I may have just lived through the best two days of my exchange. Possibly the best two days of my life. I feel alive and happier than I've ever felt, so that fact that I won't be here in two weeks make my stomach churn. For now though, I want to share these last two days with you.
My dear friend Rena is very special. Not just in the sense that she's funny, adorable, and my best friend, but also because she has a very unique life that she shared with me yesterday. Rena was born on a small island called "Ibuki", about 20 minutes from my town by boat, which has a population of only 700 people. Almost everyone there is in the fishing business, including Rena's parents. Because it's so small, she now lives with a relative in Kanonji so that she can attend my high school and she rarely gets to go home to her island. Only two or three times a year. So when she invited me to go to her home island with her, I was truly honored. We rode on her dad's fishing boat to the island and I was immediately greeted by some of the fisherman that lived there. They were all extremely surprised to see me. Not many people go to Ibuki, much less foreigners. Yet they welcomed me with a barbecue and a tour around the island, twice, in the back of their pickup truck. I have never felt so welcome. The island itself is beautiful and full of many traditional houses. Rena's house for example was first built around 100years ago and most of it hasn't been changed. It was such a unique experience going to that island and really felt special. Rena and I always have an amazing time together, but this was definitely the best.
After returning from the island, I quickly wrote my speech, put on my yukata and prepared for my goodbye party held by the Rotarians. It was so kind of them to have a party, I got to see all of my host families, some of which I haven't seen in a long time. My littlest host brother didn't seem to remember me at first, but soon we were play fighting, seen in photos below, and everything was great. I got to spend the dinner sitting next to the next exchange student to come to Oregon. We talked about her worries and I tried to give her as much advice and reassurance as possible. I want her to enjoy herself as much as I have! At the end of the night, I felt truly happy.
This morning I woke up eighteen years old. My friends all surprised me at school with presents, most of which they made themselves! (My favorite three are shown in the photo below) But I was in for it. Recently, I made a short music video with my class for fun and this morning we were going to all watch it together between classes. Little did I know that they had planned much more. As soon as the video finished, my friend ran into the room carrying a cake with 「サマー誕生日おめでとう〜」(Summer, Happy Birthday) written on it and at that moment everyone shot confetti into the air! I was so shocked I started to cry. My teacher then started to cry and gave me two large copies of our class photo and a photo of me and all of my friends at Kannichi. As we all ate our cake, my teacher put on a slideshow of photos from this past year with my favorite Japanese song. I have never felt so loved or in honored before in my life.
After school I got to spend time with the recently returned exchange student from Oregon and we talked about exchange and then I was able to go to dinner with my host family and some of our family friends. I was again surprised to receive a bouquet of gorgeous flowers, three gifts, and a Totoro cake! I still cannot believe their generosity. We spent the night eating great food and laughing, which was the perfect way to end the night.
All in all, I just feel so happy. Honestly, it's like I could just bubble over! As someone who thinks about her mortality and purpose in life on a daily basis, it is the best, most amazing feeling to know that you've made a good impression on a group of people. I will never forget anyone of the people I've met here, I will always be grateful, and I will always be proud of what I accomplished here. It may not be much, but maybe I spread a little tiny bit more peace in the world. I hope so. Until next time, the last blog, this is Summer: truly happy.