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Back from my vacation before taking a vacation. April 29, 2010

Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Culinary Pursuits, Cultural Exchange, Student Moments.
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And, we’re back. I think. I hope.

I apologize for suddenly dropping off the face of the Blogsphere for about a week. My workload suddenly and severely increased last week and then I’ve been sick for most of this week. We can thank one of my extremely overzealous and somewhat unhealthy students for giving me a lovely bacterial infection last Friday. Thankfully, it seems to be gone now.

I wish I had more to report besides work and illness, but that’s more or less been my life for the past week. The school year is picking up in earnest and I am met with an abundance of English enthusiasm from my students no matter where I turn. This is a good thing, though. I am not complaining. I’ve worked very hard for a very long time to convince these children that Foreign Language is Fun! It’s about time that I get to enjoy the fruits of my labors.

So, I suppose that I’m behind on memories here. My last post was April 20th, so I need to account for the last nine days. That’s a fairly substantial task, so we’d best be getting to it.

1) I went on a field trip with my first year middle school students. We made butter, spoke in English, and drove the home room teachers crazy. I had a lot of fun talking with Kanemoto, who tried to establish a line of credit as far as my English Reward system is concerned. It seems that I am going to have to take a course in micro and macro economics in order to run things efficiently.

2) I met my new first year students at Thursday’s elementary school and it was Love At First Sight. This is the first class I’ve ever encountered where the entire group has come to play with me during lunch time – and they want to play in ENGLISH. We haven’t even had class together yet, and they already know how to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.

3) Last week, I got an unholy number of letters from the students at Friday’s elementary school. And the new year finally begins in earnest.

4) Saturday was rainy. I may or may not have been homesick. I made brownies and watched movies. Then I went out and saw Alice in Wonderland at the movie theater. This movie made me exceptionally happy because of the rampant Jabberwocky references. I guess the 23rd/24th was the weekend when most of my students went to see Alice as well, because my second years (who you may recall had to memorize the Jabberwocky last year) were Very Excited that they Got the References to the Poem. And in this way, an honest-to-goodness English teacher was born.

5) I cleaned on Sunday. And made this soup! My father and I really like Brazilian food, and so it was his idea to make feijoada (black beans and pork soup). It was one of our better ideas – I really enjoyed it!

6) On Monday, my second year students and I discussed the Jabberwocky. Kanemoto also followed me around most of the day so that he could speak English and get more money. I also got a ridiculous number of letters from my first year students. The students’ enthusiasm is good. Very good. Very, very good as a matter of fact.

7) Tuesday I was at Thursday’s elementary school because of a schedule change. We were supposed to go on a small field trip, but the weather was rainy and so it was postponed. Things worked out rather well, though, because I had more time to get to know the new first year students. One again, the entire class (all nineteen students) came to talk to me during recess and we had a lot of loud, giggly, ridiculous fun.

8) This was a particularly entertaining day. During the lunch break, Hannah Montana, Hermione, Kanemoto, My #1 Fan, and some other students all gathered around me to speak English (and get Julie Money). Hannah Montana and I were in rare form, and just about everything that happened was very loud and very funny. Lucky for me, despite the excessive volume, The Awesome Vice Principal did not get mad at me (this time).

9) On Saturday morning, The Japanese Best Friend and I are heading up to Tokyo for a few days. We’ve decided to save money by driving instead of taking the train, and so we’re preparing for this venture by stocking up on movies and snacks. To this end, Thursday baking zucchini bread, shopping for supplies, and trying to get organized.

And, that’s a very quick rundown of what’s been going on. I apologize (once again…) for the sudden breakdown in communication. Hopefully we’ll be back on track next week!

On a journey to the stars
Far below, we leave forever
Dreams of what we were

Thank God for chocolate chip cookies. February 14, 2010

Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Just Bizarre, Lessons Learned, Student Moments.
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2 comments

Because they are what saved my sanity this week.

I apologize for more or less taking a week off from writing. This week was a bit “difficult,” because I was “feeling culture shock” and so slightly “emo.”

When I first got to Japan, I clung to the belief that the longer I was here, the less I would suffer from culture shock. This is both true and not true. Although it doesn’t happen to me as often as it did when I first arrived, there are still moments when I feel confused, overwhelmed, misunderstood, and unappreciated. I think the more that time passes, the more my culture shock manifests when I feel as though my schools are taking advantage of me or being even ever-so-slightly condescending about my foreigner status. Once the month of February begins, the chances of me getting this kind of culture shock increase exponentially. For a variety of reasons (which I will not go into, but one of them happens to be that all of my pets tend to die in February), I am not a fan of the second month of the year.

And on that note, let’s move on…

So we appear to be seven memories behind schedule. To keep this from becoming unnecessarily long, we’ll just quickly go day by day.

Monday
This was the beginning of my Ms. Grumpy McGrumpgrump phase, so looking back on this all I really recall is a dark cloud of … er, grumpiness. One saving grace about the day, though, happened when I went by Thursday’s elementary school to talk to The Mentor about the class we were going to have on Wednesday. When I arrived, the teachers at the school were extremely friendly and welcoming. Even The Mentor, who occasionally bristles at me interrupting his afternoon plans so we can chat, was happy to see me and quite helpful.

Tuesday
This was one of those days where I Did. Not. Want. To. Go. To. Work. This happens very rarely, and even I was surprised by the vehemence of my emotions. Still, I pulled myself together and managed to get out the door and to school. I’m glad that I was able to do this, because the class I had with The Savant, Mary Sunshine, The Boss, Hyde, and The Policeman was worth it. More than worth it. It’s probably the best class I’ve ever had with them, and we’ve had some pretty amazing ones.

The kids have been testing a lot lately, and so I thought a free day with a music video and a trivia/review game would be good therapy for them. I was right, and we all really enjoyed the activities. I’m not sure if the kids were inspired, insane, or perhaps some combination of the two. Whatever it was, they were hilarious. The Savant took it upon himself to police and overly analyze every team’s answer to every question given, and he challenged me on obscure grammatical points. The Boss kept flattering me in an attempt to get me to call on his team again after they’d given an incorrect answer. At one point Hyde tackled The Savant in an attempt to keep him from answering a question. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in class before. Those 50 minutes made my week.

Wednesday
This was a pretty standard day at Thursday’s elementary school. I was here a day early because we had a holiday on Thursday, and so my schedule shifted around a bit.  Anyway, after school, I spent a rather enjoyable fifteen minutes goofing off with Fievel and his brother, who had to stay behind to wait for their bus. The War Between Fievel and My Little Monkey has more or less resolved into a  stalemate. When The Monkey is around, Fievel tends to make himself scarce, and when Fievel is around, The Monkey quickly loses interest. Usually Fievel gets to me first, and so I haven’t had a chance to see The Monkey a lot since the third term started. Still, both are around to some degree and both still regard me as a walking, talking jungle gym.

