Once you make a friend
no matter what will happen
they are yours for life
Today I gave every student that came to class a Maple Cookie
from Canada. I had my dad bring over a box when he came and it was definitely
worth it. After all, it was much more trouble for him than me. The students
loved them. Most of them loved the taste, almost all were raving about the nice
maple smell and even the ones who didn’t care for the taste that much still loved the
opportunity to try them. A couple students I actually offered a second cookie to just because of how overly into them they were. I felt bad introducing them to something they could only have one of and couldn't buy without taking a huge trip abroad.
Although the maple cookies were a hit, I wasn’t the one who gave the best gifts today though. After work I went for supper with my dad and three students from my final class of the day. The three of them form an interesting study group, meeting after class most days to help each other. Two I have talked about before, my 62-year-old character of a lovely old man, Toru, and the 32-year-old Tax Accountant, Naoto. The third is their good friend and helper, Ryuhei, a 20-year-old student. He really helps the two older guys, providing explanations in Japanese when they need it, showing great patience and learning important points from class and studying them so he can assist them when they struggle. It was truly a pleasure to spend the evening with the three of them. My dad got a kick out of all of them, as they really are super entertaining and incredibly kindhearted people. We laughed so much throughout the night. Before we all went to an Irish Pub to have a Guinness and share a little bit of my dad’s, and by extension and the power of family my own, culture, the gentlemen showed off two very important aspects of Japanese culture. The first was they gave some gifts. Naoto, the 32-year-old gave me a beautiful Takeo Kikuchi, a famous Japanese designer, bow tie. It was a beautiful gift but the reason he gave was even more beautiful. He said that the bow tie was red and white because those are the colours of both the Japanese and Canadian flag and that he had selected a bow tie because it opens the heart. I was touched. Then Toru, the 62-year-old, allowed Ryuhei to present me with a Sensu, a Japanese fan, while he presented one to my dad. It was fantastic the way he let Ryuhei present the, surprisingly expensive, gift, on account of he didn’t have the means to buy a nice present on his own. I was blown away and my dad was even more so, considering it was the first time he had met these fellas. A little later they started doing something that I am now realizing is very common in Japan. They started praising me and saying what they liked about me, what they enjoyed about spending time with me, how I had made learning English fun for them and thanking me for all I had done for them. I returned the gesture and told them how great it was to teach them, how fantastic their effort was, and most importantly how much I always looked forward to my last class of the day with them. It was a beautiful experience and like so many other people that have been so nice to me here, I’ll never forget them.
Although the maple cookies were a hit, I wasn’t the one who gave the best gifts today though. After work I went for supper with my dad and three students from my final class of the day. The three of them form an interesting study group, meeting after class most days to help each other. Two I have talked about before, my 62-year-old character of a lovely old man, Toru, and the 32-year-old Tax Accountant, Naoto. The third is their good friend and helper, Ryuhei, a 20-year-old student. He really helps the two older guys, providing explanations in Japanese when they need it, showing great patience and learning important points from class and studying them so he can assist them when they struggle. It was truly a pleasure to spend the evening with the three of them. My dad got a kick out of all of them, as they really are super entertaining and incredibly kindhearted people. We laughed so much throughout the night. Before we all went to an Irish Pub to have a Guinness and share a little bit of my dad’s, and by extension and the power of family my own, culture, the gentlemen showed off two very important aspects of Japanese culture. The first was they gave some gifts. Naoto, the 32-year-old gave me a beautiful Takeo Kikuchi, a famous Japanese designer, bow tie. It was a beautiful gift but the reason he gave was even more beautiful. He said that the bow tie was red and white because those are the colours of both the Japanese and Canadian flag and that he had selected a bow tie because it opens the heart. I was touched. Then Toru, the 62-year-old, allowed Ryuhei to present me with a Sensu, a Japanese fan, while he presented one to my dad. It was fantastic the way he let Ryuhei present the, surprisingly expensive, gift, on account of he didn’t have the means to buy a nice present on his own. I was blown away and my dad was even more so, considering it was the first time he had met these fellas. A little later they started doing something that I am now realizing is very common in Japan. They started praising me and saying what they liked about me, what they enjoyed about spending time with me, how I had made learning English fun for them and thanking me for all I had done for them. I returned the gesture and told them how great it was to teach them, how fantastic their effort was, and most importantly how much I always looked forward to my last class of the day with them. It was a beautiful experience and like so many other people that have been so nice to me here, I’ll never forget them.
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