Only one more 式 to go!
I just got back from the Leaving Ceremony for all the departing ALTs at the 県庁. (I still can't quite believe I'm really going home. I feel so sad when I think of them cutting up my gaijin card. But happy when I think of seeing people!)
The Governor made a long speech that was really good in excellent English. We were all really impressed. Apparently he speaks French, too. It was a very formal and Japanese ceremony where he gave certificates and stuff to all of us. They were filming it for some reason, so maybe I'll be on NHK!
It was kind of hilarious how the Japanese 課長 would say a sentence in Japanese and then at the end give a direction like "stand up" or "bow," and some of us would start to do it, but then no one else around us was doing it so we'd stop. And then Josie would say the same thing in English, and then we could all do it together. When the 課長 said 「ご起立」、Patrick stood up first and proud... and then sat back down. And Tom kept doing these mini-bows--like a robot that got stuck--until Josie said "bow" in English. But I think we did well. Apparently last year when people got up to get their certificates, there was a lot of bowing in the wrong places, like a Three Stooges movie.
Lucas made a speech on behalf of the leaving ALTs, and his accent was pretty strong, but in a cute way. He got through some pretty formal Japanese (He said he had help making his speech.) and was generally Lucas-awesome with a newly shaved head from Ultimate Frisbee and his sideburn-beard thing (what do you call that? the one with no moustache?) that made him look kind of like an Amish skinhead.
Afterwards we were taking the elevator down from the meeting room, and there were about 4 ALTs and 4 Japanese salarymen in the elevator. At the last minute, Tom abandoned the people he was talking to outside and jumped in the elevator. Then in typical Tom sarcastic style, he said, "I bet they're like, 'Get off, fat gaijin!'" they referring to the salarymen. Which is even funnier because Tom is like the skinniest boy ever made. And the salaryman ojisan next to me said 「そんなのゆってへん！」 ("No one said that!"), and then everyone laughed.
We went out to lunch afterwards, about 14 of us, and there was a really good buffet for only 900! It was awesome. I met a third-year, Sean (He just doesn't go to many JET activities so I haven't met him before.), who it turns out lives really close to where I live in America and might be going to the same grad school. So that was pretty cool. I'm always in really high spirits when I'm with a bunch of gaijin because there's that instant gaijin bond. I wonder if I'll expect that when I'm back in America. Like, just expect strangers to be friends with me because we're both American. I think I'll definitely be more social, at least at first.
The Governor made a long speech that was really good in excellent English. We were all really impressed. Apparently he speaks French, too. It was a very formal and Japanese ceremony where he gave certificates and stuff to all of us. They were filming it for some reason, so maybe I'll be on NHK!
It was kind of hilarious how the Japanese 課長 would say a sentence in Japanese and then at the end give a direction like "stand up" or "bow," and some of us would start to do it, but then no one else around us was doing it so we'd stop. And then Josie would say the same thing in English, and then we could all do it together. When the 課長 said 「ご起立」、Patrick stood up first and proud... and then sat back down. And Tom kept doing these mini-bows--like a robot that got stuck--until Josie said "bow" in English. But I think we did well. Apparently last year when people got up to get their certificates, there was a lot of bowing in the wrong places, like a Three Stooges movie.
Lucas made a speech on behalf of the leaving ALTs, and his accent was pretty strong, but in a cute way. He got through some pretty formal Japanese (He said he had help making his speech.) and was generally Lucas-awesome with a newly shaved head from Ultimate Frisbee and his sideburn-beard thing (what do you call that? the one with no moustache?) that made him look kind of like an Amish skinhead.
Afterwards we were taking the elevator down from the meeting room, and there were about 4 ALTs and 4 Japanese salarymen in the elevator. At the last minute, Tom abandoned the people he was talking to outside and jumped in the elevator. Then in typical Tom sarcastic style, he said, "I bet they're like, 'Get off, fat gaijin!'" they referring to the salarymen. Which is even funnier because Tom is like the skinniest boy ever made. And the salaryman ojisan next to me said 「そんなのゆってへん！」 ("No one said that!"), and then everyone laughed.
We went out to lunch afterwards, about 14 of us, and there was a really good buffet for only 900! It was awesome. I met a third-year, Sean (He just doesn't go to many JET activities so I haven't met him before.), who it turns out lives really close to where I live in America and might be going to the same grad school. So that was pretty cool. I'm always in really high spirits when I'm with a bunch of gaijin because there's that instant gaijin bond. I wonder if I'll expect that when I'm back in America. Like, just expect strangers to be friends with me because we're both American. I think I'll definitely be more social, at least at first.