Winter is so hard on me… honestly! It is definitely a good thing I’m not trying to go viral with this blog thingy… HA! I am going to keep writing when I can because after we leave Kamikawa we will continue to travel.
As soon as we got home from Malaysia - we booked this trip - that very night! The challenge of living in Japan is one thing - but Kamikawa is less than half the size of RMH now and there is no “ordering in” if you have the Sunday Night Blues…
Everything is hard - every medical appointment means we have to drag Nicky as our translator. We could probably do it with phones and apps but it would be crazy difficult! And in Japan - if you take any regular medication - you need to have blood work done every three months and see your doctor as well! This is just one of the things that Nicky helps us with!!
And by the way, that trip we booked? We are here in Naha in Okinawa… way down south… escaping the snow… and hoping that most of it is gone when we fly home in a couple of days.
The snow hasn’t fallen for a long time but I don’t think people who haven’t experienced it can truly comprehend how much we get!! And therefore, how long it takes to go!! Our fingers are crossed!!
We also drove off to Sapporo for a weekend which also helped to break up the “waiting for spring” thing I do… so wonderful to be in the city!
This time around in Okinawa (we spent New Year’s here a couple of years ago) we are “chilling”... relaxing by the hotel pool (NOT CLOSED - still sad about the Philippines)... wandering the pottery street, and hiding from the rain in Starbucks. Oh - and eating some great steak this time around. We finally went to a kitschy Teppanyaki restaurant - so fun!!
Two weeks ago I was handed the final year of my 3 year contract! I will be finished on March 31, 2025! Japanese workplaces are not big on compliments or a lot of feedback so hearing from one of my coworkers that our supervisor wanted me to stay (if the program is renewed) made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He is worried about finding another “me” 🙂Awe!! I know it sounds lame but it is not easy to gauge your success in a foreign country, in a foreign language with foreign customs - so I felt like I had won the lottery!!
And no - we are not staying for another three years! I miss too much about the west… specifically family and friends - but also the creature comforts… we hope to be back in Canada for a few months in early May!!
It was really hard not to be at my mum's 80th birthday but I am so grateful for the friends and family who helped her to feel special!!
In the meantime… travel when we can! We have South Korea planned for the end of May and a couple of short jaunts in the fall before heading to India in January!
And… visitors! Chrissy & Fred are already in Japan and here we are - vacationing separately in the same country - LOL! We will connect on April 29th!
And there are our lovely friends from Manitoba (Collette et Joel) coming in mid May…the return of the student exchange program (Hello Kathy & Al), more visitors in October and OUR BOYS and their girls at Christmas!!!!
So - I will relish the warm spring air and start walking again. I will enjoy interactions with my adult students, my lovely kinders and elementary students. So much fun!! I will have 5 junior high boys as students at Infinity Global! And I will continue to endeavour to do a good job at the incredibly challenging Kamikawa High School.
I have thrown in the towel when it comes to the junior high school. I have spent two years wanting to get in there and hang out with my fav kiddos - junior high!! But alas it is not to be. I have managed to have a few of them attend some of my classes and I will get to hang out with a few more during the exchange this summer. But I will not be helping with or even observing the band - go figure! So I keep my chops (ears) up by attending band festivals and being the mock adjudicator for the amazing bands that I hear (Mark too).
And I will continue to be grateful for those that have embraced us and those we have stayed connected to. Dinner with the entire Ito family, a visit with the Koshino’s, and celebrating Aoba’s birthday are just a few of the Kamikawa highlights since my last post.
It is still raining but it’s a warm rain. Time to dump the computer at the hotel and go for a wander…
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