Friday was another day off school, and thus an ideal opportunity to pack. So I went to lunch with Ando sensei, one of my English teachers, and then spent the evening with Nao chan, starting with kaiten sushi and then... going to karaoke! My last karaoke in Riverside hotel*sob sob*...
On Saturday I made sure I got straight down to packing and spent the day working hard. Except for the bit where I met Nao chan for lunch... However, she did come to help me and managed to deal with the waste zone that was my kitchen, and by 5pm I had not a grain of rice nor a kitchen implement to my name.
Joa had kindly offered to relieve my packing stress on Sunday, so after a day which almost had me setting fire to the furniture I took my frustration out on poor Efi, bolting down the expressway at speeds the speedometer couldn't record. But only because it doesn't register over 85 miles an hour. The company was completed by Joa's Japanese teacher, the lovely Katsuko san and her gorgeous daughter Maho chan. Both were great fun and Joa served us a lovely dinner (with a side of tomatoes for me) and we watched loads of music videos afterwards, Joa and I doing our best to introduce the ladies to international gay culture (Madonna, Kylie, etc).
Returning early on Monday morning I realised I had 24 hours left in my apartment, and thus 24 hours to rid myself of everything unnecessary and give away anything useable. Oji san and Nao chan helped me again and we took a trip to Maniwa Clean Centre- the local waste disposal site where they sort and sift through all your rubbish. Bit by bit my apartment became emptier and emptier, until Kapo chan brought me some relief by inviting me to dinner at Wakaba, so I had a final-night-in-Katsuyama dinner and it was a very good evening. The restaurant gave me some beer as a goodbye present, so we went back to Kapo chan's place to drink it with Shoko chan. Having stretched this opportunity far enough, I went home at 11pm. And stayed up till 2am pulling my hair out and throwing more things away.
Dinnertime
Tuesday was harder than I expected. After a morning trip to Nao chan's to drop off futons I got down to cleaning. Staff from the Board of Education came to the apartment at 10am to remove everything they own (fridge, gas stove, bins- everything that wasn't mine in fact). They were very helpful and pleasant, but the second they left I burst into tears. And I am not one for crying. I guess it hit me that it was over- the apartment was so empty with not a trace of anything the previous 2 years had borne witness to. Boo-hoo!
My empty apartment
I felt lucky when she gave me half my deposit back (from renting the apartment), but when Uchino san (the lady who looks after the apartment block) invited me to lunch, I found myself fighting back tears again and had to decline. And when Nao chan came to help I was blubbing again like a maced attacker- loud and ugly. I spent the afternoon popping around the town saying goodbye to people- Kano san, Sakamoto san, the woman who runs the fish shop, the girls in Lawson's and finally Shoko's cafe where I saw Hiroko chan, Kapo chan and Shoko chan.
The evening was spent at Nao chan's. With Papa san and Oji san we had a delicious meal and a few drinks and the goodbyes continued into Wednesday. As the heat soared and Nao chan's pet beagle, Ha-chan, enjoyed his electric fan, we prepared for the off. It was Oji san's 74th birthday that day, and he came round in the morning to say goodbye. Nao chan kindly drove me to Okayama and we both blubbed our goodbyes with promises that we'll meet again soon. I'll make sure of it!
Ha-chan enjoys the fan
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