Ah . . . day off.

So it is sunday and my first day off in Nakayama. What did I do? I cleaned my apartment finally and chilled. I am one of those people that needs to be indoors all day once in a while . . . though it seems to happen every time I drink the night before and happen to not dance. Which, happened last night, but I'll get to that. It actually feels really nice to have my apartment in order like this. It feels like its mine now. If it is actually called messy by anyone, it is my responsibility rather than the person who lived here before. Stay tuned as I intend to eventually get a video tour of my pad so you can get a taste of my living if you don't already have an idea.

As for work yesterday, it went pretty well. I taught two more classes and they went a lot better than Friday's class. My predecessor even told me so ^_^ I admit they were far from perfect, but better nonetheless. I will strive further and further to improve my abilities to facilitate my students learning. It has to happen in steps though and my first one to make is actually two-fold. I need to get on top of how to make a lesson flow correctly in terms of time (I will still strive to perfect other aspects of the class at that time of course) and I need to remember my students names. I need to know them rather than just who they are. When I know my students, I will know best how to help and instruct them. Names and class flow are my two top priorities right now. I hope to knock them out quickly, as it will be just me in the classroom teaching from Tuesday on. Sink or swim . . . I can do it!

After work yesterday was the big event, the welcome/farewell party for my predecessor and I. It was quite the event to. We ate at a local Italian restaurant (buffet/hourdervs style) and about 47 of the students and friends actually showed up. We literally closed out the joint once we got there till it closed. It was really fun. The head teacher had put together a quiz on my predecessor that was funny and enjoyed by everyone as well as a commemorative sideshow. From there all the foreign staff gave a speech in turn. I said "hello", my predecessor said "goodbye", and my colleague said "I'll miss you." From there we took the party (maybe 25 of us) to the local bowling alley where we rented out a huge Karaoke room where we sang and drank the night away in both English and Japanese. Then we went to a late night Japanese restaurant and snacked till about 330 or so. . . AEON staff and students know how to party lol. Through out the night I got to chat with different students and even got my first traditional tea ceremony lesson. It's complicated. I also got lots of advice on where to go, what to do, and eat. I apparently have a lot to do during my time here. I am looking forward to it.

In closing I need to acknowledge the departure of my predecessore, Ram. He was an indispensible source of seaoned wisdom and expert guidence all week and any confidence I display in the classroom Tuesday morning and everyday after will be attributed mostly to him. If you ever read this Ram, I hope you know that I am ever grateful for your help in getting me started on the right foot in my teaching career. I hope your vaction home was amazing and that you find what you were looking for in Thailand. Know that you will be missed here in Japan by all that knew you including myself. It was short, but it was great . . . dawg. Laters!