Club Iya

Well, folks, March got off to a great start with a game of basketball, an Awa Odori wedding, a bit of touch footy, and the fantastic news that I scraped in to win the election for AJET Chair. It's been almost three weeks since I got the phone call from the current Chair and started getting to know the rest of my new committee, but the concept of representing 6500 JETs as "King AJET" is still sinking in! It's a great team of people I'll be working with this year and we've already got plenty of good ideas for improved services and new projects. I'm sure when I come back from my spring holiday in Seattle, all the AJET work sitting in my email inbox will finally drive the message home! :)

I last said goodbye to my good mate Keith van Eaton in July 2002, when he finished up his year on the JET Programme and decided to head home. The odd email update has kept us in touch since then, but I'm looking forward to buying him a beer when I land in Seattle tomorrow morning. Or maybe it'll be a coffee, since Seattle is the home of Starbucks? Most people tell me that it's always raining in Seattle, but I'm listening to a local friend who says that now is the best time for good weather. Should be able to nip up to Canada while I'm there, too - Vancouver is just across the border, and there might still be some snow waiting for me and my board. In any case, the thought of setting foot on North America for the first time is exciting! See you soon, Keith!

When I get back, I'll step straight off the plane into my Awa Odori costume for a performance on April 4, and then the next day will see me at school to meet the seven new members of staff who will be joining us here in Nishiiya for the new school year.

Our lunch lady is shifting to a local elementary school, and several teachers are on their way to other schools around Tokushima, having completed their time in Iya. The school secretary, Kamio-sensei, who has been my saviour many a time when I've needed to find something, is moving up the valley after 18 years in Nishiiya. She's been working here longer than any of the kids have been alive! We had an end-of-year party on Monday as a staff team, and then a school ceremony just this morning to officially say goodbye. It made me think of when it'll be my turn, just a few months away now. There were a few tears, even for the students, and a few laughs, too. Then it's time to pack up your desk and hit the road. Just like that.

Of course, teachers aren't the only ones moving on during March in Japan. Our third grade class of two boys and one girl had their graduation on a rainy day two weeks ago, possibly the shortest graduation ceremony in Japanese history. Last week I had the pleasure of seeing a "sotsuen shiki" at my smallest school - a simple ceremony marking the progress of children from kindergarten to elementary school. These particular children will just be moving from the room downstairs to a classroom upstairs in the same building, so there's not much to cry about, but they're so cute! And right after the sotsuen was the graduation of the two sixth grade girls, who'll be coming to the junior high as of April. I've been to graduations at all of my schools but one in the past three years. Not sure if I'll ever make it to the last!

I did make it, however, to one last farewell, hosted last Friday night in a most unlikely setting - Club Iya.

Mary, the Scottish girl who's been living in East Iya for the last two years, is finally hitting the road and heading home. The little group of foreigners who live in the valley and elsewhere nearby, and a handful of Japanese locals, turned up at an old thatched house to see her off. The house is owned by a local, but is lived in by an American guy named Sean, who spends his time either repairing the house or pursuing his art of lamp making. When he moved in last September, the floor boards were rotted and the house was barely standing on its own, but to look at it now is just amazing. He's put in a new floor, replaced the sliding doors, and placed new supports under the extended roof. And last Friday night, Sean revealed his masterpiece. Four metres long, two metres wide, stereo hidden under a low curtain, replete with fairy lights, and the hippest place this side of Mt Tsurugi. Club Iya. :)

I couldn't stay and dance too long, however, for I had to get up the next day to have my first meeting with some of the new AJET National Council. We met over a noodles lunch, wandered up to a local temple, and talked for a bit in the afternoon before heading off to catch the local AJET musical. For the first time, I haven't been involved in this year's musical in any way, so I got to enjoy being in the audience and soaking it all up. Though a little part of me missed not being a part of the on-stage madness, it was fantastic just to take it in and see it successfully carry on for another year. Being the last performance, we got to carry on afterwards at the musical party, which is always a good time. We made merry until the early hours of the morning, but once again, my alarm was set for an early rise...

Up at six to hit the road to nearby Awaji Island for a touch footy tournament. With a few mates from Tokushima, I'm busy organising a touch footy tournament for the middle of April, so we thought it'd be a good idea to see how one is run and invite a few other teams to come and join the fun. Touch footy in Japan is played by the same rules, but with one significant difference - the games are only 15 minutes long! It makes for a huge rethink in the way you approach the game, because endurance isn't such an issue. It also means that if you're on a weak team that gets knocked out early - like us! - you won't get much time on the field. I went home with a light case of sunburn for my trouble though!

So it's been a pretty busy month, all up. I think I need the holiday! As I prepare to hop on a plane to Seattle tomorrow, my parents are themselves getting ready to go to England to see my grandmother. They'll be flying into Tokyo to meet a connecting flight, in fact, just as I am flying out - I'll wave to you through the window, Mum! We'll actually see each other on the way back, which is great, but I wish I could go, too, really. I'll be sending them a few postcards from Seattle, of course, and I'll call when I get back to Japan. But, Granny, I know you read all my emails, so for the moment, I hope you're in good spirits. One day, when I am finished writing these things - though I hope my adventures will continue long after that! - maybe I will take your advice and make a book of them. I know that, even if no one else would, you would read it from cover to cover. Take good care. I am thinking of you. :)

Many warm thoughts to you all,

Dave