hello, goodbye
by mikka
Our last days in Tokyo are a bit of a blur, although we did (finally!) manage to drag ourselves to Tsukiji Fish Market for an early morning sushi breakfast like we'd been planning to all semester.
Less delicious and much more sad, however, was saying goodbye to everyone, especially my students. I know I said it before, but I really lucked out by getting some of the friendliest, funniest and just generally all-around-awesomest students in Tokyo. As you can see from the pictures below, we found lots of highly educationally enriching ways to commemorate the end of the term.
(Clockwise: me, Ryo, Hiroe and Akio).
Like making everyone wear funny hats.
(Left to right: Mari, Haruna and Yuka)
And letting them make snowmen out of marshmallows.
And doing the limbo.
After that, there was a frenzied rush of leaving-the-country footwork (re-entry visas, post office runs, bank transfers, packing) and a even more frenzied rush of goodbyes (last drinks with our teacher friends in Shimokitazawa, a last *amazing* shabu-shabu dinner with Teiko and Yoriko, and an equally amazing shabu-shabu dinner with some of the students. Finally, at six am Monday morning, we crawled out of bed and - nearly 48 hours later - arrived safe and sound, if freezing - at Iain's family's house in Aberdeenshire, where it is snowing and where we find ourselves waking up at five even though the sun doesn't rise until well after eight. Oh, circadian rhythm. I really thought I'd have killed you by now.
