Writing introductions is a bit tedious so....just take a look at my first post if you want to know more....

....and if you get curious about the name of this World or my posts, check out the second one.

Suspicion 2 (of Tears)

I don't cry much. I used to a lot when I was really young, but maybe everyone does. I remember being in high school and thinking, "I should be crying right now," about certain things that happened, and not being able to. When I first came to Shizuoka I remember other foreigners telling me, "Japanese people cry a lot!" and I saw it happen at graduations and other things and thought, "Wow, I guess they do..." and then gradually forgot about it and just came to accept it as normal, just like everything else around me.

Yesterday was my last day at yet another jr high school. I wasn't that fond of the school itself, it was just average. I asked to go to it back when the schedule was made though b/c I've been teaching all the incoming first year kids for about 3 years now at 2 different elementary schools. I figured I'd at least be able to have fun w/them since I wouldn't have to go through all the, "we don't know you so we're scared to talk to you!" crap that always happens at a new school. It turned out that a whole lot of the 2nd and 3rd year kids remembered me from their own elementary days too. That was cool.

There was an art club at this school too. My last school didn't have one, but it was a pretty otaku saturated school so I didn't mind. I'd forgotten how fun it is to actually have a "place" though. And how surprised the kids who never interact with other ALTs are when I show up.

The kids put out a "magazine" once or twice a month. They don't actually distribute it to anyone outside of the club, but it's still really cool. Everyone does a page and then they all get copies of all of them stapled together. It's a pretty good idea since people who draw, or like manga, often want other people's drawings. They asked me to do a guest page this month since I was leaving....

Just like every other school, I had to make a quick speech on the morning of my last day. Just like every other time I got through the English part of it with a big fake, "I know you can't understand me," smile. And then I started in on the Japanese, and for the first time I noticed what a teacher once told me, my voice changes. Like, a lot. I sound like a completely different person. And as I was contemplating this, I caught the eye of the track team captain (one of my favorite 3rd years) and had to look away really fast. Only to be caught in the gaze of one 1st year student after another. Apparently it's harder when you really know the people you're saying goodbye to. Any normal person would have had tears in their eyes (or possibly rolling down their face) along with the second voice change I noticed.

As if that wasn't enough, the last day at the art club was like a big party. I brought them presents from Super コミ, we complied the magazine, took pictures, and I got tons of letters and presents from them too. Finally, at 6:30, nearly 2 hours after I'm "supposed" to go home, we finished up and the 7 second year girls and 2 third year girls waited for me to get all my stuff from the teachers' room. Half of them should have gone out the back gate to go home, but they all walked to the front one with me anyway. It was raining. I'm sure we made a strange site, 10 girls with umbrellas walking ridiculously slow. We split up there and the remaining 5 went to the corner that leads out of the neighborhood with me. The last 3 second years went home there and I was left with the 2 oldest girls, also the president and vp of the club. They decided to walk me all the way to the bus stop, at least another 10 minutes away. About 5 meters from the stop we saw the bus coming and they started to sound panicky. It's a busy street so I said I'd wait for the next one, figuring it'd be about 5 of 10 minutes. Enough time to say goodbye anyway. But as we stepped under the tiny roof and I put my umbrella down the next bus appeared. I couldn't really justify waving it on when I was obviously standing there waiting for it so I hugged them both quickly and jumped on. When I looked back the president had one hand pressed over her mouth and her face was red. The vp had dropped her umbrella and was waving with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other. I shouted (in a slightly too forceful voice) "Don't cry! We'll see each other again!" and stood at the door and waved as the bus drove off. And then I sat down and didn't cry.

I need to redo my site. I keep saying that, but it's not happening for some reason....I also need to make a list of the post titles I've used. It's getting to be a bit less interesting and a bit more of a pain scrolling through them every time to make sure I don't reuse one. I'm thinking I should make the whole thing my own art. Avatar, background, banner, all of it. It's almost like it's unfair to keep using someone else's at this point.