Wow, nearly half a month since I last wrote an update, and I started so well in July, too. Nevermind, I apologize for the wait (again) but I’ve been feeling pretty under the weather for the last few days. Whilst we are talking about the weather, the humidity of rainy season seems to be waning somewhat, which is good because if it had continued like it did through the end of last month I might have just started a fight with a few weathermen. I hear they have the power to change the temperature.

Anyhow, the day of the speech was sadly not nearly as pleasant as this one. It was absolutely baking it down, we’re talking middle thirties at 8.30 in the morning. Add to that the boiling heat, the fact that everyone was wearing a suit and the fact I’d had to wake up at 7am, and you can probably imagine exactly how comfortable the morning was. Still, I was alert and awake, as I was about to get on stage and read out a load of Japanese to children I had just spent ten months refusing to speak Japanese to. (That’s part of my job!)

It may look like a smile but that is pure fear on my face. The fact that neither of us fainted before going on stage was quite amazing, although quite a few students can’t really make the same claim. Yes, the kids had to stand outside for about ninety minutes in the baking heat, which caused at least three students (and probably more I didn’t see) to collapse and have to be carried into the school. This isn’t really a farewell speech so much as an endurance test. I was only on the podium in the sunlight for about two minutes, but it was so bright I could barely see.

The school photographer managed to get a big microphone to cover my face in every photo he took. I’m pretty sure at photography school they teach you on day one a few tricks such as “Try not to have too many subjects, try to balance your colours, and whatever you do, never try to take a picture through a microphone!” I don’t know, and I don’t want to sound bitter, but the only way I could put up with him standing right under my nose taking photos was that they would be good and I could post them here. Here’s the best one;

Despite what it looks like, this is not me screaming “You have the power“, despite how much I would have liked to. No, this is me asking the students to stop clapping so I could finish my speech. That’s how much they liked me. Actually, that’s how hard it was to tell when my speech was going to end. Whatever.

The speech itself was a great success. I got a few laughs, and the kids seemed to understand everything I said. I made one horrible pronunciation mistake which the American exchange student ridiculed me for later, until I pointed out I never had to trudge into that building at 8am again, at which point he went strangely quiet, aside from a few sobs.

After the speeches were over, it was time to leave. Of course there was absolutely no way we were going to get away with just leaving, as the students descended upon us for photographs. Here’s the best one I could get hold of, the rest are in printed form. When I get back to England I will make one final post with those photos scanned in. (Don’t worry, I plan to write a few more before then!)

Thus ends another (far too) sunny day in Japan. I have another update planned for tomorrow (I hope) and then one for the day after. After that I’m going to be pushed as I have a lot to do, and I only have another 16 days in Japan. Eeeeek.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 4th, 2007 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Gap Year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.