Hardest goodbye of my life

Last week the awesome women I teach English on Wednesdays took me out for a wonderful meal.

This week I taught them my final lesson

Class A

Class B

As a military spouse, I've said hundreds of goodbyes but none have been as difficult as this one.  I managed to keep myself composed through both classes, then at the end of the second class, the ladies sang to me and I lost it!  I will never be able to hear "You Are My Sunshine" again without thinking of these beautiful women.  I cannot even begin to put into words how much I'm going to miss them.  They came into my life with such love and enthusiasm and have brought so much joy to my time here in Japan.

I know some of you read this so I want to say thank you.  Thank you for allowing me into your hearts and sharing your lives with me.  Please come see me in California!  I miss all of you already.

Blog everyday in May {Day 15}

Day 15, Wednesday: A Day in the life (include photos from throughout your typical day - this could be "a photo an hour" if you'd like)

Today was not a typical day for me but it wasn't too far off.  Normally, on Wednesday mornings, I teach English to two awesome groups of women.  We didn't have class today but I still spent my morning with them.  The two classes combine to form Friendship Sagamihara.  FS is one of the many groups that host events for the American spouses association (ZaCSA) through out the year.  To show our appreciation to FS and the other Japanese groups, we hosted a State Fair themed thank you luncheon today.  Like normal, my alarm went off at 0800 (I'm NOT a morning person, going back to work is going to be rough on me!), I got ready for the day and headed off to meet the ladies.

I love my 30x30 pieces today!

We had about 75 Japanese friends attend the event and they were divided into 6 groups, each representing a state.  Of course my group was Ohio!

How awesome are these ladies?!?!?
O-H-I-O

The rest of the FS ladies were in the Indiana group with Christine who is one of my subs.

We played some state fair-esque games

Did some pie tasting

Dressed up at the photo booth

Snacked on some cotton candy

And finally ate a delicious lunch

After the luncheon, the day continued on like many others; errands, blogging, volleyball, dinner.

That concludes a somewhat typical day in the life of Jessica!

2013 New Year celebration

I am slightly devastated that today was my last new year celebration in Japan.  Just 3 months after we arrived here I attended my 1st new year event and had no idea what a great time I was in for.  Last year's event was even better so I had really high hopes for this year and was not disappointed. These women work so hard to make this event enjoyable for us and I am so appreciative of their graciousness.  I love seeing them in English class each week but it's even more fun to see them outside of the classroom!

This year's Friendship Sagamihara President, Masako-san,  got the morning started

Then Mr. Juichi Ogata performed a traditional Japanese street act for us

I couldn't pick a favorite, so you get a BUNCH of photos.  This man had a small stack of bamboo pieces  that were tied together in a unique way and was manipulating them into different shapes all while singing a fun song.  

Fishing Rod

Bungalow

Bridge or Seta

Home Gate

Koinobori or Carp Streamer

Tokyo Tower

Noodle Shop Sign

The Halo of Buddha

Sailboat

and finally, a Willow Tree! 

Then he took time to teach a few of the American ladies how to make some of the shapes

I love these girls, even if they're about to take some eyes out with their fishing rods!

After the Nankin Tamasudare performance we enjoyed lunch which, as usual, was DELICIOUS!

Then it was time for my most favorite game!  The bean game!

If you read the posts from the past two years, you'll know that I am undefeated at this game!  Both years, my table has won.  This year I really wanted to win so I could leave Japan undefeated.  Unfortunately, my table lost by one single point! (Insert GIANT sad face) 

Each year the women sing for us and this year they sounded just as beautiful as they have in the past.  I think there is a secret gene that Japanese women have, they are all incredible singers!  (or maybe they just practice VERY hard)  These women have made a huge impact on my life and have blessed my time here in Japan tremendously!

I have to acknowledge Aiko-san here.  Last week in class she asked me to review her speech to make sure her English was perfect which I did.  I had no idea she was going to memorize it!  I was completely impressed.  All of the ladies did such a wonderful job with their English speaking!  All of their years of hard work definitely show.

At the end of the day we had a very special treat from Yoko-san.  She has such a wonderful voice and is a joy to listen to.

Ladies (I know some of you will read this), thank you so much for all of your hard work.  Today was perfect!  I am so grateful to each one of you for sharing your culture {and Wednesday mornings} with me!  I have no idea how I'm going to walk away from you all in 6 months when we move back to America!