Woeful Wednesday

Well, today was the last full day in Japan. I headed up to the restaurant on the 40th floor again in hopes of catching another glimpse of Mount Fuji (did I mention I finally saw Fuji yesterday? It was a little hazy, and wasn't snowcapped, but I did see it), but it was way too hazy/foggy to get a nice clear view. Breakfast was still tasty...I am going to miss the fruit. It somehow tastes fresher and sweeter here.

Our group presentations were today. On the record, our group worked really hard to put together a nice presentation. Off the record, it was very nice, but it was a bit dull in my opinion. When you see how the other groups had everyone participate, and how they had such a good time, I admit to being a little upset. My students know that I am not a push through in a boring manner kind of teacher. Our presentation was like that. It was a little frustrating, and I did get upset about it. After our presentation, we had a break during which we presented Kyoko-san with some parting gifts. During this time, one of the group members offered to make a CD-ROM for everyone in the group about the presentation, which was very nice of him (he's a great guy, so I am not surprised). Someone mentioned meeting for breakfast at 8:00am Thursday so that everyone could get their disks. Several of us (including me) had already made plans...you can bet that I wasn't going to sit around and wait in the hotel all morning when I could be out exploring. When I voiced this, another group member took the opportunity to berate me in front of the entire group. Combine that with the fact that I felt shut out during the entire presentation process, plus just really being ready to go home, it made for a situation in which I became very upset. Very upset. To have someone who is a professional (or claims to be) speak down to someone else who is of his same level is a bit ridiculous. I am so ready to be away from some of these people!!!

Luckily, I made it through the rest of the presentations as well as another lackluster hotel buffet lunch (you should have seen the take on Mexican lasagna today...tortilla chips, grilled eggplant, some tomato sauce, and cheese...although come to think of it, it was probably the best thing I ate...weird). I registered and paid for the graduate credits I will be receiving through the program, and then headed out to do some last minute souvenir shopping. I had about an hour to rest before the Sayonara Banquet.

The Banquet was interesting. It was another no-chairs situation. I can see why that is useful, as it allows you to mingle freely, but let me tell you...this girl has done a LOT of walking. The feet were not happy about being thrust into another pair of pantyhose and dress shoes. But, the two hours went quickly. We heard speeches, drank a toast, mucnhed on some fancy food, watched an akido demonstration (a pretty fascinationg Japanese martial art where you use the energy of your opponent to defeat them), and sang "Auld Lang Syne," which is what the Japanese sing for departures. You could have sworn that it was New Year's!

After the banquet, some of us ventured out to go to Tokyo Tower. We just barely made it before they stopped selling tickets. It was awesome to see Tokyo lit up at night! Very pretty. Hopefully the pictures turned out well...I haven't had a chance to put them on the computer yet!

I spent the rest of the evening packing and ignoring my blog. Sigh. Pictures someday, pictures someday...