2022-7 Blog Entry List

     "As most of you now know already, I'm leaving Japan to go back to South Africa during summer vacation.  Leaving is bittersweet because I feel happy to be able to go home for the first time in three years and see my family and friends, but sad thinking about what it is I am leaving behind.

     When I first came to Japan, I was unsure, nervous, terrified of public speaking, and I was afraid I would not be a good enough teacher. But now, three years later, this experience has given me so much confidence and showed me how capable I am if I believe in myself. I came to Japan to experience the culture, travel a little, perhaps stay for a while, and maybe learn a little Japanese. What I didn’t expect was to make lifelong friends, meet wonderful people, fall in love with the country, and prove to myself that I am more than good enough as I am.

     To the students: thank you for spending time with me, talking to me, or just saying hello. Even if I was having a bad day, having fun classes with you always cheered me up. I want you all to believe in yourselves, and also to do things that scare you – you are capable of so much more than you think you are.

     To the teachers: I am grateful for your support in guidance, your encouragement and help, and your smiles and the kind words in the classroom or as we passed each other in the hallways.

     And to everyone: thank you for welcoming me into Chuo Chuto. For you, it might have been only a short time that you knew me, but for me it was a time of my life that I will always remember remember and carry with me forever. And every time I think of Japan, I will not only think of the amazing views, and the snow, and the food, and the terrible summer heat, but of the students of Chuo Chuto, and the laughter, and the school festivals, and most importantly, Banana Sauce and Miso Soup. I will carry all of it in my heart, and remember the time I went to the other side of the world, to a city I had never heard of, speaking a language I couldn’t understand, and I will smile because it became my home to.
     I wish you all the happiness in the world, and I hope that if something reminds you of a faraway country called South Africa, do you think a little bit of me too. I hope to see some of you there someday, but until then I will say…Totsiens, sala kakhule, goodbye, sayonara.  Arigatou gozaimashita!"