Wednesday was also noteworthy because I got to see Avatar for a third time. ^_____^

Thursday
I was thankful because my second visit to the dentist to deal with this root canal treatment went well. Days without tooth pain are, by default, good days.

Friday
This was spent at, not surprisingly, Friday’s elementary school. Although I’m tempted to use some time I spent with my sixth years as this day’s memory, something else happened that was more exciting.

On Wednesday of last week, the teachers at Friday’s elementary school had a meeting about the English program. I wasn’t able to attend the meeting (mostly because I wasn’t invited), but the principal came by my desk on Friday to talk to me about it. To make a long conversation short, here’s what she told me:

1) The fifth and sixth grade teachers want more of my input regarding their lessons during this next school year.
2) The first through fourth grade teachers are also willing to make more time to talk to me prior to our classes.
3) The teachers are interested in having me involved in other subjects besides English.

Yeah, number three made me do a double take, too. I was most definitely *not* expecting that little gem.

So, here’s the story as far as I understand it. The teachers know that my plan is to go back to the States to teach, and they’ve noticed that I’ve been going to a lot of the training seminars and lectures around town. I suppose this has made an impression on them, because now they’re interested in having me in more of a “ALT/Teacher in Training” role. I think the rationale here is that it will give me an opportunity to get more experience, and it will also create a closer working relationship between the homeroom teachers and me. With this system, they’ll feel a bit more comfortable around me and we can talk more about what could happen in the English lessons.

To make this happen, I think the plan is for me to start observing some of the regular language arts and math classes. If things go well and I begin to get involved, then the school is open to me eventually trying my hand at teaching a lesson or two myself. I didn’t even know that this opportunity was possible, and I’m really excited about it. As you can probably surmise, this news did a lot to soften the negative mood I’d been in throughout the week.

And seeing Avatar a fourth time didn’t hurt, either. ^_^

Saturday
This was a very lazy day for me. I made chocolate chip cookies and made more plans for Spring Break. As of now, my plan is to head up to Osaka on March 26th and stay for a couple of nights. I have an appointment at day spa for Saturday morning and tickets to see Wicked on Saturday night. I am very, very, very excited about this trip. I am also very, very, very happy that I’ve been able to arrange the details of this trip by myself.

Sunday
I spent the morning getting some things together for school and then went to watch open lessons at my Friday elementary school in the afternoon. (Open lessons are lessons held for the parents to observe.) I had a rather hilarious ten minute giggle-fest with my sixth year students before their lesson began, and that episode combined with a rather fantastic lecture that I heard in the afternoon helped to round out my ascent from the depths of Grumpy.

This next week is going to be somewhat long and intense. I have (as usual) a lot of things I need to get planned and made, and then next Saturday I’m going to a day-long seminar on elementary English. Hopefully, this will give me some fresh ideas and perspective.

And hopefully, I’ll be able to keep all of you with me along the way this time. ^_~

Tan sólo he venido
a estar contigo
a ser tu amigo
a compartir con mi Dios

Two Words: ICE CREAM! February 1, 2010

Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, ice cream, Student Moments.
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Where ICE CREAM = I Cant Exactly Choose (Raccoon!!) Enjoy All Moments!

Yes, just to show that there is always time for ICE CREAM (and thus, time for a post), I present to you in short, spastic bits, the contents of my weekend and Monday. It’s crude and inartistic at best, but in the interests of not progressing to a “Saturday-Sunday-Monday-Tuesday!!! Update!!!!”, it is quite necessary. I should be able to get back on a regular posting schedule as of Tuesday evening.

(Fun English Fact: It’s not “unartistic,” it’s “inartistic.” Fancy that.)

Onward!

~ Saturday, I cleaned. Cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I also righted the balance of the universe with an epic conversation with Jyona33. I suppose I should be concerned with the degree to which this man has an influence over my daily affairs, but we all need a few people like this in our lives. Otherwise, who would tell me where I should go on vacation in Japan? Or how to subtly convey to my coworkers that I would rather they not ask me about how I lose weight? Or instruct me on how to improve in the centipede race?? These are heavy topics that require the most delicate and thoughtful of consultations.

~ Saturday, I also danced. Danced and danced and danced and danced. I danced in preparation for:

~ Sunday’s Culture Festival!

Actually, let’s take a break from our ICE CREAM and go into a little more of a prose style here, because the events of Sunday are worth slowing down for.

In short, it was chaotic. I don’t think I’ve ever been so busy at a culture festival, and this includes the years when I was co-running the music club at the middle school. Those years required a lot of preparation ahead of time, but after our performance at 9:30 in the morning I was free for the rest of the day. That was most definitely not the case last Sunday.

The morning started out responsibility-free. I showed up to work, and then went to the gym to entertain the third year students until the rest of the classes and their parents arrived. We then watched presentations from all the classes, most of which were musical ensembles of some sort. I have to say that the first and sixth grade classes stole the show.

Many of you are already aware of the deep affection I feel for The First Years. To say that they are my favorite class does not properly express the emotion I feel for them; it’s more substantial than that. They are, honestly, the most amazing group of children I think I’ve ever encountered. They’re sweet. They’re enthusiastic. They can dance. And most importantly, they are so fantastically innocent and earnest in their beliefs that they do the most ridiculous things.

Here’s an example: during the first month of school, The Mentor caught them running down the hallway. He’s the sixth grade teacher and so already quite an imposing figure to their first year minds. The Mentor can also be very intimidating, so 99.9% of the time his commands are followed. (And I have it on good authority that the one student sometime, somewhere, who didn’t do what The Mentor asked was never heard from again.)

Anyway, so The Mentor caught them running in the hallway and told them to stop. He explained that students are not supposed to run in the hallways at school and that it’s dangerous. The First Years were so taken with this notion and so altered by this encounter, however, that they took him to mean that they’re not allowed to run at school EVER. Their home room teacher was eventually able to convince them (after about a week) that they are allowed to run outside.  Yet, to this day, if they ever see The Mentor watching them when they’re on the playground, they always slow down to a walk.

Now, how can you possibly not be enamored with these children??

So, given these emotional lenses that I had on while watching their performance (a recitation about their class and how much fun school is), it’s no surprise that it was my favorite. To be fair, the sixth grade play about traveling through time and bringing back noteworthy inventions from various historic eras was pretty sweet, too. I was impressed with how clear and loud their voices were; their public speaking has improved a lot over the last couple of years.

