On Saturday I spent my last afternoon with my host family. I ran over, as per usual, and we went to have tsukemen— cold ramen dipped in broth. We went to the base of Mt. Hakodate and looked out over the ocean towards Aomori prefecture. I think this was the first point that I realized I would be leaving soon. On Sunday I went to see a jazz performance that the owner of one of the jazz cafes I’d been to had recommended, and for the first time I didn’t take notes during a performance!
We had our final lesson test on Monday. Afterwards we all went out with our dorm mother for yakiniku. Delicious but the most food I’d had in maybe a month! On Tuesday the Hakodate Port Festival kicked off with a fireworks show. It lasted over an hour and was maybe the best fireworks show I’ve ever seen. Wednesday was reserved for review. I hadn’t gotten much sleep that week because the burnout was hitting me hard— so I sort of just chugged through this last day of class. I think our teacher, Aoki-sensei, realized this and for the last thirty minutes we had together, we came up with impromptu skits based on a reading we’d done. It really was a fun way to finish things.
Thursday was our final exam, and given my lackluster studying job I wasn’t expecting greatness. By 12:40, I was done with the last piece of work I turned in this summer. Grades came out later that afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised. After dinner, everyone gathered for another event of the Port Festival, Ika-Odori, or Squid Dance. Squid is a specialty of the region, and I think the squid dance is meant to honor the squid. We had practiced the dance throughout the week, and though I usually am not a big dance guy I had a great time stepping and jumping to the strange squid dance song. It was a great release after the stress of the test.
Friday was our closing ceremony. There isn’t much to say about the ceremony itself. My class sang an older Japanese song, “Ue wo Muite Arukou,” and it was our last chance to say goodbye to some people. I didn’t get overly sentimental because it was a bit rushed at the end of the day. A few of us went to karaoke in the afternoon. We had our last proper meal together in the dorm— temaki zushi, or hand rolled sushi. After dinner I wrote cards for my host family and dorm mother. Packing took me a lot longer than it should’ve and I only got about three or four hours before I woke up the next day.
I quickly finished my packing, and was eating the last bit of breakfast when my host family showed up to take me to the train station. I felt really poorly because I hadn’t finished the cleaning of my room. I sent a message to the dorm mother but I’m not sure if she got it. It was about 30 minutes to the train station, and I spent maybe 20 minutes more with my host family, before I had to get on the train. I could see them through the window and waved until we left the station.