親友の永久に部4 (Best Friends Forever Part 4)
Golly gee whiz it's that time of the week again when I don't have anything else of importance to write about so...let's play a game of Stroke the Egos! Nah, really though. My friends are all dope and they need their due praises.
Hows aboot we start with Lisa
Lisa is one of the few OGs in the southern JET community, arriving in Okinawa in the summer of '08 along with Kim and MaryAnn. I think I first met her at the Thanksgiving dinner Kim had at her house that year. She mostly kicked it with Naha JETs, but she occasionally found the time to make the trip further southeastish to places like Gushikawa and the Hello Kitty Bowling place at Southern Hill. My fondest memory with Lisa, of course, comes from the time me, her, Kim, and MaryAnn teamed up to form Milk Chocolate Thunder at Gumball Rally 2009. Never have I had so much fun drinking in a car all afternoon, watching Kim propose to a Family Mart employee, having sushi eaten off my chest, and donning women's underwear. Now a days we tend to catch up with her on Sunday nights over yakiniku.
JD always keep it real. Like, really real. Maybe even too real at times. However, it's actually kind of refreshing being around someone who keeps it 100 when you're in a culture where you can never be too sure if people mean what they say.
Rich is probably the most interesting person I've come across in Okinawa so far. For one thing if given the chance and proper motivation he could probably rip your face clean off. For another he has this tendency to run around Yonabaru in as little clothing as he can get away with without being arrested. Rain, freezing winds, overbearing humidity, intense UV light from the sun...none of that seems to faze him. We also share a sense of cheapness and hatred of non-natural light. Sometimes I wonder if his power is derived from his ever growing beard and curly Italian locks.
You already know I have mad love for these guys. I mean, I only heap the kind words on them like every other day. Some of the kindest people you could ever come across here hands down. Really really fortunate that this group of kids were my students at one point in time and that we all remained in contact even after going out separate ways.
Even other people's students have turned out to be awesome. Mai and Yuuka were Julie K's students once upon a time, and they've been kicking it with us English teaching folk from time to time since they graduated from Chinen High School. Really really sweet kids. Can anyone tell me why Chinen High School isn't actually in Chinen again?
Can't forget my beloved former co-workers. Most of my first year here was spent slaving away at work, and without these people around I think my experience would not have been as positive as it has mostly been. I shudder to think what life could have been like working either for a Japanese company or within the Japanese school system having to potentially deal with the bullshit that goes along with that.
Kinjal can double first with the best of them. Really glad her and Richie are sticking around another year. She's the youngest JET here and one of the nicest peeps you'll ever meet. After all the crap she's had to go through this past year, he's hoping the next 12 months go a hell of a lot smoother.
Sometimes JETs go AWOL and have to be replaced well before their contracts are up. An incident like that happened two years ago when Dan, who had been teaching at Yonabaru Junior High School. up and left. It took a good while but they finally found a replacement in the form of Kate. She's been one of my bestest and most favorite homies ever since. I'm just gonna need her to teach her kids some boundaries...or at least how to ask if you can touch peoples heads in English.