Well...yesterday (7/4) I officially taught my last class ever at ICHIKASHI.
WHAT???
Yep.
After three years, my time at this wonderful school has come to an end and I won't have any more classes with these kids. Next week, they take final exams. The week after that, teachers pass back tests, prep for summer, have a big cleaning day...and then the last official day of this term will be July 20th, which will also be my last day at school.
This week has been awesome. In every class I taught, students wrote me incredibly cute letters and we all took a celebratory picture at the end!
These two pics are from my very last class...today with our elective kids. They gave me the cutest sakura card and one girl even HAND MADE ME THIS BRACELET!!!!! I almost cried. It was so thoughtful and sweet. WOW.
and here are a bunch of pics with these awesome students...
Yep...and just like that folks...
Hard to believe it's been three years since I first stepped foot on campus and began learning all the ins and outs of a Japanese high school. When someone says "wow, three years!" my first thought it always...YEAH, HOW HAS IT BEEN THREE YEARS??? But then...when I start to really think back on all that happened, on all the students i've had the privilege of teaching, on all the school events I've attended, on all the teachers i've worked with, on all the memories i've made here...3 years seems like a LIFETIME full of goodness.
So what's next for me? Well, I gotta move out of my apartment and pack up my desk at work. Once I finish work on the 20th, i'm going to be spending time cruising around Japan for a while before flying home in August. Life is good and God is gracious.
Also, yesterday happened to be the 4th of July here in Japan! Which, of course, is just a regular day here haha...but I decided to celebrate my eating dinner at none other than...MCDONALDS. Btw...in Japan people call McDonalds "MAC" but pronounced like "MAAA-KUU" which I think sounds so cute! Anyway, a few students asked me, "so, do Americans eat McDonalds on independence day?" which I thought was so funny haha!! But it gave me the idea to celebrate ending my job and also the birth of my home nation with none other than a deliciously-unhealthy bacon cheeseburger, coke and fries. NOMZZZZZ.
And lastly...
Throwback to 2016...the first graduating class I knew at Ichikashi! These kids were RAD. They were so gracious to me despite it being my first time teaching high schoolers...and I'll always be grateful to them for that. They're now in the latter half of their college years and i'm sure they're all thriving! ahhh...懐かしい！