Been too long -_-

Ok, so I was supposed have posted most of this up by Monday or Tuesday, but that didn’t happen due to unfortunate circumstances and being too busy up to this very moment. My bad, but my story will explain everything . . . Promise.

Saturday:

Saturday at work is actually one of my favorite days of the week so far; I have realized. Not because of the freedom I will have for the next two and a half days, but rather I have all adult classes and experience little if any anxiety with regard to my responsibilities as a teacher. I like and am easily able to talk to most of my students during down times and everyone is in high spirits because its Saturday. It’s infectious and makes me feel good to be at work. Thus, Saturday was a good day.

Saturday night was a good interesting time also. When I got on the train to get to Shibuya, I apparently synced my departure with that of thousands of soccer fans from a game nearby trying to get on the same train line as me. Getting through and traveling with that mob of people was quite the adventure. After I got to my destination, I headed straight for where the club was. On my way there I was checking out other locations to scope prices and DJ lineups for possible future stops and was approached by a guy talking to me in labored English. I tried to talk to him in Japanese and quickly found out that he was Korean and didn't understand a thing I was saying LOL. Interestingly enough, he and his friend (almost silent but nice nonetheless) were looking for the same club as me but couldn't find it. Thus, I suggested we search together and we did so. We finally found the place and were informed by the staff there that we were a bit early. We had nowhere to wait and decided to hit a local convenience store to buy drinks and pre party some. I talked with my new friends about everything from music, to girls, to their military obligations coming up. I was a wonderful chance meeting and experience.

We went back to the club after it opened and the two guys couldn't get in (Korean age counting system is actually a year ahead of Japan's). I was truly bummed as we went our separate ways -_- I hope they managed to have a good time that night. As for the club, it was pretty chill. The crowd had a lot more foreigners (anyone not Japanese) than I expected and they really packed the place with people 0_0 The music was ok, but the vibe was wonderful. There were no tough guys, no bitchy people, and most everyone I saw was just smiling and moving in kind to the beat. I even made dancing buddies here and there as the night drew on. I ended up leaving at around 4 am and watched the sunrise in front of the Shibuya station, got home at around 630 and promptly went to sleep. A very good Saturday ^_^

Sunday:

I stayed in for most of the day and just cleaned, answered messages, and contacted people in the states. It was a good lazy day. It could have been a tad more productive though . . . oh well.

Monday:

So Monday I decided that I refused to stay indoors . . . and I didn't . . . but I took it too far -_-

First, I went to the gym and had a great workout as well as a bomb Ramen lunch right next to my place. It was a good start. Then I went home and did some communicating stuff for a bit and headed out again. My first destination was a western style mall called Lalaport nearby. Save for the fact that I was the only person that wasn't Japanese, the mall reminded of a few I have been to in the united states. Thus, it wasn't that big of a deal for me as I thought it might be from what students had been telling me about it. Yeah some of the stores were novel and unique, but you can find them all over the place here. So, not that big a deal I guess. One thing that was particularly cool though was one store had these guys there and they were blingin out cell phones with stickers and decals. I wanna get mine done up to >_<>

From there I got a call from an old friend that I actually went through the TEFL certification with and we met up in Kamakura. At least 10 students have mentioned Kamakura to me and I had been wanting to go for a while. It was nice to have some company along to. He and I walked around and saw 3 of the many shrines there, checked out the different shops, and caught up on what had been goin on with each other since last summer. It was a good time . . . but it didn’t end there.

My friend knew where to get margaritas and I just had to follow him there. He took me to some Mexican food/style bar that was run by a prior US Marine. It was walking distance from the US Naval base there and slam in the middle of the area where all the US servicepeople go when they get shore-leave. There were even normal SP patrols walking around . . . haha and they didnt have ish to say to me =P

Anywho, we chilled there for about 2 hours or so over four margaritas (each), wwf on the TV, and eye-ing a couple cuties that must have been hunting for foreigners. We then decided to Karaoke and did so for an hour and a half. It was fun, but not the best decision in the world. Basically, I missed the last train at a station 4 four stops (over 5 miles) away from home cause I was out too late. Damn it . . .

It didn't get me down though and I decided to try to trek it back on foot. I was confident that I would definitely beat the sunrise since it was only 1230 afterall. Well . . . I got halfway there without a problem, but when the tracks of my line converged with another, I must have gotten mixed up and walked waaaaay off coarse. I asked for directions at a convenient store and the clerk reacted like I was an idiot; and rightfully so. I had managed to walk at least 3 miles east of my target with this other rail track and would not be able to beat sunrise back to my place at that point, as it was already 330. Therefore, I got directions to the nearest train station and waited out. It gets even more stupid though . . .

Early on in my trek, I spent the last of the money I had on me on food and drink to give me energy for the hike. So along with being faced with the prospect of having to catch a train home in an hour and a half I also had to find an open ATM that accepted international credit cards (long and unimportant story, but I still dont have my card for my Japanese bank yet). I ended up going to four with no luck, but finally found one in a 7-11 just in time to catch the first train of the day . . . Whew! So yeah, I got home ok and was asleep by 730 and up by 12 for work. It was a loooong day at work. haha.

Note: if you run out of money in Japan and only have a bank card from the states, the only convenient store ATM that accepts international cards are the ones at 7-11s. I haven’t tried every chain here yet but out of the 6 or the 7 I have been to, 7-11 is the only one. Keep that in mind.

Tuesday:

As mentioned, it was a long day but not too bad actually. I was tired of course, but all the classes (even kids!) went very well. My left leg was rather sore from the night before though and I had no problems passing out right away when I got off. Man . . . definitely not missing the last train on a night before work again. I'm too old for that irresponsible BS.

Today:

Was awesome! I got rested up enough, the soreness had left my body, and I made it to work in high spirits where they stayed high all day. One of my classes had been canceled due to rescheduling and another had no students, but wasn't taken off the schedule. I was able to finish all my prep for the week and then practice/rehearse for a kids trial lesson that I had just before lunch. My head teacher also went through it with me and I went into the thing feeling prepared and confident.

It actually went fairly well. I spent about 15-17 minutes giving a preview lesson to a 5-year-old boy right in front of his mom. Kind of nerve racking to think about, but it actually didn’t bother or distract me at the time. It must have gone well though; since the mom signed her boy for the lessons right after the preview (taught by my co-worker). Yay!

After lunch, I had my kids class with the group of kids with the one girl that talks back and it went surprisingly better today. I made changes in my approach, but I didn’t expect things to go as well as they did. Heh, even the back talker was telling one of the rowdy boys to shut up on numerous occasions rather than talking herself. On top of that, all the kids in the class seemed to get the material to a satisfactory level. Thank gosh!

After that was 2 adult courses and they went as well as usual. Lots of laughing and some interesting conversation. I also got to talk to students more than usual today, which was a nice treat. I actually am feeling more comfortable with talking to people and I could even tell today. I wonder how far I have to go to get out of the shell.

Oh yeah, I also had a meeting with my head teacher and manager about my performance at the school thus far and it went rather well. I am not perfect and have plenty to improve, but they seem to like me so far. One of the comments I think about most is how the head teacher pointed out that the kids often cry when a new teacher takes over and how he was surprised when all of my kids adjusted with zero tears and little ill affect. There were other nice things, but I don't feel like tooting my horn and getting into em. I am happy just to relay that they like me so far. Awesome!

After work I got to have a good chat with my Mom and was super happy for it. Its always a treat to talk to Mom. No matter what about ^_^

Ok . . . now its bedtime again. I promise to update sooner next time 0_0