Special Year
No year comes and goes without special significance. Each year in its own way, to quote you know who, is unforgettable. For Hideaki, however, this year has had its special significance. It marks the fortieth anniversary of his encounter with English, and he managed to make it not-just-another year in his own ways.
Hideaki switched to a new pair of glasses.
His workplace has been ailing from problems stemming from teaching plan foul-ups resulting in student misplacement and academic underachievement for a couple years. Even before they surfaced, he had foreseen them and been proposing substitute plans of his own crafting. The problems did surface, but his plans were rejected several times, but finally in June this year, his persistence paid off. From next school year, at least as far as the school's English lessons are concerned, Hideaki's insights will pave the school's way to normalcy.
In October, he had a dozen adults over in his class every Saturday and taught English. The city of Narita asked him to open up the classroom for its citizens and offer some opportunity to re-learn English. The five-week course, featuring Japan's famously difficult entrance exams' reading, listening and grammar materials, was highly appreciated, though a bit difficult for those not currently deeply engaged in English learning.
In November, he went to Sydney, Australia with some 300 students. He went there last year too, but this year's school trip had "school visits" as its special program. The party was divided into three groups and visited three different high schools on the suburbs of Sydney. Hideaki's group visited Sylvania High School in the south of Sydney. With nobody else fitting the task, Hideaki naturally was to deliver a greeting speech. Since this was for cross-culture understanding, he told the Sylvanian kids that "we say in Japan that every event begins with everybody paying respect to each other and ends with everybody paying respect to each other," and invited them to "join us in our Japanese way". Yoroshiku onegai shimasu and arigato gozaimashita were the greeting tips he gave them. Mrs. Elliott, Sylvania High Principal, praised his English and the Aussie students enjoyed his mini-Japanese lesson at the podium.
The excitements did not end there. He took his students to Blue Mountains and witnessed the grandest view of Three Sisters and did the sights of Sydney City.
Trip to Hawaii, and Oahu
Of all the Hawaiian excitements, the sunset viewed form the Mauna Kea summit undisputedly was the highlight of the family tour. They began scaling the more than 4200-meter-high dormant volcano in late afternoon. They crossed the vast tract of ranch on its foot field, took some lung-acclimatizing rest and ate early bento supper at the Onizuka Visitor Center, commemorating the late Space Shuttle Challenger astronaut Onizuka, and gradually entered the lifeless rocky wilderness and approached the top. When they saw the thirteen observatories from seventeen countries, the air was so thin that it was hard to breathe. They put on heavily stuffed bench coats and stepped out into the windy, freezer-like atmosphere. Seika stood for a while watching the ocean of clouds and protruding tips of some of the neighbor islands floating in the Pacific ocean,
and then found himself out of breath. He had to stay in the tour wagon, with his lips livid, for the rest of the sunset observation time.
Hideaki and Masami, excited, forgot about their sick son and only watched the sun coming down below the horizon. They climbed down some 200 meters later and observed the Milky Way and summer constellations, including Seika's Leo. By that time, he was OK.
They saw on Hawaii the smoking Mauna Loa volcano, the Black Sand Beach and sea turtles resting there,
the volcanic activity remnant Lave Tube, and the active undersea volcano with its humongous columns of smoke.
When he swam on the hotel's private beach, Seika was stung by a sea urchin. Scared stiff, he screamed he was going to die. Hideaki took him to the front desk and explained, called the security guard and got briefing on how to treat it with vinegar. Seika was astounded how his father could get things done in English.
(His injury was hardly visible by the next morning.)
Then on Oahu, they climbed Diamond Head, swam on Waikiki Beach to their hearts' content, enjoyed shopping in Alamoana Shopping Center and ate Chinese dinner in its vast food court.
Back from Hong Kong
Yuko, Masami's sister, and Shunsuke are back in Makuhari, midway between Tokyo and Narita, now that Masatoshi, Yuko's husband is called back to K-Line head office. Masatoshi works late and comes home, like before, Shunsuke is as soccer-maniac as ever, and Yuko has now joined a nearby athletic gym and muscles up. Her only anguish of heart is, in her words, what to aim for, with Olympiad too high a target at age near forty.
Sick, with Occassional Health
Hideaki's parents, Yoshifumi and Kiyoko, are weaker than last year. This summer was a crisis season for Yoshi, for he constantly had hyperventilation seizures every now and then. Medical checkups found no physical abnormalities. He recovered in the fall, but now Kiyoko was sick. She became bed-ridden for about two months, suffering from dizziness. Medical checkups found no physical abnormalities again. Towards mid-November, finally, she recovered. It seems Yoshi's indisposition had consumed her stamina, resulting in her dizziness. Now they both can walk, go out shopping and take care of themselves normally.
In Japan, when something goes without a hitch, people say thanks to even to "by-standers" who offered no help. They say "Okage-sama-de (By dint of you, thank you.)" Hideaki used to feel awkward with this custom. Now, three years past fifty, he has gradually come to appreciate the frame of mind that makes Japanese say thanks even to the non-involved. The year 2008 has seen so many happy and unlucky events, but his families have managed to reach the yearend in peace and in one piece. We would like to thank every one of you reading this message for all that and wish, as every year, you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Masami, Seika and Hideaki