Okay, so the presentations ended at around eleven and then I lent a hand cleaning up the gym. This took awhile, though, and it only left me with about ten minutes for lunch, after which I went back to the gym to do my dance. I’d debated whether or not to leave my handsprings in the routine, but it was good that I did since I think that move was the crowd favorite. My dance was followed by the sixth grader’s final concert (they like to get dressed up, form bands, and sing to the school) and the afternoon activity corners.

As you will probably recall, my dance troupe lead one of the afternoon sessions, and that was also entertaining (if a bit busy). The kids did a really great job with memorizing the dance and I liked helping them out. The  various five to ten minute breaks were also enjoyable as the children sought fit to drag me into a variety of games (most of them requiring me to chase the children around the gym). Some of my middle school students also stopped by, and so it was fun to chat with them when I had the time.

Okay, moving slightly back into ICE CREAM form now, let’s recap the specific memories we’re tagging here:

Saturday: Jyona33 provides timeless wisdom to aid me on my life’s journey
Sunday: I am a dancing fool and The First Years’ performance left me in such a state of beatitude that I hereby pledge my life (for the next year and three months) to giving them the best English lessons I can.
That leaves us with Monday!

Monday was quiet, and perhaps marked by numerous interactions with Hannah Montana and Aphrodite. The Savant and Mary Sunshine were at a high school orientation, and so my usual suspects weren’t around. This time of year is always interesting, because although the third year students haven’t graduated yet, they’re not around as much and I don’t do many things with them in class. It’s the time of year when I start to shift my attentions more to the first and second years, and I try to prepare to say goodbye. We only have about a month and a half left of the term, and it’s going to go by quickly.

Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen. A lot of interesting things are coming our way.

Are we making progress? I think we’re making progress. January 29, 2010

Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical, Lessons Learned.
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So… Friday! Although since I took both Monday and Tuesday off, I don’t suppose I can relish the weekend to the same degree as those plucky souls that put in a full five days. Still, I was thankful for it all the same – especially since I was up until 2:30 in the morning working on letters for the kids. I’m still a little behind on my letter responses, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was. Thankfully, my students have been somewhat restrained over the last two weeks and so I’m not buried under new letters in addition to the ones that still require responses.

I can probably summarize Friday best by saying that it was a day where things returned to normal. Last week’s classes went well enough, but the pace was unusually slow for Friday’s school. I found myself with not a lot to do during the lunch break, and that is a strange phenomenon indeed. Today, though, it was fairly chaotic from start to finish.

I think that what particularly struck me about Friday, though, was the way that I interacted with the teachers at the elementary school. My relationship with this school has always been a little strange, but I think that things are beginning to turn in a more positive direction.

When I first came to Japan, I categorized my elementary schools thusly:

Thursday’s elementary school was cold, distant, a tiny bit arrogant, and very institutional.
Friday’s elementary school was relaxed, warm, laid back, and mellow.

As time passed, the ice at Thursday’s school melted. I got to know the kids, I formed relationships with the teachers, my classes improved, and the present atmosphere is nothing at all like the way it was when I first arrived. The equation for success here is simple:

More Time + More Effort = Happy School and Happy Julie

Unfortunately, the situation at Friday’s school has not been that simple. There has not been a simple More Time = More Happiness equation at work here.

Although things started out warm and welcoming, I think that my desire to be more than your standard ALT confused them. They grew unsure as to what to do with me and how to react to the changes I made in my lessons or my willingness to help out at special events. I think that they’ve also been confused by how long I’ve stayed in Japan. Although our relations have never been cold, they have been awkward.

I can see the circumstances for what they are, and because I’m so welcomed at my middle school, I don’t tend to feel neglected at the elementary schools. I suppose I try to go into these schools with the perspective that I’m not so much an elementary school teacher, but rather a middle school teacher on loan. This perspective useful and works 99% of the time.

The one time that it doesn’t work is when the teachers at the Friday elementary school force me into that stupid centipede race. In addition to the crushing humiliations that I suffer Every Year, I’m never invited to the party that the teachers have in the evening. (That they talk about this party in front of me only adds salt to the wounds. ) Although I am enough of a staff member to be forced into participating in this ridiculous event, I am not enough of one to warrant an invitation to the staff party afterward. As you can tell, this is still kind of a sore point for me, and it hasn’t helped smooth over the aforementioned Awkwardness.

Over the last two Fridays, though, I’ve felt a change in the winds. As with most things that happen to me in Japan, I’m not sure what the cause is for the recent resurgence of warm relations. Still, I found that the teachers were more willing to interact with me as a colleague. We talked about the students, about our winter vacations, about the upcoming 6th grade graduation, and even about little things that happened throughout the day. The principal even came by and spoke with me at length about the letters that the students and I write to each other. I explained the way that I write my letters and show her how the students copy my letters in their responses to me. I suppose that since I tend to feel somewhat taken for granted at this school, it’s been nice to see others taking an interest in my work.

To be fair to my Japanese colleagues, I know that my role is very strange for them. I’m not technically a teacher; I didn’t go to college for ESL and I don’t even have the Japanese ability to help in closing this training gap that exists between us. In addition, over the years my role has grown into something different from what they’re used to, and past methods of dealing with ALTs don’t work with me what I bring to the table. Add to this mix my youth relative to my coworkers and my being at school just once a week, and you have a very complicated situation. There isn’t a precedent to follow here, and we’re all making the story up as we go along.

Still, after the way that things have settled over the past two weeks, I feel as though my relationship with both of my elementary schools is probably the best that it’s been in the last three and a half years. I suppose I should be bemused that it’s taken so long to get to this point. But, as the title of today’s post says, I think we’re making progress. That’s about as much as I can hope for.

‘Cause love’s such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for the people
On the edge of the night

Fall Term Top 10 December 19, 2009

Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, Enkai Aftermath, Julie Gets Philosophical, Lessons Learned, Student Moments, Taking Initiative, Time to Party, Top Ten.
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At the moment (which would be Sunday morning in Japan), I have one day left of honest to goodness work ahead of me. Today’s plan is to make cookies for my coworkers at the elementary schools and to write replies to all of the letters that I got last week from my students. Once that’s done, then this week is all about preparing for my trip on Wednesday.

(And also making Christmas cookies for my middle school students on Tuesday, but that’s more fun and less work.)

I thought about writing memories from Thursday through Saturday as I usually would, but I think that this is a good time for me to take a step back and do a Fall Term Top 10 Memory Countdown. The week is going to be a little hectic and I’m not sure what my posting schedule will be like.

