March 25 – On the Shinkansen

Well I am finally returning to Tokyo. It is a sad day indeed. I had to wake up bright and early at 6:30 in order to catch the Train. I departed from Tsubamesanjyo station and am headed to Tokyo at the moment. Once there I have a bunch of shopping to do. It will be a busy day to say the least. I am definitely not looking forward to returning to my Tokyo host family. It feels way too much like a dorm room than an actual family. All well, such is life.

Monday was my last day at the Hoikuen. We had a small going away party where the kids asked me some questions about school and each said a final farewell. Now I am not a very emotional person, but I could have cried. It was so sad! Everyone gave me a final high five and a hug to send me off. The sensei’s also gave their thanks and I managed to get a hug from some of them too. For the rest of the day I attended each of the classrooms for a little bit, finally ending up back with Taiyo san.

That night I went with Hirai sensei and bought my Shinkansen ticket to Tokyo. The train I wanted to ride was fully booked so I had to get a seat on the train an hour earlier. Ugh. Finally as a farewell party, Hirai sensei took me to the local steakhouse. It was the first time I had eaten steak since leaving America. It was sooooo delicious.