Day 55: What a Day
At breakfast this morning, I actually got to sit with Sister Beatrice. She is a kind, influential, and amazing person, so it is an honor to spend any time with her. She has dedicated her life to two things: God, and Notre Dame Elementary. She knows that I will never forget this swimming camp, nor my experiences in Japan. She has invited me to come back every summer for the swimming camp, which I will certainly do if my schedule allows. I want to have a continuing relationship with Notre Dame Elementary and its teachers.
At the beach, the students gathered again and bowed to the teachers. Then, everyone turned silently towards the sea, and bowed again. We had one short warm up swim, and then the B1 group swam their long-distance. I went with them, and we made it three times around the buoys. I am finding that my left knee no longer likes to swim the breast-stroke; it hurts. It is nice swimming with the students, though. Especially with the constant beating of the large drum and the other kids chanting, "Enya kora!" It is meant to keep the pace, but I think it is just a sound to keep our minds clear and focused on our swimming.
To my surprise, all of the group A1 students chose to take part in the select group swim, which is the finale of the swimming camp. It was exciting to think that we would be swimming straight out from the beach, and out of the marked swimming area. The fact that it was the last swim also made me excited. The drum started beating, and we marched row by row into the sea. We swam out to the breakers and then swam along them to the other side of the bay. The boats were following us and keeping a close eye, and all of the kids seemed honored to be part of the special group and the fun swim. The hardest part of the swim was the turning; I was on the outside of the turns, so I had to swim twice as fast as the people on the inside. We all sped up as we looked at the closing distance to the shoreline. As the students made their way up the beach, I shook hands with the other teachers. 
We were all happy to be finished, but glad we put forth the effort. What a great feeling. Even better, though, was the free time with the students. All of the kids got in the water and started splashing around. I walked through the crowd and the kids splashed me like crazy. I couldn't help but smile through the whole thing, and ignore the saltwater in my eyes. Everyone was all smiles. It was a perfect close to the trip.
The students bowed to us teachers, and gave us gifts they had made from paper and sea shells. All two-hundred or so of us turned to the sea and bowed one last time. The students all went back to the hotel to get ready to leave, but many teachers and I stayed to take down the tents and pack up the truck. It was so hot outside that it was painful to touch the metal framing of the tents. Before long, we were finished and headed back to the hotel to see the students off. We took some pictures together, my favorite of which is the picture of Hiroshi (Urayama Sensei) and I. He is a great person, and I have so much fun with him.
The remaining teachers and I sat down for a special lunch. It was a time for celebration over beer and curry rice. A van picked us up and brought us to the local fish market, where the teachers bought some fresh seafood. Then we departed from the train station. As we got closer to Kyoto, the stations were busier and busier. This is the big weekend of the Gion Matsuri Festival, and there are many tourists from Japan and elsewhere. The Japanese girls were all wearing their yukatas for the festival, which are beautiful traditional summer-style kimono.
I am staying at Notre Dame for the first time tonight, because the English teachers and I planned to go out together. Most of the teachers cancelled, but Afrela and Yukari (Shimizu Sensei) still wanted to go. I know I wanted to go, because I have never really been out in Japan, and this is my last weekend in Kyoto. I met Afrela at the Karasuma Oike station and then we met up with Yukari and her boyfriend, Rafael. They asked me where I wanted to eat, and I jokingly said, "Mexican food," but we actually found a Mexican restaurant! The place was called Mariachi and, yes, they had a mariachi. He was Japanese, but his Spanish singing was close enough to the real pronunciation. It was great having some Mexican food again!
Just as we were heading to find a fun place, the rain came pouring down. Yukari and Rafael had to leave, but Afrela and I went to a salsa club called Havana Club. Afrela loves salsa dancing, but I had never tried it before, so I was not expecting much success. I just wanted to have some fun. One of the instructors at the club realized that we were not dancing, so she grabbed me and taught me the basics. Then, Afrela and I gave it a try. I felt bad because she is pretty good, but I am not good at all. Still, it was fun.
We walked around and stopped into an Irish pub for a beer. It seems that there are a lot of foreigners around, myself included. It is a big time of year for tourism in Kyoto. Before calling it a night, Afrela and I went to a Philippino restaurant called Chicken Manila in Gion. Afrela is Philippino, and she knows the people at the restaurant. I met the musician there whose name is Steve. Believe it or not, Steve is from Chicago! We tried some Philippino food, sang a few songs karaoke, and then Steve offered to give me a ride home. There I was in Kyoto, Japan in the midst of the Gion Matsuri riding a moped home in the rain with a musician from Illinois. What a small world.
