The Final Chapter

In order to wrap up the blog post-return, let's talk about my last week.

Monday, May 14 - On the Market
Today, I had a mission. My mission was to complete my culture class and forget that it ever happened. In order to do this, I simply had to approach the teacher's office door and rid myself of the monsterous paper that I had written. Once at the door, I trew the paper in and ran like it was going to explode. From there, I simply had to kill time until my shopping extravaganza with Kazuki. While doing this, I sat with Haruki and Koichiro for our last encounter. Once it became time to begin heading to the station, I wanted to make a pit stop at the convenience store. On the way out of the lounge, I stopped by to take a picture with Mariko, my first Japanese friend, and Mie. After that, I ran into two other girls who I had recently met. Once out of the lounge, I ran into Suzuka before leaving the CIE. I continued running into various people all the way up to the gate where I could finally progress toward the station.

Upon meeting Kazuki, we began to puzzle over where was best for us to begin our shopping experience. We decided to begin at Tanmabashi where we could not decide where to go and ended up walking to Osaka Castle in search of souvenirs. By the time we reached the castle, we were quite thirsted and we stopped by an icecream shop where I ordered a lime-clear frozen drink that was one of the most awesome frozen drinks I have ever had. Next, we progressed to the two stores at the castle where I purchased a statue of a cat that would give good luck to my family. From there, we progressed toward the station, but obtained another lime-clear before we left. On the way to the station, I saw and band of girls playing outside. They were the first girl group I saw in Japan, so I took a picture. Noticing this, they decided to try to talk to me in English. I told them we were off shopping and they suggested that we go to Namba for that particular activity. And so, our next location was decided.

In Namba, we went to the central shopping center and wandered around. Most of the shops were for girls, so we did not have much success. However, we found a store featuring Okinawan wear and I found a neat looking statue that I wanted. There were two of them facing different directions, so I chose the one that I liked best since I did not want to pay $30 for both of them. When I went to buy the statue, the clerk told me to wait and ran off to the stand where the statue was. She came back with the other statue and boxed both of them up. Apparently, they were a set sold at the displayed price. I was pleased to pay the original price for both when I thought that it would have been more.

After dinner, we returned to Hirakata where we went to have seafood pizza at my suggestion. At the restaurant, we seemed to have difficulty in tagging a waitress. After one finally came we made our order, waited, and ate. After dinner, Kazuki had to go do homework, but before he departed, he bought me a guidebook to Hirakata so I would have something to remember it by when I returned home.

Tuesday, May 15 - Don't Test Me!
Today was probably my last scholastic Japanese test ever. It was a long one too. I have no idea how I did since they didn't give it back, but I have high hopes. After the test, Nao wanted to meet for lunch, but that wasn't until 2:30. I decided to defeat my paper for Human Resources during my free time. I was able to do so and happily removed it from my person at my teacher's office. After that, I found Suzuka and her friends outside. She was with an extremely shy girl who I kept playing around with in hopes to make her less shy. We all stood around and had fun until Nao finally arrived. Nao came with her friend Aiko and we all went off to lunch. Aiko had to do some research about the American social class system, but I was not able to be of much help since I have a social studies deficiency. After we finished lunch, I returned to the lounge in order to await my appointment. While waiting, I ran into many, many people who kept me entertained until my company arrived. My appointment was to meet with Ayumi and Miyuki. Ayumi carried with her a gift that she presented to me since this was our last meeting. It was a small Japanese wind chime. From there, we puzzled over what to do next. We eventually decided to go to karaoke since that was the only suggestion we could think of without sitting there for an eternity. We went, we sang, and we left.

Wednesday, May 16 - Say What?
Today began with meeting Masami and Nana for the last time. When I went fishing for lunch, I noticed that I had become completely bored with the menu. Fortunately, today would be my last time dining in the cafeteria. Also fortunate, they were serving a special meal today. I ordered the dish known as sukiyaki, which was pork over rice with fried tofu and a raw egg. I wasn't sure how I would like the egg, but I gave it a shot. The egg had a slightly unfavorable taste to it, which I believe was just that particular egg or how it was prepared. My meeting with Masami and Nana consisted of our usual talking during lunch and departure.

After the meeting, I went back to the CIE where I ran into Yusuke, who wanted grammatical help with his Human Resources paper. Being that it was a six page paper, he felt like he owed me something, so we went to the convenience store so he could buy me a drink. I also discovered some packing tape that I needed for my package that I wanted to send for over a month. Yusuke also got that for me. From there, I returned to the lounge where I found Suzuka and her friends Yumiko and Hikaru. Yumiko was another really shy girl. In fact, since our first meeting, I had been trying to help her get over her shyness. I noticed that she would always rub her hands while sitting around me, so I would always pull them apart and place them on the table. By this point, she was able to not rub her hands, so I had apparently made an impact. I initiated a game at our table with the empty bottle from Yusuke. I would place it in front of someone and say, "ippon!," which meant one |long object|. From there, the other person had to do the same thing to another person. At first, when the bottle reached Yumiko, it would sit there until we could get her to participate. After we played for awhile, we were able to get her to participate by herself. At that point, introduced two origami figures that Suzuka had made into the mix of our game. This seemed to bring Yumiko's shyness back, but she would attempt to participate every now and then. Eventually, it came time for class, so I had to take my leave.