So, let’s get to it!

10) Jiman (自慢)
Last Friday, I went to a Bon Enkai, or an “End of the Year Party” with my coworkers from the middle school. I really enjoy these parties because it’s a chance for us all to relax and talk about the variety of things that have happened during the year. We also play games. One game that we played this year involved choosing a card out of a deck that one of the teachers had made, and then talking about whatever was written on that card. My card had jiman (自慢) written on it. It means “pride,” and so my task was to talk about something that I was proud of.

It took me a few minutes to decide what to talk about – I had a lot of memories to go through. Ultimately, I chose to talk about the feelings that I always have right before our school does the cultural festival. Everyone always works so hard and does their best to get everything ready for the students and parents. I remember my first culture festival three years ago, and how inspired I was by what the teachers were doing. I was proud to be considered even a partial member of the faculty, and I wanted to do my best to become an active member of the team.

Every year when the culture festival comes around, I remember this feeling and renew my resolution. I’m proud to be considered a teacher at my middle school, and I’m proud of the relationships and associations that I have with the other faculty members.

Incidentally, this party was also fun because they surprised me with a birthday cake. There are definitely some perks to being born near the holiday season. ^___^

9) Inspired By Halloween
Looking back at the different lessons that I’ve done over the course of the term, I think that my best ones were around the end of October. Some noteworthy activities included: assigning my JHS students to memorize parts of Thriller, and dressing up like a witch and turning my elementary students into animals. I had a lot of fun with my students and I think that they learned a lot. Trying to find a balance between those two elements is perhaps the perpetual tightrope walk that defines my job.

8) The Japanese Best Friend and I Help The Japanese Economy
The time between September and Now was a busy time of me as far as shopping was concerned. I made several trips to Nagoya and then The Japanese Best Friend and I certainly paid our dues in Yokkaichi and Suzuka.

To some degree, I have always enjoyed shopping. I like interacting with store clerks, talking about merchandise, and considering deals and bargains. I also like buying things for other people; some of my best memories in Japan are from sitting in department store coffee shops while going over gift lists. In this vein, I suspect that my interest in shopping has increased over the last few years; it’s pretty difficult to live in Japan for an extended period of time and not become fond of shopping. Quite simply, it’s a national pastime. Every Sunday, in lieu of the religious festivities that tend to characterize the American Sunday atmosphere, Japan embarks on Commercial Celebrations of all sorts. It’s the one day of the week that most people are guaranteed a day off (unless they work in retail), and so most families go out in force.

I particularly like shopping with The Japanese Best Friend because we are very good about helping each other Not Feel Guilty for any of the following: expensive purchases, embarrassingly good bargains, afternoon tea, extravagant meals, or clothing that is on the adventurous side. Afternoons with her also inevitably involve great conversation and more than a little social commentary that puts my life into perspective.

7) Connecting With the Elusive and Mysterious 6th Graders
I think that of all the classes that I teach, the 6th grade elementary school students are the most difficult. Personality-wise, they’re at an awkward age where they don’t quite connect with the younger kids at their school, but they’re not ready to become a part of the middle school culture. Each year, this class always turns into some kind of secret society. They don’t go out on to the playground as much, and they are more likely to stay in their classroom during recess, enjoying each other’s company and reveling the various inside jokes crafted over the last six years.

Creating lessons that are both interesting and helpful to these kinds of students is always a challenge. This year has been more challenging than others because the 6th grade home room teachers have also taken on the mantle of English Education and so they’ve been preparing their own classes. So far, we’ve been able to work together, but it’s hard to tell what the students think of all these changes. I’m concerned on their behalf because I want them to feel confident and prepared for English lessons at the middle school. I also want them to look forward to these lessons, and to another year of studying with me.

As such, I’m really happy that over the last term, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with more of my 6th year students.  I’ve found a stable and reliable partner in Yoshi, and there are other people who are also coming out of the woodwork. I know that we’ll become even closer when they make the move to the middle school (and I see them three times a week), but I’m happy to see what we’ve already been able to accomplish.

6) New Hobbies and Friends
This fall also saw the introduction of DJ Ozma, his family, and the Dance Troupe. It’s good that I took the initiative to get involved in this group; it’s only been a few months, but they’ve already shared a lot with each other. I know that the winter months will be a little quiet as far as festivals are concerned, but I expect that the pace will pick back up once spring starts. I’m looking forward to having a full summer with them, and to all of the events that we’ll go to together.

5) How To Be a Better Teacher in Ten Easy Steps
Thanks in part to The Mentor and The JTE’s interventions, I’ve had the chance to go to a variety of seminars and open lessons this fall. I didn’t really go to these kinds of training meetings before this year, and so it’s another way that my schedule has changed with the fourth year.

I’m really grateful for this change, though, because I’ve learned a lot from it. Even though the seminars aren’t always focused on English, they have given me some insight into how the Japanese view education: what they think is important, what methods work best, and what the goals are. This helps me to tailor my lessons more to the students and the kinds of lessons that they’re used to, and it also assists me in discussing lesson plans with my coworkers. Even though my teaching style and methods appear to be successful, I think it’s important for me to remember that there are always new things to try and new philosophies to consider. There are still a lot of things that I don’t know.

4) And The Savant’s Ego Shall Have No Dominion*
Ah, The Savant. This fall term was a busy one for him – he’s been quite feisty and active since day one, beginning with a whopper of a lie about how he broke his leg and lasting up to last Wednesday when he and Macho Man wrote each other Christmas Love Notes.

I’ve mentioned this several times, but our interactions this fall honestly have been somewhat novel – he really did ignore me for the first two years of his middle school career. I’m happy about the change, though, because I enjoy our banter. I don’t have many opportunities to be perverse and contrary (as he puts it), because most of my students don’t have the ability to understand that kind of English. I can be silly and playful in Japanese, but I can’t be sarcastic – that’s an English device.

The Savant, though. He gets sarcasm, which means that he is able to understand me more fully than most of the other people that I interact with. I’m going to miss him when he graduates next March – a part of my voice is going to be silenced, at least for a little while.

 *Incidentally, since this is now the second time I’ve made a reference to this particular Dylan Thomas poem, you should go check it out if you’re not familiar with it.

3) Lunchtime Dance Sessions
Ah, Mary Sunshine. She’s someone else that I’m going to miss terribly when March 9th (and graduation) comes around. Things were really busy during the first part of the term, and so our regular recess English study sessions were put on hold so that we could attend to other duties. Since November, though, we’ve been able to reconnect through our dance practices.

