Finishing JET & Final Months in Aomori

Posted 10/5/2014 (Backdated 7/15/2014)

This was a big summer for me. After three full years working on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) and living in Aomori City, I decided to move forward and take on new challenges. I very much enjoyed my experiences in Aomori, but I knew in my heart that it was time to leave and start something new. So earlier in the year, I opted out of renewing my job contract and starting looking for new work in Tokyo. I felt like I was overdue for a change of environment and I knew that it was important to continue improving my skills. I applied to a dozen job openings and after a few busy months of emails and interviews I secured a great job (details in a future post).

Fond memories: a look back at the start of my journey, July 2011

Now as you may expect, the whole process of changing jobs and moving to totally new city in Japan can be incredibly overwhelming. It wasn't necessarily the individual responsibilities that were so intense, but rather handling each of them within the constraints of a clock that was ticking more quickly with every passing day. I knew exactly when my contract would finish, and I knew that I had to have everything sorted out by that date. An immediate concern was my expiring visa, a very strict matter in Japan. I also worried about finalizing the details of my new job so I could finally get going on my apartment search. I had many responsibilities to consider during this time. But as important as these mandatory tasks were, I also had so many great people to see and thank before taking off.

Several of my last meet-ups with friends in Aomori

Throughout my three years in Aomori I received an amazing amount of support and kindness from people. Thus, I made it a priority to show my gratitude and sincere thanks to these people before departing. I also had to thank my students for welcoming me to their schools and I wanted to say a final goodbye to all my friends and other colleagues. Lastly, I had an real desire to enjoy Aomori's best qualities a few more times before leaving—relaxing by the sea, watching the beautiful sunsets, going on bike rides on quiet streets. Aomori can be an incredibly peaceful and beautiful place, and I knew I would really miss this aspect after moving to Tokyo.

One of my favorite things to do in Aomori, relax by the sea

So without further ado, here are some of the highlights of my final months in Aomori.

Final School Visits

With so many emotional farewells and important goodbyes in my final weeks it's hard to know which to start with here. But I think it has to be about my schools and final visits because so much of my time and energy was invested these places. Thankfully, I believe they were very good investments which left me with many precious memories.

Final class at my junior high school in Aomori

In my final two years, I had been regularly visiting two elementary schools and one junior high school in Aomori (previously I visited six schools). As the months passed and my final visits approached, I never allowed myself to believe it. I had grown comfortable with my daily routine and familiarity with the schools. I was emotionally attached to some extent, and I suppose I just didn't want to accept the reality of the situation. Despite the feeling, I still prepared for the final visits.

I always enjoyed teaching young children, always so much fun!

I bought good quality American-made chocolates for each school's teachers and staff. I wrote thank you messages in Japanese for teachers. I also created message cards for all of my students; when possible I included pictures I took with each particular class. In the messages, I told students to dream big, have confidence in themselves, and try new things as they grow older. Hopefully, some kids will actually save this small token and be inspired by those words.

The message card I made for my students

Once the final day at each school arrived, I gave speeches in Japanese to all of the teachers, expressing my gratitude for them welcoming me to their school and supporting me. I also gave quick speeches to students in their classrooms when I passed our the message cards to them. At my base school (the junior high school), I also gave a big speech in front of all students and staff. It was a lot of work but I felt all the time and effort I made for these gestures of appreciation was well worth it after I was given so much.

Giving my final Japanese speech at my junior high school

This all occurred weeks before I actually moved out, so although there was a real somber side to the farewells it was countered by my optimism that I would probably run into them a few more times before I moved out of Aomori. Truthfully, the reality didn't seem to hit me until my first day of class at one of my new schools in Tokyo. Today, I still think of the memories I gained and I look back with a smile because I was able to be part of something unique and as interesting as working in the Japanese public school system. I smile because I'll never forget all the happy faces I got to see every day, and the cheerful kids I had the pleasure of meeting.

Final Elementary School Basketball Practice

One of my particularly special experiences from my Aomori life was with the elementary school girl's basketball team. Although the school didn't have a boy's team, I was happy to help out with the girls when the opportunity arose. One of the Japanese teachers of English I taught with was the head coach, and when he learned of my interest in basketball he welcomed me to the practices.

