Oh fuck/Oops, I did it again...

I feel like spring is finally here. Thank da lawd. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful for most of the day and it was so much warmer outside than inside. Today, I awoke to a bright, warm day and in the midst of the rush to get to work on time, I decided to dry my clothes outside and as I opened my window, I was yet again awestruck by the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. I actually paused what I what I was doing, leaned against the door and had a mental mini-orgasm. Nice.

When I was walking to school with the sounds of Beyone and Sean Paul bouncing on my ear drums, I was once again blind-sided by the sheer beauty of the snow capped mountains in the distance cutting across the perfect blue sky. That led me to have a "oh fuck" moment while I was enraptured by pure perfect beauty. People, I literally stopped dead in my tracks and exclaimed "oh fuck, that's so beautiful." Yeah, I'm a poet; bet you didn't know.

When I rode my bike to town this afternoon to hit the ATM before I leave on my trip, the sound of the Neo River was thundering in my ears and I had my second "oh fuck" moment. The water was so blue and clean. I'm falling in love with my village again. It is a rare thing to have so much natural beauty in one place, and even rarer to be slapped in the face by it to be reminded of what I have.

So, yesterday and today were the graduation/closing ceremonies for the elementary and junior high schools. The 6th graders bid adieu to their elementary school and there were some tears but none from me. I'll see all but one of them in a few weeks. I actually teared up though when I learned that Kai, a really bright boy, will be going to Nagano ken to begin junior high school. We'll also be losing his brother Riki, who is in the fourth grade. I'll definitely miss both of them. BTW, that's the graduating class, all 9 of them.

Today, the JHS had the closing ceremony and farewell ceremony for half our teachers and our kocho sensei (principal). I was cool until kocho sensei said "sayonara" and then my eyes started burning something terrible. One by one the departing teachers stepped up to the mic and gave their anecdotes and thoughts and damned if I couldn't hold myself together. When Tomomi, my neighbour, got up and began crying before she could utter a word, I did it again: I boo-hooed, but this time, I had no tissues, no hankies, no nothing. I'm absolutely TERRIBLE with goodbyes and I'm gutted that I won't see these people again, especially my JTE and Tomomi. Though we had some very small issues in the classroom, I accepted her old school approach and appreciated everything she did for me. From helping me set up my phones and internet, to driving me places, to taking me out for meals and tea and to the onsen, she's been the one Japanese person I could really count on. We had a really good working relationship and I think we respected and liked each other.

Tomomi also helped me a great deal because she's my neighbour, she's young and we communicate well. We've joked around and she's driven me places.
She's the only one in this village who knows what's happening in my personal life. She's an absolutely sweet person and I'm going to miss her.

When all the students formed two lines so that the teachers could walk down the aisle (they were also playing a song on their musical instruments), I was bawling. My JTE also hugged me (a big deal in Japanese culture) and I was a baby again. When I'm cracking, a hug or a hand on my shoulder causes me to fall apart...Needless to say, I'm alright now because everyone is still here, but the end of the enkai tonight might cause me to have a repeat performance. ..

So after 8 months here, with the past 3 being pathetically, ridiculously difficult, I will be going back to my beloved city tomorrow for a short break. I doubt I'll have neither the time or the inclination to update this but we'll see. There will be so much to do and so many people to see, but I'll retain it all and give y'all a proper update when I get back. There'll probably at least one major surprise I'll report when I return...Sorry, no hints. You're going to have to wait!

Peace out from N.V. (that's Neo Village to you.)