I’m grateful for these practices for a number of reasons. One reason being that it’s fun to dance with her. She’s got rhythm, and combined with a great attitude it means that she learns quickly and (if I may say so) we look really cool together. It’s also fun to show somebody this part of my culture, and this part of my past. A lot of the dance moves are things that I did when I was in marching band in high school, and it’s rewarding to share them with (and pass them on to) her. In the way that The Savant understands me more fully because he gets my snark, Mary Sunshine understands me more because she gets how I groove. 

2) Christmas Cards
So, I mentioned earlier that I’m going to be giving my elementary school coworkers Christmas cookies. What I’ve also arranged this year, is to give each of the home room teachers a Christmas card from their students and me. This was a little tricky to arrange, as I needed to find a contact from each grade and send them out into the world with the Christmas card for a week in the hopes that they would get their classmates to sign it. The icing on the cake of this endeavor was that they were to do it without their home room teacher seeing it.

Many things could have kept this plan from working, including neglect, a general misunderstanding of what exactly it was that we were doing, or just plain forgetfulness. The 1st year classes at both schools had some problems. One class signed it and gave it to their teacher on the very first day (instead of returning it to me a week later so that I could give the teachers their cards and cookies together), and the other class didn’t understand what I wanted and so just copied a number of random English words that they found around the school. We also had some problems with the 5th years at Thursday’s elementary school, because they made the teacher sign his own card and then they gave it to him. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong there.

The rest of the cards, however, didn’t have any problems. The kids were excited about the subterfuge involved in getting the cards signed without their home room teacher’s knowledge, and they were extremely melodramatic enthusiastic about the process. My Little Monkey was my contact for the 2nd years at Thursday’s elementary school, and I think he walked around for the entire week with the card stuffed inside of his shirt.

Still, I now have eight signed cards ready and waiting to be delivered on Monday afternoon. I hope that the teachers enjoy receiving them. I really liked putting this whole project together; I feel that it shows something special about the way that the students and I can interact with each other.

1) Fievel VS My Little Monkey
By far, my favorite memories from this fall semester have revolved around the growing Fievel and My Little Monkey saga. On one hand, you have Fievel. Formerly small, quiet, shy, and introverted, he has blossomed into a very quick, brazen, and vocal young man (at least around me). I think that he wants to become a different person than the person that he was when we first met. When I was arranging for the aforementioned Christmas Card project, I asked him if he’d be willing to help me out with his class. I could tell that he wanted to help me, but he just felt too shy. When I gave it to one of his classmates instead, he turned to me and said: “Next year. Next year I can do it. Next year, I’ll be ready to do it.” If what he says is true, and talking with me is giving him the confidence to talk and interact more directly with the members of his own class, then that’s one of the most fantastic gifts that I could be given.

On the other hand, poised against this rising star, you have My Little Monkey. It’s been funny to see them interact, because although Fievel is older than the Monkey, the Monkey is, well… the Monkey. He is loud, hilarious, incorrigible, and never, ever knows when to back down. If you could call their interactions “encounters” or “battles,” then I would say that Fievel tends to be the victor because he stays long after the Monkey has lost interest and has gone to conquer other parts of the school. Still, the Monkey always comes back, and is kind of oblivious to Fievel‘s designs for Total Julie Dominion.

It’s quite funny.

I like having them both in my elementary school life because it gives me the opportunity to cater to two very different kinds of students. Typically, I work best with the loud students because they give me more material to work with. The quiet ones are more difficult for me to reach because I have to go after the content and pull the material out of them. That can be time-consuming and very tricky; I’m still not very good at it. Working with Fievel, though, I think I’ve learned more about how the process works, and I understand the Quiet Student Mentality a lot more than I used to. With the Monkey, well, he keeps my skills honed and my wit sharp – I need it to counter his brain and all of the havoc that it wreaks.

Looking back at the many events have transpired in the fall term, it appears that somehow, someway, I am managing to stay at the top of my game (whatever that may be). These top ten memories are perhaps the most vivid and expressive ways I can think to sum up the one particularly important thought I have about this fall semester: I survived.

And soon, it will be time for a well-deserved break in the Homeland.

Listen to the bells as they ring
Listen to the message they bring
Listen to the sound
As they sing as one voice in the night

My children abuse me because they love me. December 10, 2009

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Seriously, though. I’m starting to wonder if there’s such a thing as helping a child acquire too much confidence.

Today’s memory (which I don’t have a lot of time to write about, unfortunately) comes from Fievel, who is now just plain cheeky when it comes to our interactions. He has long since soundly defeated My Little Monkey in the battle for my attention during recess, and he is positively gloating about it. The Monkey’s dignity can be seen stretched out between long posts on any given beach in Japan, much in the manner that the Greeks used to set up trophies with articles gathered from their vanquished foes.

Still, I really enjoy this feistier, snarkier Fievel. He’s positively hilarious. Below is a sample of some of today’s interactions:

Fievel:   Ask me an English question.
Me: Okay, do you have money?
Fievel: Yes, I do.
Me: Can I have some?
Fievel: No way.*

*Please note that this “No way” was probably the most definite “no way” that he could’ve given me. Its meaning actually surpasses the simple sense of “No way,” and lands somewhere in the realm of: “No way, you have to be kidding me, I wouldn’t give you money if you were blind, barefoot, covered in your own filth and attracting carrion, in the rain, struggling uphill. In the cold.” **

**Also please note that after he answered me in this fashion, he immediately began to search my folders for a sticker.

Another interaction:
Fievel: I want another question.
Me: No way.*** You’ve already gotten, like, fifteen stickers today. I’m cutting you off. You’re becoming an addict.
Fievel: I’ve only gotten eleven! ****

***Note that this was a polite version of “No way.”
****Also please note that a single sticker card only has places for twenty stickers. Apparently finishing half a card in less than a day when he doesn’t even HAVE English class is too slow for some people.

Fievel was also entertaining because his desire to remain an entire sticker card ahead of his brother is so strong, that any time his brother was denied an extra chance to get a sticker (which happened anytime a new person came along that wanted to talk to me), he would chortle with glee. I chose that word specifically for this situation, mind you. It wasn’t a giggle. It wasn’t a chuckle. It wasn’t a guffaw or a snort or a snicker. So help me God, he chortled, and danced around, swinging my arms in time with his steps. I probably needn’t add that he did this with an expression of absolute triumph.

But by far, the highlight of my day happened right near the end of the lunch recess. Fievel and his brother were both hanging around, trying to get one last sticker out of me before cleaning time started. Eventually, I decided that the best way to settle this would be to pit them against each other in an “English Alphabet Writing” competition. I wrote out the letters A through L on the board and gave them both a marker. Fievel was visibly agitated, and with good reason: he actually doesn’t know how to write English letters and his brother has been working with them for most of the year. I could see that he felt as though I were throwing him to the wolves. 

