How do you measure a year in the life?

You might recognize the title of this blog post from the lyrics of one of my all-time favorite musicals: Rent. My year here in Japan can be measured in all kinds of wonderful things, people, and experiences, and I've been reflecting on that a lot lately. Sarah, Peter and I did celebrate our one-year anniversary in Japan last weekend, July 9, by introducing the new teachers to a few of the joys of their new home in Tsu. John and Andrew arrived in Tsu City at the end of last week, and it's been nothing but busybusybusy since their arrival. As they've been adjusting to the way things are done in Japan - OBC training, currency exchanges, speaking Japanese, the heat - Peter and I have been preparing for our impending departure. Sarah is staying at OBC for another year, so it's a big help to everyone that she'll be around for when John and Andrew have questions that Peter and I will inevitably forget to preemptively answer.

Sarah and I took in our final Beatles cover band concert, and it was one of the best. We brought along two of my students and one of our friends, and it turned into a fantastic party. Once the guys in the band learned I was leaving, they made a little announcement and had me get up on stage with them. Sarah and I have been devoted fans for a whole year! And I finally got my picture taken with them! As it turns out, Tadaaki Naganuma, one of the singers, is the top Paul McCartney tribute artist in all of Japan! And he's toured before in the States with the Foo Fighters! He'll be back in Minnesota next September on tour with his band, and you can bet that I will be first in line for tickets. Small world, huh?!

This past week was my last full week of teaching here in Japan. Next week, the new teachers will teach the first half of most of my classes (though not all, since we only have two new teachers instead of three, and Sarah still needs to teach her current classes), and I'll sit in the back and observe them and give them feedback. It's going to be very exciting to help them transition and watch them finally get in front of the classroom, as they are both super excited for this opportunity. But it's also going to be really tough to watch my students get used to someone else's style, since you all know I've gotten so attached to some of my classes. But as my responsibilities at work dwindle, my free time will quickly fill with goodbye parties and the final details that come along with moving out of the country. Between closing a bank account, cancelling my health insurance, and starting the daunting task of packing, I'm hoping I'll be distracted enough so that it's almost a relief to have someone else teach. Almost.

On a lighter note, Friday was a pretty big day for Harry Potter fans around the world, as you might recall, and living in Japan did not keep me from seeing the new and final movie. All five of us headed to Warner Mycal and really enjoyed the last installment of the film.

Ready for HP!

Do you all remember me raving about the Japanese fireworks that I saw last year? Well, last night was the annual event that I was so excited about last year, and they didn't disappoint this year. The new teachers went to Naomi's friend's house like we did last year, but Sarah and I ended up down by the river, literally right across from where they shot them off. It was one of the best and most random nights I've had so far. That's one thing that never ceases to amaze me in Japan: weird stuff happens more often than not, and it's almost always fantastic. It turns out that when Naomi said she had tickets for Sarah and me to watch the fireworks by the river, what she really had were special VIP, invitation-only passes that are literally too valuable to sell. The price of the tickets in the two sections around us? About $150 a pop. Yeah. So we ended up with amazing seats in our own private section, and we spent the time leading up to the fireworks walking around the festival area and then devouring more food than we should have. The show was as great as it was last year, and I'm so glad we got to have this crazy experience.

We were each given a tarp in our reserved seating area.

I love Japanese festivals.

The spread.

She may or may not have eaten this.

Gorgeous sunset while waiting for the fireworks.

To close one of my final blog posts, I'll leave you with some photos of the tanabata festival, which happens every year on 7/7. As two lovers in the Milky Way are reunited on this day each year, all little kids make wishes and throw them into the river. Japan is so funny sometimes.

It was rainy, but that didn't keep the crowds away.

Those are big bamboo branches with wishes attached to them.

The all eventually get tossed in the river.

Take care, dear friends! See you all soon!