Last Day of School

Monday was the last day of my contract at school...

I packed up my desk and had a final lunch with my favorite students...



Many students (even some who I had never taught) found me in the staff room and gave me sweet farewell presents!

I packed up my bags to leave and said "sayonara" to some lingering students in the hallways. Some of them threw themselves at me and we stood there hugging and crying... I had scoffed when the teachers were bawling their eyes out at graduation, but here I was!!!

I told them to "ganbatte" ("fight!"/ "try hard!"/ "good luck!") and changed my shoes one final time, and walked my bike out to the front of the school where all the teachers and staff had formed a "passage" for me to walk through. I remember seeing through my tears all the genuine smiles of teachers who I had never talked to, and of others who I had shared many hours teaching with in the classroom.

As I walked out the school gate, I turned around to wave one final time, and saw Atsuhiro and Yuka running to catch up to me! (It was like something out of a movie....) We stood at the gate and hugged and cried again, promising to write and keep in touch.

As cheesy as all this sounds- it was really a good ending to the school year...

Sayonara Miyazu High School!

いつまでも宮津をわすれません。

I will never forget Miyazu!