Waiting to Depart from Kansai International Airport!

We are anticipating a 6PM departure! Our plane has arrived, and we are waiting at the gate. Please track our flight: UA 34! We will see you all soon! 

A wet and rainy farewell

The rain was slowly making it's way in so we had our good bye party at 3 instead of 6 this time. Nothing was going to stop friends and family from showing up and saying thank you. We were joined by distinguished guests as well.  Nanao students each had a speech that spoke to what they liked and how they felt about Jr Wings. Bella gave the final speech of our journey. I know it must have been rough but she did great. Our kids did the Japanese greeting song as well as their dance performance. They rocked big time. AJ and her family surprised everyone with an amazing dance routine as well. Our kids then got to go up with each family and say goodbye. The tears being shed showed just how fast these relationships grew between our kids and their host families. We are so grateful and honored to have been here in Nanao. It has been an awesome week with many great memories. Tomorrow at 5:30am we start our trip back home. It will be sad to leave but the kids have new friends and memories that will last a lifetime.

*More pictures to be posted later

A day in Wajima

We expected rain today and ended up with a very nice day in Wajima. We visited the fish markets where everyone was able to enjoy a little shopping. We then got a chance to decorate our own chopsticks (hashi) by engraving and having them decorated with gold powder. Everyone had great creations. Skylar gave his speech to thank the staff for helping us and giving us a great experience. Great job Skylar! Then we walked to a festival museum. After we left we visited the local beaches with their mass amounts of seashells to collect and some really great tasting ice cream. Tomorrow the students will spend time with their host families and then head over to their farewell party. It's hard to believe that we are nearing the end of our trip.

Thank you to Setsuko, Zeller Sensei and Tara for helping me take pictures today.