In Negotiation, we had our final, which consisted of a questionnaire about our negotiation checklist. It was a strange final to say the least. I hadn't really used my checklist since I didn't know what to put on it other than what I already did to prepare for a negotiation. At least I had some answers I could put down.

After the test, I waited for another friend named Nao who apparently doesn't take very good pictures since I think she looks better normally. We had met a week ago and she wanted to go to dinner. On the way there, she told me that her friends were joking that we were a couple since we were going to dinner. At dinner, I noticed that she had some traditional Japanese habits because she insisted on doing everything for me including ordering, getting the drinks, and even paying since this would be our last meeting. After dinner, we walked home since her appartment was on the way to my dorm.

Thursday, May 17 - Let's Try Again
Since my first shopping experience didn't bear so many purchases (which I don't place blame on anyone), I wanted to try again in Kyoto. To accompany me was Nao - the original. On the way to the station, I both took pictures of the town for my memory and ran into my friend Nick who suggested that I go to Shijo in Kyoto for shopping. It was good to have the suggestion, because Nao had no idea where to go. When we arrived at Shijo, I had no idea where to go, but I had been there once before with Kenji. I started noticing things that looked kind of familiar in my chosen direction. Eventually, we ended up where I was hoping to end up. I didn't end up buying too many things, but I did get a few things. Next we had lunch and then went for icecream at a Baskin Robins. From there, we went to a shrine since Nao wanted to see one. It happened to be the shrine that I went to for a festival with Albert and Yusuke. After that, we were perplexed as to what to do for our last meeting. We eventually decided upon the seeming default of karaoke.

After karaoke, we returned to Hirakata where Nao wanted to get a purikura with me. Purikura is a popular activity among Japanese girls which is known in English as 'print club.' In purikura, the people enter a booth fit for about five people and select a variety of backgrounds for a picture. Next, the camera shoots pictures at timed intervals for each background. After that, the people move to another section of the booth and decorate the pictures with touch pens and preformatted designs. Finally, the pictures are printed. We got 24 pictures for about $4 with six different shots. I can unfortunately share only one online. After that, Nao had to attend her friend's birthday party. I went to the vending machine restaurant for the last time and then went home.

Friday, May 18 - Clear Across Town
Today, I was to go to USJ (Universal Studios Japan) with Einar, Nabil, and Todd. When I woke up, Todd appeared highly uninterested in joining us. As it turned out, he never actually wanted to join us and said that he would simply to avoid us trying to convince him. Nabil had said that he might come at 3:00 since he was on a date prior to that. He also did not end up coming. Back at 9:30, I was making my way to USJ to join Einar and his friend Simmie who was visiting from Iceland. When I got there, I had to pay my $55 to get in and wait for Einar to come find me. USJ seemed smaller than the real US, but we still had our fun. We began with a 4D movie of Shrek. It was an interesting experience. The seats bounced us with the movie and we occasionally had water spew on us when the donkey sneezed... From there, we encountered a parade with the peanuts. Next, went to see the Terminator show that was pretty much the same thing that we had in America with a guy who didn't look like the Terminator. Next, we went to ride Spiderman, which was suggested by my friends. The line was 70 minutes long and ended up being the longest line in the park. The ride was worth it, however. After that, we went to the Hollywood Dream, another suggestion by my friends. Simmie seemed apprehensive about the idea of a rollercoaster, but we made him ride anyway. It was fun. Short, but fun. Next, we went to Jurasic Park. They had a video of some fat American guy wolfing down a hamburger and smoking as an example of how not to behave on the ride. It was kind of funny. After getting spat on by a dinorsaur, we fell down a waterfall which seemed scarier than the actual rollercoaster, ironically. Next, we went to the Waterworld show. They had some really dangerous stunts in it. When the bad guy came out, he shot water with his boat at the booing crowd. We were on top, so we were spared the hydration. Lastly, we went to a Sesamie Street movie since that was all I had time for before I had to go. It wasn't that great, especially since I couldn't understand what they were saying.

I had to leave at 5:30 in order to honor my original plan for Friday. I was to go to Demachiyanagi in Kyoto to meet my friend Aya for dinner. Aya had helped me obtain a CD for my sister earlier and I didn't want to leave her with that being our only meeting. Demachiyanagi was on the opposite side of the Kansai area from USJ, so I wanted to try taking the SUPER GOD TRAIN that doesn't stop at Hirakata. Despite it's super goddom, it still took about an hour and a half to get over to Demachiyanagi. It just so happened that I would be right on time. After arriving and having some difficulty finding each other with the stations many exits, we made our way to the restaurant where we dined and chatted. I was given praise for my ability to teach English in an easily understandable way.

