Farewell

For those of you who have not lived in Japan, it probably comes as a surprise to hear that teachers in Japan don’t get to choose where they work. They are placed by the prefecture, with the possibility of moving coming up every year, and the decision is completely out of their hands. Apparently, the underlying assumption is that people working in the same place for too long is bad, that it can lead to corruption. It seems to me that the only thing it really leads to is a strong sense of community and camaraderie.

But anyway, within the last 10 days I have learned that a number of teachers will be moving to another school. Almost all of them will stay in Aomori City, but not working with someone anymore can be pretty sad. There is one teacher with whom I had the most classes and with whom I had a pretty good friendship. She speaks English very well, is young, and is extremely nice. She is also an incredible teacher. She is leaving, and it makes me pretty sad. As she gave her speech today at the farewell ceremony, she had some tears, so it seems she is also pretty sad. Another English teacher I didn’t actually teach with but have had a special bond with is also leaving – but she is actually retiring.

One of the teachers asked me how I felt about the ceremony. I said, well, that it was kind of sad. I asked him how he felt. He agreed, explaining that his best friend would be leaving. While I respect Japan in many ways, sometimes I feel like top-down decision making misses the point in situations like this. Good, friendly relationships in the workplace are highly valued and considered necessary. So why disrupt them every year?

All the farewells I’ve witnessed recently at graduations and ceremonies have also broken down even more a commonly held stereotype about Japanese people. This being that they are stoic, unemotional, even superficial in their relationships. Day to day it might seem that way to a foreigner, but I have seen how deeply felt emotions are felt and expressed in very public ways. In fact, another very close coworker of mine recently expressed something to me that was one of the most touching and heart-breaking things I have ever been told.

I guess the point is that farewells bring out something special in people anywhere you are, but it seems especially vivid here where emotions are perhaps generally more subdued. I know when I leave permanently in July, it will be a time filled with sadness and with feelings of gratitude. And I will probably feel even closer to my coworkers after they bid me farewell.

~Melissa