This week has seen the leaving of my very good friend, Simon, from AEON Hikarigaoka. I'm really sad he's left the crew, we've had some great laughs together, and I have a lot of happy memories :) Although Simon is staying in Tokyo, his future remains uncertain until he successfully finds a new job.
Drawn by one of Simon's kids classes
Simon's replacement is Richard Sensei, a 30-something French-born Californian. He seems mature, but amicable, and I look forward to working with him.
This leaves me the only British-speaking teacher at the school; my accent is sure to degrade!!! :(
The boys: Richard Sensei (left) Simon Sensei (right)
Last night was the long-anticipated Farewell Part held again at Watami, the local large-capacity Japanese-style restaurant.
Kampai!!!!
The party is a fantastic and rare chance to mingle with so many students of other classes, drink as much as I want for free(!!), get some great travel ideas and importantly to practice my Japanese ^^
I had a fantastic time!
I also managed to sneakily watch the Japan vs Netherlands first-round World Cup match via a student's cell phone, which was sadly a loss for the Japan side.
Later on, we hit the Karaoke in Nerima (a 10 minute walk from home-lucky me!)
Simon and I singing a farewell song in Japanese
Our Area Manager joined us- a rare and at first unnerving privilege-and he turned out to be an absolute party animal!!
Next on my itinerary is Cara and Laura's visit- which is only 7 days away!
