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| This is an attendance board so to speak. Each month the teachers made something completely different and equally elaborate. |
This past week I had my last
classes with Mitsuba. We sang some of my favorite songs and for snack time
the mothers joined us as we ate watermelons. It was the perfect way to send the
kids into summer vacation. It took a lot of work not to burst into tears when
some of my favorite kiddos gave me hugs goodbye. After Tuesday’s last class the
teachers and I had a little tea party. It was incredibly difficult saying goodbye to the teachers as well. They have been like mothers to me. I am forever grateful to them. They gave me all the photos that they
took over the past year with me in it. The pictures brought back a flood of memories. In
honor of this ending I decided I would share some stories.
One day I was sitting next to
Kazuki (one of my favorite three year olds) during snack time. In front of him
was a plate with a cute picture of animals jumping ropes and birds flying
about. When we were about to pray Kazuki turned to me. As he was pointing at
his plate he asked me something. I had no clue what he was saying. I kept
telling him I don’t know (in Japanese) but he wouldn’t take it. He just kept
repeating whatever he was asking me. After the fifth I don’t know Kazuki burst
into tears. Being the three old that he is, he definitely knows how to cry.
After we finished the prayer one of the teachers asked him what was wrong. He
pointed at his plate and in very clear Japanese said “this is a bird, right?”
The teacher assured him he was right. He immediately stopped crying and carried
on as if nothing happened. I sat there amazed at what just happened. Kids have
an incredible ability to change emotions in an instant.
This same child also thought that
when we would end the prayer with “Amen” we were actually saying “ramen.” So he
would very proudly and loudly say “Ramen” at the end of prayers. When one of
the teachers corrected him he said “but I like Ramen!” I wanted to join in him
in saying Ramen but I was scolded before I could even try.
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| A mosquito net a.k.a tent that we "camped"in during Mitsuba |
Speaking of mispronunciations,
another of my favorite kids had a lisp. Therefor any time he would say sensei
(meaning teacher in Japanese), it would come out “shinshei.” Basically it was
the most adorable thing.
There was a little girl named
Maria. Now up until a month ago I didn’t hear her speak more than two words.
But then I found out that the one thing that gets her excited about life is
bugs! If she finds an ant or rolly polly she becomes the most talkative kid. In
fact you can’t get her to be quiet.
Miki, another three year old girl, already had three boys fighting over her. One of the boys
literally would burst into tears when he didn’t get to sit by her. The
attention that this girl received never seemed to faze her. She was the
sweetest child. Anytime someone was upset or sitting by their self she was
quickly at their side comforting them or including them in a new game of tag.
There are so many more stories to
share but I will save them for another day. I have loved getting to know these
children and seeing glimpses of who they are going to be in the future. They
will hold a special place in my heart. I am sorry to sound so sappy but it is
true. Thank you for tuning in!
