Saturday, June 12, 2010
Think think think
I am super motivated to post right now, but I have no focus beyond what I don't really wish to discuss. I'm putting myself through a trial and have been doing so for a little while. It's no one's fault but mine, and I have noticed that I have been changing and maybe even growing because of this. I'm seeing common aspects of life and my own outlook on certain things in a different light. Furthermore, my habits are changing at almost on a biological level. Behaviors and my body have changed, and I want to say the change has been for the better. My alergy symptoms have been more scarce than they have ever been since I was in Cuba, and I'm wasting a lot less time with movies and such. It sucks that so much good is being fueled alot angst. I hope these positives stick and maintain themselves and that I can pull out of this funk I continue to plague myself with =\
Thursday, April 8, 2010
2 weeks shy of two months
It has been so long since I have had enough motivation to actually update this. It is hard to explain my reluctance to post recently and there are several factors and considerations that have lead to my extended silence.
I think the primary reason is that I have made this blog overly public. Too many people can see this and that has weighed on my mind when I sit at the computer get ready to spill some guts. I fear that I will hurt feelings, burn bridges, or simply annoy people with ish that they really don't want to hear. Also, I want to make sure I didn't present a certain image through this medium, and this fact has caused me to refrain from throwing out some maybe important stuff. My closer friends and family know me well enough to understand that I don't like to complain about ish regularly unless I am directly faced with whatever challenges me.
Don't get me wrong, I have a multitude of things that I am happy about and would love to relay to the rest of you, but that isn't the whole story. From here on I need to be better bout having balance with this blog. Life is black, white and everything in between and I intend to do a better job of reporting that carefully, thoughtfully, and accurately.
Before I go off, I just want to inform the world that in the last three weeks, I have had the utmost privilege of enjoying visits from people living back in the States. I got to see my dear friend and Dance partner, Lynn along with her family for a night, kick it around Tokyo with Mikey and Allyson on two occasions, and most importantly, My mom brightened up my apartment and everyday life for seven days. The thing I miss the most about the United states is the people I love and care for, and aving these people out here (even if for short periods of time) has been really uplifting on my spirits. I am so very thankful to have been given the opportunity to reunite with these ones loved, and I hope that they were able to enjoy themselves here <3>
So the thing that is testing my patience on a daily basis recently. . . is work. April marks the beginning of the new yearly children's' and adult's 6 month class schedules and my office has been undergoing a lot of change. To this day, the only staff that hasn't experienced change in their office role since early January is the school manager and myself. At present, we have two brand new "green" teachers, my head teacher (our direct supervisor) is gone for two of my three work days, and our assistant manager is still "working things out." I'm going to refrain from any further details on this, but I think you can imagine the wide spectrum of possible challenges I face on a daily basis in the office. To be honest, things are getting on my nerves, but I want to remain patient. Hopefully, things will be smoothing out soon.
There is a lot more to say, but this is too long. hopefully I write again before 6 more weeks has passed -_-
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mid February
As predicted, 2010 has been flying by since my last post and I am constantly in some sort of state in catching up. I find it humorous how I always try to treat the passing of the old year and coming of the new in the same manner same as any other time of the year, but events at the onset of this year have really forced me to make several minute and significant changes in my daily life (including work) that I really didn’t give enough consideration. It isn’t a problem or anything, and I am not in any way complaining. I just wish to explain why I seem to never be online or even at my computer at all anymore. Life, as well as some personal choices of mine, has actually forced me to physically live life beyond the confines of my apartment. It’s what I get for spending all that time watching TV as a kid haha.
Work . . . no complaints. The vibe has changed though, and in two ways. On the one hand, like I mentioned earlier, a lot of kids students have been deciding quit coming to our school. On the other, we have been seeing a lot more prospective adult and kid students come in with the interest to study with us. In the last two weeks, I have probably done more model lessons for adults and kids that I did in any three-month period during my first six months here. Aslo, there seems to be a better team like cohesion at the office. Everyone seems to help each other out more, planning and communication have a improved a little and the day to day pressure isn’t too high. We’re just busy with the new flow of things and chuggin along. It may feel a bit busier from day to day right now, but I am cool with things and hope to get a good new office rhythm figured out soon.
