Leave

Only one month until I go home.

I am entirely conflicted about the whole affair. This has been made into my home, my hovel in Akita, Japan.

But in one month I will be gone.

What am I to do about this, I ask myself? What of the last two years of my life?

It has not been a waste. Not at all. I have evolved from a shy man resistant to talk to anyone to an outgoing person ready and willing to share his stories with everyone else. My Japanese has skyrocketed from zero to serviceable.

I have come out of my cave, and become a full person.

It is all thanks to my co-workers, my fellow teachers and ALTs, that I have evolved as much as I have.

I have gone from being too shy to talk to anyone to being able to present in front of an entire class. I have gone from having no confidence to believing my expertise in English can truly help the students understand the language in a way their JTE cannot. I have gone from being a quiet bystander to being an active participant in Japanese students' education.

In short, I have graduated from nothing to something. Students love to greet me in the city, now. "Hey, John!" is a common phrase. It makes me feel like I'm really making a difference.

In response to this, I've really tried to engage the students. Whether it's from inserting their own story into a blank comic or telling me what their day was like or whatever, I love hearing from them, in English, the highlights of their lives. It engages them in ways their memorization-focused textbooks never could.

I recently did a writing/speaking activity, using a comic from Penny Arcade. Penny Arcade was my favorite comic as a teenager, and I absolutely adored seeing my students utilize it to create their own (often very funny) stories. It made my heart sing, seeing my students create funny stories like that. This is why I signed up to be a teacher, I thought.

Soon, I'll return to America. Right as I've made a foothold here.

But it hasn't been for nothing. My experiences here have truly helped me gain teaching experience that I can use back home. I hope to God I can utilize what I've learned here in a more permanent position.

Living in Akita for two years has been an amazing experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I feel so sad, leaving. Like a hole has opened in my heart. But I trust God's timing. Maybe something greater is waiting for me on the other side.

I'm really glad I got to experience the JET program.