What I will Miss

The kids that all want to sit with me at lunch, fight over the possibility of my presence at their lunch tables.

My spacious, "posh for anywhere in the world," Japanese-style apartment.

Enkais with the staff at Saihaku shogakko. Fun and weird and drunken revelry was not the same at Yodoe. Even during the day, talking to people on the phone they ask, "Is there a party going on over there?" during lunch break in the staff room.

Planning lessons for enthusiastic kids that are excited to have me in the classroom, even if I do get annoyed when they won't listen.

Being able to walk down a street, country road, over a mountain, through a mall and come across little displays of devotion and faith scattered just close enough together that you never forget, but far enough apart that you never feel overwhelmed.

Centuries old history at the fingertips, representing a culture long-established and not all that changed when it comes down to the very heart of it.

Heated toilet seats and other seemingly unimportant and unnecessary applications of technology.

My kei car, the little blue standard transmission road demon, even if it does have a useless excuse for a trunk.

My paycheque. Pragmatism and practicality will always have a strong hold on my head.

Using and learning and growing in another language.

Being a different person from who people at home expect me to be.

Challenging people to think about the world around them, merely by existing in their presence, by speaking another language...

Omnipresent bicycles.

Trains.

Rice fields and all the thousand shades of green I never realized could exist.

Festivals to celebrate the ephemeral nature of things.

Trading books with friends and getting to glimpse inside their minds, see how they think.

Children who are still children because they live in the countryside and only get 4 channels on TV.

Vacations and long weekends that seem to be nearly constant, causing me to wonder when I will really start working.