Dance . . . If I haven’t mentioned this cultural element I have noticed, let me fill you in. When people pay for formal instruction for a skill here, it often seems that the interaction between staff and student/customer is as personal as it is professional. Once patrons enter the domain in which they will be instructed, their fellow students and instructor(s) form a special social unit that resembles a family in terms of familiar interaction, and attentiveness to each others’ needs and desires. Time also takes an affect on this phenomenon. The longer the group has existed, then the closer the long term members seem to be. I have seen this with Aeon, people that go to my gym, as well as my dance class. With particular regard to my dance class, I am really starting to feel like “one of the gang” when I am there. Not only are my young classmates fairly comfortable with me, but other instructors as well as even students and parents have become familiar enough with me to treat me in a manner where I don’t feel too much like the outsider that I actually am. It's a really nice & refreshing feeling and I always look forward to class beyond the mere desire for my dance fix.
Personal . . . if you haven’t seen from my tweets from valentines day or other recent occasions, I guess I should inform you that a special someone has come into my life. I really enjoy her company and we had a wonderful valentines day. We took a walk through one of the really pretty parks here and along one of the rivers for a while. In the evening, we did some outdoor ice skating and had a good dinner. She is even busier with her Job than I am with mine and we really only get to hang out on weekends (Saturday evening and/or Sunday), so we try to spend as much of that time as possible together and I am thus not at home as much to catch up on things as I used to be. My personal life may be in some sort of upheaval in the moment, but I couldn’t be more grateful for the wonderful gift I have been granted to share. I’m looking forward to next weekend ^_^
Monday is catch up day, but I am usually pretty burned out and don’t get too much done. Especially today, since I had to work yesterday (Sunday). I need to learn how to utilize Mondays more efficiently now that it will be my only day to do ish that is moderately important and could become problematic if ignored (laundry and such)
Oh yeah . . . If you weren’t aware, Valentines Day is done differently here. In a sense, it has been cut into two holidays. The first is the traditional day on the 14th of February. The other is on march 14th. On the traditional day, Japanese women either buy or make chocolate (of any sort) and present it to the males in their life. Dad and brothers naturally get some of the action, guy friends receive “giddy choco,” and the specially made or expensive stuff goes to the boyfriend/husband. I also learned that girls will just make chocolate to eat together with their girlfriends also. As for the other day, it is called white day and it is basically the same as V-Day, but the responsibility falls back on the men. It’s an interesting custom. I dig it.
So this Valentines Day haha . . . I got my chocolate and a cute picture of us and card combo and after I said thanks she kind of had this expecting look on her face. And I was like: “what? It isn’t white day yet.” Then she was like: “youre American right?! You don't celebrate it like us!” Haha oops! I actually was planning to do my part on white day. We had a good laugh over the situation and agreed to celebrate the rest of the holidays in Japanese style haha. I’ll do good on white day. No worries =P
All right, this is long . . . my bad!
Work . . . no complaints. The vibe has changed though, and in two ways. On the one hand, like I mentioned earlier, a lot of kids students have been deciding quit coming to our school. On the other, we have been seeing a lot more prospective adult and kid students come in with the interest to study with us. In the last two weeks, I have probably done more model lessons for adults and kids that I did in any three-month period during my first six months here. Aslo, there seems to be a better team like cohesion at the office. Everyone seems to help each other out more, planning and communication have a improved a little and the day to day pressure isn’t too high. We’re just busy with the new flow of things and chuggin along. It may feel a bit busier from day to day right now, but I am cool with things and hope to get a good new office rhythm figured out soon.
Dance . . . If I haven’t mentioned this cultural element I have noticed, let me fill you in. When people pay for formal instruction for a skill here, it often seems that the interaction between staff and student/customer is as personal as it is professional. Once patrons enter the domain in which they will be instructed, their fellow students and instructor(s) form a special social unit that resembles a family in terms of familiar interaction, and attentiveness to each others’ needs and desires. Time also takes an affect on this phenomenon. The longer the group has existed, then the closer the long term members seem to be. I have seen this with Aeon, people that go to my gym, as well as my dance class. With particular regard to my dance class, I am really starting to feel like “one of the gang” when I am there. Not only are my young classmates fairly comfortable with me, but other instructors as well as even students and parents have become familiar enough with me to treat me in a manner where I don’t feel too much like the outsider that I actually am. It's a really nice & refreshing feeling and I always look forward to class beyond the mere desire for my dance fix.