My last practice with the team, I really miss them

Throughout the years I joined practices when I could and tried to go to games when possible. My role was minor; I occasionally helped run drills for the girls or scrimmaged with them during practice. At games I simply watched and cheered them on. Yet I established a very sentimental bond with the team. I really enjoyed popping into practice unexpectedly and seeing the young players smile, laugh, and get excited to play basketball with me. When I came to their classes to teach, they often asked me if I was coming to practice later and would be so happy when I confirmed yet so disappointed when I declined. Like so many of my best memories, the most special aspect of these experiences was the bonds I made with students as a mentor and teacher. It was also impressive to see how hard they always worked and how fast they could develop their skills. I had a lot of respect for them.

Work Farewell Parties (Sōbetsukai)

I don't believe that I've ever written extensively in my blog about Japanese work parties (enkai's), but perhaps I should have because they are such a major part of Japanese culture. 

The typical Japanese work party is an essential tool for building and sustaining good relationships in the office or work setting. Every year there are welcome parties for newcomers. During the year parties take place for various reasons and key events. And every year farewell parties are held to say goodbye and good luck to people leaving or moving away. I clearly remember that at every past farewell party I had attended I felt relieved that I was not one of the people on the stage giving their final speech. My turn finally came this year, but I was ready.

I had a farewell work parties with both my junior high school (base school) and the Aomori Board of Education. My school party was smaller and bit more easygoing, where as the latter was quite large with many people attending whom I had never met prior. 

Once the parties got started I gave a fairly long speech in Japanese. I thanked everyone for their support, especially my direct supervisors and main teachers I worked with during the years. I emphasized my appreciation for gaining such a good experience in Aomori and learning and growing as a person. I mentioned my favorite things about the city and prefecture, and noted that I will be back to visit. After the speech at the big farewell party, the other leaving teachers and I were presented with small gifts (which we could request weeks earlier). I requested a smart phone case painted in the traditional local art tsugaru-nuri style so that I could be reminded of Aomori every day even when not living there any longer. I'm happy to say my request was honored and I was given a very beautiful case; I wrote about tsugaru-nuri and showed pictures of the case in a recent blog post here. After the ceremonial parts were finished the parties were pretty usual with shared plates of Japanese food, various alcoholic beverages, and casual chatting. I was starving but I hardly got to eat anything since people were talking to me constantly these nights, asking where I was going next and what my best memories of Aomori were. No worries there, I was happy to talk with everyone. I just ate a real dinner afterwards.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures for these parties (I will try to get from someone else and upload in the future). I was so busy with the speeches and people coming up to talk with me that I never had a chance to snap photos. Nevertheless there is one final thing I wanted to write here and perhaps on of the most meaningful. At one point during the main party, everyone stood up and sang a song for me and the other leaving teachers. Every single person there sang and did to the best of their ability. I couldn't understand the lyrics well, but it was a nice song. It was this gesture that really touched my heart that night. It made me realize more than ever the kindness people had showed me. Somehow at that moment I felt like I could see through their heavy armor hiding their true feeling and emotions. I thought to myself, "it's really amazing that all of these people, many whom I've never met before, came here tonight to show their respect and appreciation for our efforts."

Japanese Club Final Party

While living in Aomori, I had been a regular member of a local club for learning Japanese, called Nihongo Club (Japanese Club). Along with my buddy Patrick, we saw many other members come and go through the years but the volunteer teachers were always there, working hard to help us improve our Japanese and support our integration into Japanese society. I wish I could have thanked them more for their efforts; I will always have such fond memories and appreciation for what they did. Our final class day coincided with a usual end-of-term party, so it was a good chance to give our final thanks to everyone and say farewell.

Japanese Club students, volunteers, and friends

Last Gym Visit (Geo Fitness)

For the majority of my time in Aomori I belonged to a gym called Geo Fitness. Due to the nature of living in a small city, I had the chance to get to know some people pretty well during my time there; and in particular I established a pretty tight-nit relationship with a several members and staff. Although I knew that moving to Tokyo would provide me with some substantial advantages regarding access to and availability of gyms, good people and relationships can never be replaced so easily. I made some really nice memories there.

Checking out of Geo Fitness for the last time

Final weeks in Aomori

With two weeks left before my work and apartment contracts would come to an end, everything was pretty much on track. I just came back from a successful second job interview so I could officially start my apartment search. I had just about wrapped up all of my school visits, and I had made solid progress on organizing and cleaning out my apartment. I was stressed and exhausted, but relieved to final confirm my job and have the assurances that I would indeed be moving to Tokyo very soon.