Imagine his shock when, after telling them to start, I grabbed his hand and started drawing the letters for him. We went through the big letters, the small letters, and then I threw in the Greek alphabet just to be extra ridiculous. His brother didn’t have a chance in the world, and he couldn’t decide if he was amused or indignant. Fievel was caught between unstoppable laughter and acute embarrassment; I admit it was all quite the spectacle. After it was over, he turned to me and said: “I can’t believe that just happened.”

Welcome to my world, little guy.

Final exam grades are in! December 8, 2009

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And unfortunately for The Savant (yet fortunately for me!), he did *not* get a 100% on his exam. He only managed a 98%. His argument is that he was too busy getting a 100% on his math exam, and there is only so much perfection that the universe can handle. I told him that his English failure was just further proof that his life is riddled with lies and deceit. He has been made aware that the bonds of trust between us are tenuous at best, and that I await our every encounter with the fear that he is going to further damage my fragile sense of reality. Thankfully, Mary Sunshine is always present to add warmth and security to my existence.

So, as you can see, the battle rages on…

I apologize for taking some time to get back to posting. Last week (and the weekend) really did me in and I needed Monday to recover. Yet here we are now, with memories ready and waiting. 

Friday
Friday was a pretty typical day at the elementary school. The kids were loquacious and insatiable as usual, and they kept me busy for most of the day.

There were a lot of cute incidents from the school, but I actually want to focus on something that happened when I returned to my apartment. Recently, my town’s Board of Education has hinted that they might be willing to let me move into another apartment in my building. This new apartment is substantially larger than the apartment that I have now (which is only one room), and the price is comparable. Before deciding if I actually want to move, though, they loaned me the key to the apartment and said I was free to look around.

The first time that I went and saw the apartment, I really didn’t like it. Granted, I didn’t go to look at it at perhaps the wisest time, ie: by myself, at night, while it was raining. Wandering around a cavernous dwelling with a flashlight and the sound of thunder outside is pretty much the exact environment one’s imagination needs to cultivate the certainty that all it takes is one half-turn in front of a hallway mirror to summon the dead. I just about gave myself a heart attack. -_-;
 
So, I went back on Friday afternoon. When the sun was shining.
 
It’s big, and I do mean big. It has a living room that is about the size of my current apartment, two tatami rooms, and an extra room with a wooden floor. The bathroom is bigger, and all of the rooms have actual doors that separate them from each other. It’s actually so spacious that it makes me nervous. I was talking to The Japanese Best Friend about whether or not I should take the new apartment, and she told me that if I didn’t then I was being stupid. Granted, SHE isn’t the one faced with battling the cosmic undead forces by herself, but I didn’t feel as though bringing up this point of view would help me during that discussion.

So, anyway, after a lot of thought, I do think that I’m going to move into the new apartment. At the very least, it will give my guests their own room when they come and visit.


Saturday
Saturday was my Thanksgiving day! I drove to The Japanese Best Friend’s house (it’s about an hour and a half away), and then we cooked from eight in the morning until six in the evening. We did two pies (pumpkin and apple), a twelve pound turkey, stuffing, soups, sides, the works. Just about everything was made from scratch, which made me happy. We had a number of our friends over (there were nine people total), and then ended the night by watching a movie. It was a lovely day.

I think that my favorite moment happened at about 4:30. We’d just checked the turkey and decided that it needed a little more time. Then, suddenly, and I’m not quite sure why… we both decided that the best place in the house was in fact right in front of the oven, and so we sat down in front of it and rested our backs against the cabinets. Sitting there talking with her, watching the turkey cook, and basking in well-earned exhaustion was just the greatest feeling. It’s my most vivid memory from the evening, and an image I hope I can keep with me forever.

Sunday
Sunday was perhaps the climax in one of the longest weeks I’ve ever had. I’d stayed over at The Japanese Best Friend’s house the night before, and so I left from there at about seven in the morning to go to Tsu City for a seminar about elementary English education. It lasted the whole day, and it wasn’t until after five in the evening that I started the two and a half hour drive back to my apartment.

The seminar was interesting. I heard a number of things that I want to think about some more, and I have some new ideas that I want to try starting next January. My favorite part of the day, though, was driving back home.

It’s kind of hard to explain, but I feel as though the longer that I’m here, the more I’m able to see and hear. It’s as if my eyesight and hearing actually improve; my impressions grow clearer. On the way back, I stopped at this kind of eclectic grocery store, altered my route so that I could stop at Starbucks, and then took back roads the rest of the way home. This familiarity with the area, along with the experiences from the week and weekend, brought reality into focus for me. I felt … normal. I felt as though I were a part of what was going on around me. I liked that feeling.
 

Monday
Monday was amazing because it was blessedly normal. I danced with Mary Sunshine, harassed The Savant, and reassured The Policeman that despite not doing so well on his final exams, he still has skillz.

Tuesday
Today I had one of the most remarkable lessons with one of my second year classes. The JTE gave me the class, and so I planned for us to have one short game and then a longer one (both of which are fairly popular).

I’m not exactly sure what it was about the alignment of the universe’s forces today, but the second year class we taught during third period LOVED both of these games. They loved these games the way no one has loved these games before. I have never, ever seen these kids so enthusiastic. Even the student who usually exerts all of his energy into NOT doing as much as possible got into the activities.

One of the things I was having the students do in this game was bring various items to me or the The JTE (and occasionally to each other). I would call out a command, like: “Bring me four erasers,” and then the students would have to try to do it as quickly as possible. The kicker, though, was that they were never sure what exactly I would be calling out. I was kind of tricky, and would make vague references to pictures from their textbook or items that they had to actually go through their desks to find. For some reason, this was both hilarious and fun for them. They began to pile as many things as they could on top of their desks, trying to anticipate what I might call out next. At one point, the entire class stopped for five minutes because we couldn’t stop laughing about a mistake one of the teams made.

Unfortunately, the second grade class that we had fourth period wasn’t quite so enamored with the lessons. Still, one out of two isn’t bad, especially when that one is solid gold. ^o^

And that’s what I’ve been up to. The rest of this week shouldn’t be quite so intense, although I have 32 letters waiting for my lovingly crafted replies. For someone who was never (and to some degree is not) much of a letter writer, I’m certainly getting a lot of practice.


