Spring Goodbyes

Spring is a time for saying goodbye. So many people I know are leaving Gunma—some for other places in Japan, some for other countries. A good number of ALTs in the area have left Gunma because they feel they will be safer somewhere else. Some of them will be gone for only a few weeks; others don’t plan on coming back. For me, I don’t think I need to pack up yet; the only annoyance is the lack of gasoline, but I’m getting lots of exercise walking and biking everywhere. And even then, I still have plenty of friends with cars who don’t mind picking me up all the way out in Gunma-machi, so I’m not totally cut off from the world.

But it’s not just my English-speaking ALT friends who are leaving: my Japanese friends are, too! Two of my college-aged Japanese friends, freshly graduated, are moving away: one is going to Chiba-ken and the other to Tochigi-ken. They might never come back to Gunma, for all I know. And fully half of the teachers at my school—including three of my favorite English teachers and the most handsome man in Japan—are being transferred to other schools, as per Japanese education law. They will be replaced with other teachers transferring in from other schools. At least Mr. K, Mr. M (heart, sigh), Mr. T, Ms. K, and Ms. W are all staying, which makes telling everyone else goodbye a little easier.

But what will April be like for me, then? A, K, T, and S will be gone, so no more trips to Shimokotori-machi or Isesaki. And will I even be able to drive? They say the gas tankers are coming into Takasaki this week, but maybe I’ll just keep riding my bike.

At school, Ms. I, Ms. S, Ms. N, Ms. S, Mr. N, Mr. U, and more will be gone, so no more gossiping about boys or lesson plans or joking around in Japanese. I’ll have two new JTEs, though, who hopefully will be great and not lame. And even though all the san-nen-seis that I loved are already off to high school, they will be replaced with this year’s second graders, who are actually pretty awesome.

I’m trying to keep a good sense of perspective in this time of uncertainty and farewells. Like maybe I’ll go visit A in New Zealand some time, or maybe S will come back to Takasaki from Tochigi once in a while to say hello. Maybe next year’s teachers will be fantastic and speak fluent English. Maybe we won’t have any more earthquakes (like those ones on Saturday night, Tuesday night, and again this morning). Yeah, and maybe monkeys will fly out of my butt. (Sorry, Wayne.)

Anyway, I’m keeping myself busy for the most part: a couple of friends and I had dinner at a delicious vegetarian restaurant on Saturday night (and got rocked hard by an earthquake on the way, but we were in the car so it was all right). I spent most of Sunday packing up A’s things with K and shipping them at the post office. And Monday was a holiday to celebrate the Spring Equinox, so I met C and Z at Takasaki Station for lunch, then took a train to Isesaki to say goodbye to S. Last night I just stayed in and watched the 70s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which reminds me of my dad because he looks just like Gene Wilder. Tonight we have another blackout, but T and I are hanging out, so I won’t be scared and alone.

Thank you to all of you who have been checking in on me recently; current events being what they are, I really appreciate your support. Some days seem harder than others, especially the earthquake days. I'm also happy that not everyone is leaving; there are still enough folk staying around to make life happy. I don’t want to leave Japan; I’m just anxious to go back to my normal life where not understanding the shopkeeper was the worst thing that could happen to me.

(P.S. North Carolina, look for me in late July! Start planning a party.)