this winter was too harsh but lots of locals have been telling me that the past few months were very cold for them. Even though I had to bike though all the winter weather, the cold didn't get to me like it would in Pittsburgh.

Also, it looks like I'll have some more visitors here soon. My parents are thinking about making the trip in early May when I have some time off from work and then and then I'll be anxiously awaiting Anthony and Cris' trip during the middle of the month. But, before all that, I will be seeing Mr. Jordan Graw and Julia the day I get back from New Zealand and I'm very excited about it. And, for future reference, I now have my schedule for next half year and July 19th is a very possible date for a visit to America. I've been having some crazy dreams about home and it think this means that I'm excited to go back for a little while. It's hard for me to predict how I'll feel in Pennsylvania after being in Japan for a year...it could be totally normal or feel very different. I know that I've changed a bit throughout this experience, so we'll see...