And the one poor child who saved this world
And there’s ten million more that probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

This one takes me way back … December 3, 2009

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Today, I don’t even have time to work on limiting my writing to 50 meaningful and appropriate words. -_- My mountain of work awaits. The reason that things are so hectic this week is that I’ve had to make all my schools’ monthly posters. Well, my elementary schools’ monthly posters, and my middle school’s “what was supposed to be a monthly poster but I haven’t actually made a new one since September because things have been so insane” poster.

Anyway, these posters take me between three and six hours to make, depending on the level of detail that I opt to go into. This month’s posters are all about the winter holidays, and so there’s a lot to include. Also, my elementary school lessons for this month include a project where the kids make paper ornaments to stick on to a massive Christmas tree that I made. This is a great project, but the preparations are time-consuming.

Still, I like this project a lot. I think it’s particularly cute because I ask my students to write winter-related sentiments (in English) on their ornaments. This way, at the end of the month, each elementary school will have a Christmas tree with an English ornament from each student. My favorite ornament from today was one that a sixth year made, which read: “I can make snowmen.” That child did my heart a world of good. I will love him forever for showing that he has, in fact, retained something of what I’ve tried to teach him over the last four years. My second favorite ornament was one that said: “I want money.” It was just so fantastically honest.

Tonight’s video (a feature which is not going to become a regular thing, I’m just using it this week because if I didn’t, then my posts would be more or less non-existent) is of one of my favorite Japanese singers, Masaharu Fukuyama. My kids think it’s ridiculous that I like him, because they tend to think of me as being closer to their age group, and yet I fixate on the same man that their mothers like.

The song is called Milk Tea, and I am particularly fond of it because it was the first song I ever really heard in Japanese. I’d heard some others before it, but they weren’t nearly as meaningful to me as this one. I found it during the summer of 2006, where I spent most of my time in my father’s apartment, furiously studying Japanese before my departure to the land of the rising sun. Someone played it on a Live365 radio station, and although I had no idea what he was saying, I became thoroughly obsessed with it (and the singer ^o^ )

You’re lucky, because this YouTube video actually has English subtitles at the bottom. They’re accurate for the most part, but I have some issues with some things in the second half of the song. Still, you’ll have some idea what’s going on – which is more than I had when I first heard it. (I would’ve killed to find a video like this.)

Enjoy!

(By the way, because of my schedule, I won’t be posting for a few days. You can look for the next update sometime around December 6th. Have a great weekend!)

Let’s Try Version 2.0 November 28, 2009

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Okay, and here we are!

I hope that everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. I was fortunate enough to speak with some of you and I’m looking forward to catching up even more when I visit the States next month! (Only twenty-four days to go!)

I’ve done a little bit of thinking since I last posted, and I’ve made a few decisions regarding this blog. Since I already have a few months behind me (and a group of people who seem to enjoy reading my posts), it seems silly to stop production now only to then pick up again in April.

Still, the old theme of “365 Days, 365 memories” is no longer applicable. Faced with Writers Block and a Thematic Drought of sorts, I have turned to the wisdom of Douglas Adams and found this remarkable little quote:

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”

I think that this sums up the last three and a half years quite nicely. People often ask me about the ideas that I had about Japan before I came here, and how they’ve changed since then. That is a very difficult question (with a long and windy answer), but the shortest response I have is, well, more or less that very quote. Did I intend to work 60+ hour work weeks? Did I intend to find a family? Did I intend to get into designer purses? Did I intend to switch careers in a drastic way not once but twice? Did I intend to love, worry, angst, and fawn over my students?

No, not really.  But I do. I do, and the kind of experience I’m having as a result is, I think, the kind of experience that I really wanted to have when I got on that airplane three and a half years ago.

And, as I said last August, the time has come to share it. Granted, my days aren’t always interesting, always positive, always funny, or always immediately insightful or obviously meaningful. Still, you’re all welcome to take a deeper look into what it is that I do and the world that I have created/been invited to live in. Consider this an invitation for the next seventeen months. I suspect at the end of this, we’ll all find ourselves having gone places we didn’t intend to go yet having ended up where we wanted to be.

All off that being said, what memories do I have from the last few days?

Thursday
Thursday was interesting because the elementary school was still out of sorts thanks to the flu. The third and sixth grade classes were suspended until Friday, and both the third and sixth grade home room teachers were sick and at home (this includes The Mentor, who hasn’t been sick a single day in the entire time I’ve known him). I’m not sure why the flu is so bad this year; it really is having its way with the people of my town. Every year the season is kind of intense, and it’s not unusual for a grade or two to be sent home for a few days. This year, though, we’ve had several school-wide shutdowns and major meetings and festivals have had to be cancelled.

I’m also not sure why I am still healthy. I thought about this a lot on Thursday. Out of all the teachers in town, because I visit so many schools and encounter so many different sets of germs (and am usually a Magnet for Hugs, Piggyback Rides, and Hand Holding) I’ve long been of the opinion that illness is inevitable. Yet, as of November 28th, I appear to be fine. 

The only reasons I can think of for my good fortune are a) I’ve already had this strain of influenza (or one close enough to it so that my body has managed to defend itself), b) my diet/lifestyle is somehow helping me combat this or c) I have been blessed by an unseen and unknown divine entity who will eventually become upset at my lack of gratitude and rain pneumonia and primordial fire down on me.

Anyway, with the third years out on Thursday, this meant that Fievel was absent from the day’s activities. His older brother, however, was at school and he gleefully spent every spare moment he had with me in the attempt to collect as many stickers as possible. (I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this or not, but my students get stickers for talking to me in English. They put the stickers on their card and then redeem the card for prizes. Anyway.) Fievel is currently in the middle of his 9th sticker card, while the brother is just finishing his 8th. The competition between the two is fierce, but as long as Fievel keeps writing me letters, his lead is pretty much guaranteed. Watching his old brother’s efforts to try and catch up (however futile they may be) was pretty entertaining.

Friday
After last week’s Lesson Marathon, it was nice to have a relatively relaxed day at Friday’s Elementary School. This is the school where the students really like to write me letters, and my memory from Friday is related to this, and involves a new character.

Yoshi
Yoshi is a sixth grade student and has only recently become a major figure. Towards the end of the first term, he decided that he was really interested in English after all, and he began to write letters to me. Yoshi’s overall enthusiasm is fairly constant, and he always comes to talk to me during breaks. He has also become more forceful and outgoing in class. I mentioned that last month I had to do two classes by myself, and he was a big help to me in explaining the activities and organizing the kids for the games that we did.

Anyway, his recent letters have become slightly lackluster since his responses to my questions haven’t been much more than one-word blurbs (usually in Japanese). So when I wrote my most recent response to him, I kind of prodded him for a longer, more proper letter. I also included a blank sheet of paper so that he could use that for writing to me (he’s been writing his responses on the letters that I’ve written to him).

