I'm comin' home! Well for a little while...

3 more days and I will be in Toronto. Wow, so excited! At the same time sad....and kind of....ah fuck! I need to stop talking about feelings! Ok, ok, I am better now. Anywho, below are some random pics from the last month or so here in Shimabara. I have learned to love this place and am def sad to be leaving it (since I will be coming back to Omura instead).

The last few weeks have been crazy busy but really great as well. The pics below are of a party at Shin's, hanging out in Nag one last time with everyone who's leaving, dolphin watching and beachin' in Kutchinotsu (45 min drive from da Shim) and finally a good-bye party on Kazuya's cow, tobacco and strawberry farm. I slept with the cows that night. Literally.

Me and Shin. 

How cute does Kayoko look in this hat? 

Jen gives it a try... 

I finally put the hat on..... 

Wes, Me, Jen and Suzi in Nag. 

Me, Lima and Jen enjoying seafaring....I look like shit. I was a wee bit seasick during the big waves. 

Yet again I look horrendous.....hehe, at least this time I ain't the only one. Sorry Lima, babe! 

Suzi, Suzi's bf, Me, and Lima...I forgot why we were doing the retarded thing.... 

I love you flipper....don't run away! 

Competition! 

Visit to the beach after a long day on the boat..... 

Alli is driving pretty fast.....ok so I was going for an emotive feel. Clearly I was the only one.... 

Me (sporting lobster red), Miyako, and Jen at good-bye party on a farm. 

Sachiko (my JTE), Kazuya's daughter, and Bibi...my new best friend. Ok...who's the cutest here?? Seriously.... 

Jen, Kazuya (it's his farm) and I chillin' in coveralls.....ok, ok I know how butch I look. It's hot. Shut up. 

Jen and I in another life as farmers....why does this look like the prelude to so many porns I've seen?? 

Les choses que j'aime.....

There is a lot to love about this world we live in. Here are some examples:

1. Thinking that I wanted to practice my Croatian....then meeting a Croatian Naval Captain and his second mate in a random Nagasaki bar that same day. Turned out they were really cool blokes and we had a fantastic night.

2. The fresh smell of the ocean and the sound of crickets on a hot tropical night as I play tennis with a random bunch of Japanese people I just met.

3. Avocados.

4. Miming my way through "world issues" because my JTE was not in class. You try explaining war, peace, poverty and racism using only dramatic gestures and half-assed diagrams in sweltering heat -- surprisingly tho one of the most fun classes ever. The students were hysterical over my dramatization of a person dying (probably coz I was pretty close to dying myself at that point....).

5. Getting time off work to talk about myself infront of a bunch of nice, elderly Japanese ladies and then being treated to a kick-ass japanese meal on top of it.


Ok, now I'm tired of listing things.....so meh. Oh, one NOT so good thing tho -- it's so hot now that I found a cockroach in my house that apparently died of heat stroke. Yah. Poor bugger....he was on his back, legs up in the air and everything.

Where is the love? In Hello Kitty's thong....

Ok, so I am waaaay too busy with shite to be blogging right now, but I felt compelled to write this entry. Basically, I am having a great day, and that's aways something to celebrate! Lately I have been a lot happier and more energetic at school (since I'm leaving and all) and I've been socializing a lot more with the other teachers and really appreciating Japanese kindness. Today though, I had my last class with the girls of 3-3 (my favourite and most advanced class). Many of the girls in that class I actually know outside the class as well, from Iaido and Jodo, speech contests, tutoring, French lessons, and the list goes on. They are really an amazing, sweet and talented bunch of girls. I have a feeling that a lot of them are going to go pretty far.

In any case, the 3-3 girls found out that today was my last class with them (since I have business trips next week and the following week is the start of summer vacation) and so they threw me a party! They all wrote me personal messages in English and Japanese and gave me various random gifts including a ginormous Hello Kitty (with a thong drawn on.....hmmm.....dunno why), a pair of underwear with a faucet (this one reeaaally had me confused), and they played "Nasty Girl" for me complete with co-ordinated dance movements (at which point I had one of those out of body moments due to the surrealism of the situation -- ie. japanese girls dressed in their sailor moon uniforms dancing to hip-hop for my benefit). It was really great and as they shouted “Rana, we rav you!!” in unison it was strange to realize that I've made such an impact on these girls (lord knows most of my other classes have not gone so well).

Anyways, apart from that people are just being really nice to me in general today. I think I just got into a really good mood and so now I can't stop smiling which seems to have the effect of making other people smile back. Who knew?? Weird.

It's so strange and crazy though that we always appreciate what we have just as we are about to loose it. It's also sad, and it's something that I am going to try to avoid as much as possible in the future by appreciating what I have while I have it. Of course I say that now.....*sigh*
Whatever, at least I am enjoying today, and maybe, just maybe, that's enough.

Side note: there is this one girl student who always says “Oh my god” to everything that she has to do in class. And I mean everything. She mispronounces it horribly and makes the phrase sound like one word. She also pretends to faint. It’s quite amusing.

Productivity? Is that when you, like, do stuff?

So I spent like 4 hours cleaning my apartment today. Hardcore cleaning. Ok, I'll give those of you who fainted a few minutes to collect yourselves.....ok? Good. Let's have a stiff shot of scotch and move on, shall we? Anyways, yes I cleaned for 4 hours. What brought this on you ask? Well I came in to school today fully prepared for a boring, long day of no classes (the students have exams and the internet is *gulp* down.). Just as I was thinking of ways to prevent killing myself however (these included taping my fingers together so that I would be unable to grip a sharp object or covering myself in cottonballs to prevent possible damage from jumping off a third story roof) I was pleased to discover that I had a few extra days of nenkyuu (vacation time) that I had forgotten about!

Well, let's just say that as soon as I discovered my good fortune, I bear-hugged the bringers of the good news, packed my shit and left to go home. The only problem -- I forgot that my neighbour took the car for the day . So I had taken the day off only to be stuck at home.

However, due to a long and long overdue conversation that I had had with a friend yesterday I was feeling especially motivated this fine morning. Also, when I realized how little time I had to pack all my stuff to move to Omura as well as visit Canada (especially given how busy my schedule is the next two weeks) I concluded that my time would best be spent by cleaning, organizing and packing the rat like nest of useless crap that I call my personal possessions. So that's what I spent all day doing and damn, it actually felt good. I still have a shit-load more to do, but at least the worst part is over now! Anyways, sorry to talk about boring stuff like cleaning, but in my world that's big news.

Actually, I'm feeling all together positive about all kinds of stuff today. Yah, scary, I know. Sorry to send so many shockers to you guys today. Just have some more scotch -- that always works for me.

I have my last Japanese class with Fumi (one of the nicest and most energetic Japanese women I have ever met) in a few hours, and tommorrow is my last Eikaiwa (private lesson) with my student Nagisa (who is my age, a lot of fun, and has a hilarious mother). Rather than feeling sentimental about it though, I am just appreciating the moments while they last. Life changes (What, it does? Really?? Yes, yes I know I say stupid and obvious shit sometimes). Anyways, I always complain when it does, but it always works out. This was recently pointed out to me as well. So screw it, I am gonna try to remember that, and if I can't I authorize you all to give me either a physical or verbal bitch slap to remind me.

Side note: I've been chasing dog's a lot lately and petting them like crazy. This does not mean I am desperate for love though. I just like soft furry things, ok? Sometimes I pet my pillows as well, and my towel....and...oh crap. I have problems.