What a week...

So this week has been pretty hectic if I do say so myself.

I will start from rank of seriousness. Least serious to most.

1.

I finally had a run in with THE LAW here in Japan!
I usually park my bike across the street from the station I exit at, and just hop on my bike and ride. But 2 nights ago was a little different. I saw 2 people just standing there, and in the dark, it looked like they were uniformed, but I dunno why I didn't think anything of it. As soon as I got closer, they blew their whistle and tell me to stop in Japanese. They ask me many questions in Japanese, and I reply, in Japanese. Where do I live? Where do I work? Do I have my gaijin identification card? Is this my bike? Why don't I have the seal of purchase on it? So on and on... The man who was mainly speaking with me asked me something and I couldn't understand, so I told him. He stops and thinks, then starts speaking to me in above average English! I answer the rest of their questions and they eventually let me go. The reason for all of this craziness...I didn't have my light on, on my bike... You live, you learn...

2.

Tuesday morning (or was it Wednesday...) Sayaka and I were woken up by the sound of her cell phone. She normally won't check it if we are sleeping, but this time she did. It was from her mom. She kept saying "Really? Really?" in Japanese, then told me something happened to her brother, and her parents were heading out to go see what happened. Sayaka called her mom to get more details. I didn't understand everything that was said, but I can tell Sayaka went from shocked, to worried in her tone very quickly. When she got off the phone I asked what was wrong, and she told me that her brother was in a car accident, and had some serious injuries to his head. His body was shaking and he wasn't responding, was the only info we had as far as his condition. She began to panic and cry and I tried to calmed her down and made her realize she needed to head to Kobe (where he lives), where her parents were heading when she got the call. She calmed down a bit, got some clothes together and was out of the house and headed to Kobe via shinkansen rather quickly.

I headed to work like I normally do, and waited and waited for a text from Sayaka and I finally got it late in the day. We found out, her brother was riding his bike home after working the night shift, around 5AM, and he was hit by a truck. A nearby taxi driver witness this and stopped the truck driver and got the authorities to come get her brother. The hospital contacted her parents, and we got the news later, about an hour after it all occurred. Great news soon followed as I received texts from her. Apparently his injuries were not major and he would be able to return home the next day! VERY lucky he didn't have any injuries that could have kept him there longer, or worst... For the first time since dating Sayaka, I was able to talk to her brother, when she called me the next day and when I asked if he was fine, she put him on the phone with me. Of course he doesn't speak English and I am not confident in my Japanese, but we managed a decent conversation. To this day (Saturday morning at 12:05AM) Sayaka and her family are still in Kobe, and I don't know (neither does she) when they will return back. They are waiting until they feel like he can take care of things on his own. I am missing her so bad, but I want her to take care of her little brother (he is only a year younger than her!).

3.

The hardest news...

Since I came to Japan to teach English, I have been lucky to have nothing but great students (save 3...) and have truly enjoyed what I do, EVERY day! I have 3 students in particular that stand out because they are around my parents' age, and treat me like their son!

The Sawada's, a married couple, who learned a lot of English because they go to Hawaii yearly to golf. They treat me almost like a son in class and always bring me back something from wherever they go. Mr. Sawada printed a map during his work hours, and highlighted a trail from where I live to Toyota city, because I told him Sayaka's friend drove from Toyota to visit us one weekend. The next class he comes with this HUGE map, he made from printing pages, taping them together, and highlighting the best route to my apartment! Both of them such great people! The last thing they did was bring me a menu from Yard House in Hawaii, after their coworker went there last weekend. I had mentioned to them that I love Yard House's food and beer, and they were excited to try it out in Hawaii when they went again. They also brought me a menu from Cheesecake Factory from their last trip, which makes me hungry every time I see it.

The other student, is Naoharu Mizuno.

From my first class with him, my first week of actually working at my school, he began to like me a lot, because I was from California. He was the co-owner of a metallurgy company that created car parts and owned NGK, the company that makes spark plugs for cars. Him and his wife have a garden that they always take care of, and they both take international trips twice a year, and domestic trips more times than I can count. Since our first class, he always brings me English brochures from wherever he goes. Our class was was a private free conversation class that he loved, since he is retired and belongs to an English speaking club at a college for older people. We would talk about politics, Japanese history, his experiences around the world, USUALLY California, and MANY other topics. He was always smiling and happy to be in class, and always looked sooo sad when our time was up. I always let the class go over it's allowed time, just to get more time to talk with him...

Well today I was informed by my manager, that Naoharu passed 3 days ago...

This is the first (and I really hope LAST) time I have had to deal with the death of a student. Not just ANY student, but one I felt really close to. Of course I feel close to all of my students, but this one in particular was special from day one. He was 64 years old and showed no signs of anything wrong until around October. He got sick somehow and would come to class sort of slow and walk very slowly to my class. I began teaching him in the nearest class, so he didn't have to walk too far. He requested a leave of absence in November, saying he would return in January, because he had to go to the hospital. January came, and my Friday time slot came up, where he should have been, and he didn't come. Oh well, possibly at home recovering from what ever brought him down, and I was sure to see him the next week. But three weeks passed and I hadn't seen him. So today he was supposed to arrive again. But he didn't, just like the previous weeks before. It is my responsibility to call my students if they don't show up to class after a few consecutive weeks, and I tried twice, and never got an answer, and that is when I started having a bad feeling. I began asking the Japanese staff to call because of this bad feeling, and as they called, they were never able to get through. I guess my manager got through to voicemail last week and his wife called today to respond to that voicemail.

My manager and I spent the whole last hour of today just contemplating how sudden he died, and how we never know what will happen tomorrow. We don't know what condition he was in, but from our point of view it seemed too sudden. My manager went to have a smoke and I stood next to him (which is rare for me, I hate smokers) and continued our talk. He told me that Naoharu told his wife, who had studied English like her husband, to continue studying English with me if he were to pass, and that is where we stand now. She told him that when she is done dealing with the funeral ceremonies, and everything, she will continue his lessons with me.

I instantly didn't know what to think of this, but I figured, I will be able to help her do what he wanted her to do, and I can be of some help to get her to keep her mind off of everything she has probably gone through. I have only seen her in his MANY pictures he has shared with me (most recently Italy), but she will now become my new student in his normal weekly, 40 minute, time slot. I almost fear the first meeting, but I know I will be strong...

Such a surreal week. I don't need anything else to happen before the end of tomorrow. Just need to try to be happy!