At the beach, the students gathered again and bowed to the teachers. Then, everyone turned silently towards the sea, and bowed again. We had one short warm up swim, and then the B1 group swam their long-distance. I went with them, and we made it three times around the buoys. I am finding that my left knee no longer likes to swim the breast-stroke; it hurts. It is nice swimming with the students, though. Especially with the constant beating of the large drum and the other kids chanting, "Enya kora!" It is meant to keep the pace, but I think it is just a sound to keep our minds clear and focused on our swimming.
To my surprise, all of the group A1 students chose to take part in the select group swim, which is the finale of the swimming camp. It was exciting to think that we would be swimming straight out from the beach, and out of the marked swimming area. The fact that it was the last swim also made me excited. The drum started beating, and we marched row by row into the sea. We swam out to the breakers and then swam along them to the other side of the bay. The boats were following us and keeping a close eye, and all of the kids seemed honored to be part of the special group and the fun swim. The hardest part of the swim was the turning; I was on the outside of the turns, so I had to swim twice as fast as the people on the inside. We all sped up as we looked at the closing distance to the shoreline. As the students made their way up the beach, I shook hands with the other teachers. 
We were all happy to be finished, but glad we put forth the effort. What a great feeling. Even better, though, was the free time with the students. All of the kids got in the water and started splashing around. I walked through the crowd and the kids splashed me like crazy. I couldn't help but smile through the whole thing, and ignore the saltwater in my eyes. Everyone was all smiles. It was a perfect close to the trip.
The students bowed to us teachers, and gave us gifts they had made from paper and sea shells. All two-hundred or so of us turned to the sea and bowed one last time. The students all went back to the hotel to get ready to leave, but many teachers and I stayed to take down the tents and pack up the truck. It was so hot outside that it was painful to touch the metal framing of the tents. Before long, we were finished and headed back to the hotel to see the students off. We took some pictures together, my favorite of which is the picture of Hiroshi (Urayama Sensei) and I. He is a great person, and I have so much fun with him.The remaining teachers and I sat down for a special lunch. It was a time for celebration over beer and curry rice. A van picked us up and brought us to the local fish market, where the teachers bought some fresh seafood. Then we departed from the train station. As we got closer to Kyoto, the stations were busier and busier. This is the big weekend of the Gion Matsuri Festival, and there are many tourists from Japan and elsewhere. The Japanese girls were all wearing their yukatas for the festival, which are beautiful traditional summer-style kimono.
I am staying at Notre Dame for the first time tonight, because the English teachers and I planned to go out together. Most of the teachers cancelled, but Afrela and Yukari (Shimizu Sensei) still wanted to go. I know I wanted to go, because I have never really been out in Japan, and this is my last weekend in Kyoto. I met Afrela at the Karasuma Oike station and then we met up with Yukari and her boyfriend, Rafael. They asked me where I wanted to eat, and I jokingly said, "Mexican food," but we actually found a Mexican restaurant! The place was called Mariachi and, yes, they had a mariachi. He was Japanese, but his Spanish singing was close enough to the real pronunciation. It was great having some Mexican food again!
Just as we were heading to find a fun place, the rain came pouring down. Yukari and Rafael had to leave, but Afrela and I went to a salsa club called Havana Club. Afrela loves salsa dancing, but I had never tried it before, so I was not expecting much success. I just wanted to have some fun. One of the instructors at the club realized that we were not dancing, so she grabbed me and taught me the basics. Then, Afrela and I gave it a try. I felt bad because she is pretty good, but I am not good at all. Still, it was fun.We walked around and stopped into an Irish pub for a beer. It seems that there are a lot of foreigners around, myself included. It is a big time of year for tourism in Kyoto. Before calling it a night, Afrela and I went to a Philippino restaurant called Chicken Manila in Gion. Afrela is Philippino, and she knows the people at the restaurant. I met the musician there whose name is Steve. Believe it or not, Steve is from Chicago! We tried some Philippino food, sang a few songs karaoke, and then Steve offered to give me a ride home. There I was in Kyoto, Japan in the midst of the Gion Matsuri riding a moped home in the rain with a musician from Illinois. What a small world.
posted by Ryan Harkins at 11:58 p.m.
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