After our meal, we parted ways and I went back to Makino. It was raining by the time I got there. In Japan, when it rains, you get wet; unlike in Georgia where you just wait five minutes and walk home in the sun. After I waited for probably 15 minutes, the rain stopped for awhile and I made my way toward the dorm. It eventually started raining again, so I hid under a building for awhile. Soon, Nabil rode by on his bike and spotted me. He gave me his umbrella saying that his rain coat would be enough for him before speeding off. Indeed, he is a friend who will be missed.

Saturday, May 19 - A Farewell
Today was graduation. We had everyone's names read and everyone got up to pick up a certificate jacket. The actual certificates were delivered to our mailboxes in order to make life easier for everyone. Next, we had speeches from the school president, the consulate of Australia, a teacher from our program, and a Japanese teacher. Next, we had a reception with many people. I hung around with my friends and got many pictures of them all. Next, I went to the lounge to meet with Rieko and Yuka who really wanted to see me one last time. Rieko presented me with some postcards of Osaka and a set of chopsticks. She then proceded to cry over my leaving. The meeting was not too prolonged, so I soon met up with Nabil so we could gather the men one last time for a night out.

We met with Nabil, Todd, Einar, and added Simmie to the mix. We all went to Round One for one last gaming session. After Round One, I started getting messages from Miruku who wanted to see me one more time. Since I was with the guys already, I offered her to come join us. After some convincing, we waited up for her to get there and everyone went off to dinner. Next, we all went to karaoke. It became too late for Miruku to take the train home, so she got her mom to come pick her up. The boys all departed home while I waited with Miruku for her mom to get there. We chatted some and I gave some more English tips. She expressed her interest to visit me when she studies abroad. When her mom arrived, we said our farewells and I headed home.

Sunday, May 20 - The End
Today, I was to pack and prepare the appartment for inspection. I had to do some tricks in order to get everything in the suitcase and I was just barely able to zip it up. I guess it was good that I didn't find a horde of souvenirs. After packing, I went to meet with Nao who wanted another last meeting. We went to some arcades to play a game or two before going to dinner. I got something that was served in the cafeteria, but I amazingly didn't like it as much. Nao sampled the meal and seemed to agree. After that, we went to karaoke for one last time before heading home.

Monday, May 21 - Home
My journey started with the inspection. There seemed to be some wear and tear on the tatami mats under our beds which was strange since no one touched that area. Everything seemed to check out. Soon after the inspection, our cabs arrived and Todd and I made our way to the bus stop with our luggage. Next, we boarded the bus after waiting for it to arrive and went to the airport. We waited for our tickets and then sought out food. Next, we went to the boarding area where I had to go through an extra bag inspection via random selection. There were no problems, especially since I told them what to expect. Next, we sat at the gate where some old white guy seemed to stare at us periodically. It was real creepy and I hoping he would give me a reason to hurt him. Fortunately, there were no incidents and he was out of sight/out of mind after boarding the plane. Todd was sitting behind me due to an odd twist of fate and I was sitting beside another Kansai Gaidai student who I had never really talked to until the plane ride. I talked with Liz for most of the flight. The flight itself seemed much smoother (not referring to the constant turbulance) than the flight to Japan. Before I knew it, we were back in America.

I started becoming nervous about customs since I had heard so many horror stories about it. I handed the guy my slip that I filled out on the plane which I had checked the food box since I had food. He asked what kind of food I had and I told him that it was just candy and cookies. He said, "Is that all?" and he let me pass. From there, it was apparent that customs was over. I brought my bags to the reload point and went through another security checkpoint before going to my gate.

The flight across America was a nightmare. First, the plane was delayed at takeoff because the pilots had apparently had a night out and required rest before being allowed to fly. Next, during the flight, one of the flight attendants spilled orange juice all over me and just gave me a 'sorry' and threw napkins at me. Then one of the passengers started getting sick and we had to make an emergency landing at Colorado Springs. The Paramedics took him off the planes within ten minutes, but we had to sit there for at least two hours and wait for the breaks to cool off. When we finally got back in the air, I was ready to blow up the plane, but had to suffer through it for another two and a half hours. The flight across America ended up being as long as the flight from Japan, which was just unacceptable Once on the ground, I had to wait 30 more minutes to get my bags and then take the hour and a half drive home.

All in all, it was nice to see my family again. I feel that I have brought my trip to Japan to a nice close by seeing all my friends one last time and doing all my favorite things one last time as well. I will hopefully keep in touch with many of my friends with email and maybe even see some of them again during their travels. I trust that this blog will serve as a great memory for the experiences that I have had as well as a great advertisement for anyone thinking about visiting Japan as well. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and can perhaps write one yourself about such experiences (save the last bit about the plane).