Heartwarming Moment

The weather has started to get colder and that always spells a little winter depression for me.  October has been way too busy and I've honestly been feeling a bit overwhelmed.  But today I had a very heartwarming moment that helped to remind me of why I came here in the first place.

Last week, while I was waiting for my boat to take me back to my island after school three adorable elementary school girls came over to hang out with me.  They ran little races with funny walks for me.  They joined me in yelling "See you" to all the junior high students who passed by.  They asked me what all sorts of words were in English, and, to my great joy and surprise, even remembered some of them later.   They even insisted on carrying all of my stuff down to the boat for me, despite my bag being incredibly heavy.  When I got on the boat they stood on the pier and waved and danced and called out "See you!"  They stood there waving as the boat pulled back and stayed there until I couldn't see them anymore.  It was a great end to the day, and needless to say I couldn't stop smiling.

Today I was waiting again and two of the giggling girls ran over.  They had big mischievous grins on their faces and told me to wait for a moment.  I'm not sure where they thought I was going to go, but I assured them that I would wait and they ran off again.  They came strolling back with a third girl, all (badly) hiding something behind their backs.  They made a cute little line in front of me and argued about who was going to go first for a moment.  They decided to all reveal their surprises at once.

These three lovely masterpieces are pictures of me.  And they are probably three of the best presents I have ever received.  These girls are first graders.  I have only taught their class once, and that was way back before summer vacation.  I'm at their school once a week and I attend things like Sports Day and I've stuck my head into their classroom just for fun a few times, but all in all we haven't had that much interaction.  But I'm still important enough in their lives that they took the time to make these for me.  Despite our limited time together I've clearly made a connection with these young girls. 

The whole reason I came to Japan was to make these kinds of connections.  At the end of the day I may not be the best English teacher but there is no denying that I have made a difference here, however small.  I owe these girls a lot of thanks for reminding me of that.  And on days when I feel like I'm doing everything wrong their gifts will remind me again.