After I gave him the letter, though, I started to worry that I’d been too strict, and that he would blow me off. So, I was really happy when he showed up after school with the kind of letter that I’d been hoping for. A full page of English and Japanese with actual answers to the questions that I’d asked.

My position here is strange because although I’m a teacher, I don’t always carry authority. Many of my students probably see me more as an older sister figure. As such, it was nice to see him do something because I’d asked it of him.

Saturday
-_-;; I have a really busy week coming up. So, I more or less used Saturday to catch up on work. I spent a lot of time working on letters to my elementary school students. I know that I talk about these letters a lot (they are a huge part of the work I do for the elementary schools), so I’ve decided to copy one of them for your enjoyment. This one is from a fourth year student – she’s the best letter writer that I have. ^__^ If the words are in bold, it means that she actually wrote that part in English. Anything else was, of course, in Japanese. ^_^

(The letter may seem a little spastic, but it’s because she was responding to things that I wrote my last letter to her.)


Dear Julie,

Thank you for always writing me letters!
By any chance, is Dostoyevsky the author of the book that you’re reading now?
If that’s the case, then we have a book called ”The Brothers Karamazov” at my house.
I think the cover looks really scary.

If you’re talking about fall foods, then I really like tangerines!
I eat one a day.
It sounds like you really like them, too!
In fall, I  like chestnuts, yams, apples, and persimmons.

My future dream is to speak English fluently.
I also want to be a really good piano player.

(By the way, your letter set is really cute!)

Your Japanese is really good!
You study it a lot, don’t you?
I want to go to America when I grow up.
Where do you think I should go?

You want to study Polish?
When do you think you’ll do that?

How many people are in your family?
I have four people in my family.
I have a mother, father, and little brother.

See you!

A lot of the letters that I get are along those lines. Although, obviously, not all of them reference Russian literature. (Incidentally, I’m actually reading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.)

So, yes, Saturday was spent answering letters like that. And Sunday … Sunday will be for more work. I have a lot to do as far as getting ready for this week of chaos. Lessons, meetings, seminars, and Thanksgiving dinner await.

Still, as I said, I think it’s right where I intended to be.

金土日月 Recap: November 23rd November 23, 2009

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In Japan, today is the national Labor Thanksgiving holiday, so it’s without a sense of irony (or perhaps it’s with a sense of irony but without a sense of sarcasm?) that I can wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving Week. Due to some scheduling issues, I won’t be having my Turkey Fest ’09 until December 5th, but my time will come…

So, how is everyone? I appreciate the comments that I’ve been getting (usually through Facebook). It’s nice to know that other people are enjoying reading about what my life is like here. As I’ve said before, it’s pretty routine, but maybe you’ll find some elements of it to be interesting and/or entertaining. ^___^

In particular:

Friday was memorable because I woke up running and didn’t stop until about 7:30 that evening, which was the time I went to bed. I had six classes at a row at my Friday Elementary School, and that was definitely more than my usual load. The method to this madness was that the students’ parents had been invited to observe classes throughout the day and a lot of the parents are curious about my English lessons. Things went well overall, though various Gods of Mischief tossed some curve balls my way. Among the more memorable ones were:

  • The sixth grade home room teacher was out with the flu, leaving me with having to do the class not only by myself, but with a lesson that I had approximately ten minutes to plan (it was supposed to be his day to run class). That was fun. And by ”fun” I mean “it almost gave me a heart attack but I made it through and I think the students still like English and me.”
  • The Macarena wasn’t quite as popular as it was with The First Years, and so that made me a little sad.
  • I got my lessons plan really mixed up at one point, but the home room teacher saved me.

What was really memorable for me, though, was what happened after lunch. Usually I eat with the students and then return to my classroom for twenty-five minutes of intense English conversing-sticker giving-eraser distributing-letter getting-CD giving-madness. On Friday, though, I really had to go to the bank and I didn’t have any free periods. My solution was to eat very quickly in the teacher’s room and then drive to the bank afterwards. I’d hoped to get back to school by the time that recess started so that I could talk with the kids like I usually do, but I was about ten minutes late. I went straight to my classroom when I returned, but I expected to find it empty, figuring that the students would have lost interest and gone off to do something else. Imagine my surprise when I found a line of 45 students (some with their parents) waiting for me. Loudly. I really wasn’t expecting them to wait for me for such a long time, but the display of trust (and, yes, indignation that I was so tardy), made me happy.

Saturday found me taking my monthly trip to Nagoya for a visit to the hair stylist and some shopping. I’ve been going to the same guy for years, and at this point we know each other fairly well. He (we’ll call him Tetsuya) has a lot of opinions about my hair (“it should be long, straight, and sexy,”) so he tends to decide what it is that we do with it. Tetsuya’s also lived all around the world and done all sorts of crazy things. He supported himself as a waiter and professional boxer in Mexico, studied in salons in Seattle, London, and Paris, and he also plays guitar in a rock band. He has been known to gather his entire staff around my chair whenever we talk about my love life, in the hopes that the collective advice will make me successful in my ventures. In short, Tetsuya’s pretty awesome.

Sunday was a day out with The Japanese Best Friend. I haven’t seen her in *ages,* and once we got together, we talked for about fourteen hours straight (well, with the exception of the two hours that we were watching the new Christmas Carol at the movie theater). We had lunch and did some shopping in Yokkaichi, and then drove down to the biggest mall in the prefecture for some more shopping (can we say The Body Shop?) and to see the aforementioned movie. She is, without a doubt, one of the best things about being in Japan. Whenever we spend time together, I can always count on great conversation, great food, and great shopping. \(^___^)/

Monday has been a slower, catch-up sort of day, which is a good thing. The weather was gorgeous, and so I had the chance to air out my apartment, get some cleaning done, and talk to some friends (Jyona33 and I clocked in 3.5 hours on Skype). I have to go to a meeting tomorrow, so my morning schedule is a little free, although I have some errands to run. I am particularly excited about the meeting (okay, I am ONLY excited about this meeting) because it means I get to go to Starbucks and that is enough to make me happy at any time, any place. HELLO SEASONAL LATTES.

And as for now, I have some lessons to plan, some soup to make, and hopefully a relatively relaxing night ahead of me. It’s going to be kind of a busy week (when is it ever not?), and I’m going to need to stay on my toes if I want to Avoid The Flu and Have Successful Lessons.

You know, the important stuff.
Never seen you, I don’t even know your name
But still I believe, that you are gonna save me

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