Yesterday was the last day of school.
I've made so many friends here, and I'm really going to miss it. At my school, they have school during summer vacation, (they call it summer vacation, but it really doesn't seem like one), so I don't think I'll get to see them much any more.
As I was walking upstairs, one of the teachers grabbed me and said "Kathryn, you need to come make a speech to the teachers now." I was like..."EH??" Couldn't you have told me that sooner? I was completely not prepared to give a speech in Japanese...So I did it in English. I don't think many people understood, but I couldn't accurately express how grateful I was in Japanese on such short n
otice...In the morning, we had four classes, but two of them just happened to be the classes I don't go to, so I spent a lot of time in the library. I go to the library everyday, and the librarians have been so kind to me(that's them in the picture), so I was glad I got to see one last time. They gave me a Japanese chime, and helped correct the speech I'd written for my class. I almost cried when I left the library. I also had P.E., but no one told me the schedule for that day, so I didn't bring my uniform and had to sit out. But a girl from the other class was sitting out too, so she helped me correct my speech a bit more. She went over the whole thing with me and even let me practice it with her.
After that was lunch, and then cleaning, and then the closing ceremony. I have to admit, it was pretty boring. Especially for me, because not only were the speeches long, but I couldn't understand any of it. Other students were falling asleep, so just imagine how I felt! The principal talked for so long, that someone had to cut him off in the middle of his speech. But even after that, he kept going.After the ceremony, we had a long home room. The teacher said there was nothing for me to do there, so I should go to the library until it was time for me to speak. So I went to the library, and fell asleep for a bit. I tried to prepare myself mentally a bit for my speech, because I knew I was going to have trouble holding back the tears. The entire day I'd felt like I was about to cry, but I really didn't want to ruin my speech by crying!
After about an hour spent napping and thinking in the library, my homeroom teacher finally came to get me. I went up to the front of the class, and the class rep gave a really sweet speech about how happy they all were that I became a part of their class. He presented me with a gift from everyone, and then it was time for me to make my speech. I told them how truly glad I am that I became friends with everyone and enjoyed school life with them, and how I'll always remember the time I spent with them. I told them how I really hope I'll be able to return to Japan and meet with everyone again. And most of all, I thanked them for making my stay at Matsue Kita High School so fun and memorable. Luckily, I did it all without crying! Although it was very difficult. Then we took group pictures together, I sat back down, and I opened their present. At that point, I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Everyone had writen me a note
about the time we spent together, and they were all glued on a decorated posterboard. It was so sweet, and I was so overwhelmed with happiness and saddness all at the same time that I couldn't help but cry. Every single one of those little notes means so much to me. Nothing can top this gift. It will definitely be the best thing I bring back from Japan. I'm so glad I became friends with all the people in my class, class 28. We all became such good friends, and I'm really going to miss being like that with them at school so much. I'm never going forget them. I'm sad that it will be such along time before I get to see them again, but I have a feeling we'll meet again in the future.
Class 28, including my regular teacher (first picture) and my homeroom teacher (second).
1 comments:
My favorite entry was "Your country doesn't have castle, does it?"
Hahahaha.
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