~A Tribute to my Japanese Sensei~

today, i visited my japanese sensei's place. think i've never really talked abt my japanese lesson on this blog, but the truth is, it was actually part of my life in Kobe every week for half a year!

last year in Dec, i signed up for free japanese class at the international community center (it was my 3rd try actually, cos places always fill up very fast!). during the first lesson, i was introduced to my volunteer teacher - TM sensei. frankly speaking, i was quite disappointed then. i had been looking forward to a younger teacher, and preferably a lady, not an unfriendly-looking old man! however, i kept my outlook on this one-to-one weekly lesson positive. and soon enuff i started to appreciate TM sensei more and more.

TM sensei retired from his job a few years ago and started being a voluntary teacher to foreigners in Kobe. other than mi, he has also taught students from Czech, Australia, Taiwan and China. TM sensei is a very kind, patient and serious teacher... which makes mi feel bad all the time cos i am a very bad student! =Pp our class was on every monday morning 10am, and sleepyhead mi always overslept and turned up for class at least 15 mins late, once even 30 mins late! but TM sensei never scolded mi... onli gently said tt "young ppl shld sleep more". =P also, TM sensei always spent a lot of effort in preparing teaching materials for mi. he is not a professional teacher, so he put in a lot of work to study the contents in advance. mi, on the other hand, always went to classes unprepared! and TM sensei will slowly teach mi everything in detail.

having said all tt, i still admit tt going for classes every monday morning was quite a drag for mi. each lesson was 2 hours long, and finding topics to talk abt every week can be tough. there were times when both of us were at a loss for words and sat there in awkward silence. TM sensei would often be the first to break it, even tho he always says tt he is usually a man of few words. when the lessons finally finished end of last mth (6-mth system implemented by the community center), i was quite relieved. but i am really very thankful to TM sensei for all his effort and kindness.

so today, i visited him at his place, wanting to pass him some souvenirs i had gotten for him from Singapore. i brought my colleague J along. he came to pick us up from the station as his house is in a rather secluded and inaccessible area. we enjoyed the whole afternoon chit-chatting, eating snacks, and looking thru the travel pictures of him and his wife. then, they brought us to a Chinese restaurant to have dinner b4 going back.


now... i am so so so envious of TM sensei and his wife! firstly, they were actually born on the same year, same mth and same day! July 11th 194? (yup En, same bday as u! =P) how rare for a couple to share the exact same bday! they have 2 daughters - the elder daughter is married to an ex-player of the Hanshin Tigers (yes, the most popular baseball team in Kansai area!), and the younger daughter is a professional violinist. after retirement, TM sensei and his wife have been travelling the world! for the past 2 years, they have been to Europe many times, Egypt, Turkey, Korea, China, SE Asia, etc etc etc.... when they are not travelling, they spend time lazing around on the comfortable massage chairs at home or go hiking up the mountains.

我觉得。。。
这就是我所渴望的“幸福”。
和命中注定的人，
建立一个快乐的家庭，
一起走遍天涯海角，
互相扶持一直到老。
of cos, it wasn't easy for TM sensei b4 he can enjoy such a relaxing life now. he had worked very hard for 30 or 40 years b4 retirement. i'm sure his wife also didn't have an easy time bringing up their daughters and cultivate them into who they are today. now tt they get to enjoy such a carefree lifestyle, they still continue to contribute to society by being volunteers and showing kindness to the young generation like mi. really commendable, i think.

i wish tt i can be like them too in future.