Personal . . . if you haven’t seen from my tweets from valentines day or other recent occasions, I guess I should inform you that a special someone has come into my life. I really enjoy her company and we had a wonderful valentines day. We took a walk through one of the really pretty parks here and along one of the rivers for a while. In the evening, we did some outdoor ice skating and had a good dinner. She is even busier with her Job than I am with mine and we really only get to hang out on weekends (Saturday evening and/or Sunday), so we try to spend as much of that time as possible together and I am thus not at home as much to catch up on things as I used to be. My personal life may be in some sort of upheaval in the moment, but I couldn’t be more grateful for the wonderful gift I have been granted to share. I’m looking forward to next weekend ^_^
Monday is catch up day, but I am usually pretty burned out and don’t get too much done. Especially today, since I had to work yesterday (Sunday). I need to learn how to utilize Mondays more efficiently now that it will be my only day to do ish that is moderately important and could become problematic if ignored (laundry and such)
Oh yeah . . . If you weren’t aware, Valentines Day is done differently here. In a sense, it has been cut into two holidays. The first is the traditional day on the 14th of February. The other is on march 14th. On the traditional day, Japanese women either buy or make chocolate (of any sort) and present it to the males in their life. Dad and brothers naturally get some of the action, guy friends receive “giddy choco,” and the specially made or expensive stuff goes to the boyfriend/husband. I also learned that girls will just make chocolate to eat together with their girlfriends also. As for the other day, it is called white day and it is basically the same as V-Day, but the responsibility falls back on the men. It’s an interesting custom. I dig it.
So this Valentines Day haha . . . I got my chocolate and a cute picture of us and card combo and after I said thanks she kind of had this expecting look on her face. And I was like: “what? It isn’t white day yet.” Then she was like: “youre American right?! You don't celebrate it like us!” Haha oops! I actually was planning to do my part on white day. We had a good laugh over the situation and agreed to celebrate the rest of the holidays in Japanese style haha. I’ll do good on white day. No worries =P
All right, this is long . . . my bad!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Busy!
One month down, and I must say that January 2010 was one helluva month. I have been quite busy as you can tell by my two or three posts and one of them only being in video cause I was way lazy. I am sorry for it, but the way I have things prioritized right meow, it cannot be helped really. But fortunately I have finally been able to make the time to let you guys now what’s up and goin on around out here. I guess I should let you know why I have been so busy.
The primary reason . . . My Move!! As many of you already know, my American co-worker’s contract came to an end and it was her time to move onto something different. Usually not a big adjustment, but due to changes soon taking place at my school, I had to move into her apartment. Thus, the week after my last post, I the time spent packing little by little and taking care of loose that needed to be tied up to make the transition smooth.
On the 23rd (two nights before I moved), we had my co-worker’s going away party and I partied quite well. All I did was drink at the main dinner portion; it wasn’t much, but still on empty stomach . . . so yeah. Then after the main party, I headed over with a big group to the local karaoke spot and we did our thing for about an hour and a half . . . THEN a student took two others and myself to a local bar and we drank and sang till like 230 in the morning. I went to bed quite drunk and with a smile on my face haha. Of course, I was tired as hell all day the next day (especially since I woke up around 830) and did very little beyond some extra packing.
On the day of the move . . . I didn’t even get to my new pad till 6 in the evening. I packed and got out of my old place by 2:00 and waited around the school till I was able to head to my place. I wasn’t in the apartment by myself and ready to unpack until around 7 in the evening. As you can imagine, I didn’t get too much done since I had to get ready for work the next morning. Since I moved on a Saturday and had to figure out a new timing routine for getting to and from work, I wasn’t able to get much cleaning and unpacking done. Actually, my place still isn’t exactly organized to the point where I want it at this moment -_- Its nice enough though.
Anywho, another factor that hurt my available time to be at home and take care of ish was that work was particularly busy. I had a lot more paperwork than usual and other small factors gave me less time than Im used to in order to do it. Thus, I would go in early or stay after later (actually doing work) to make sure I didn’t fall too far behind (and I wanted to scoot as quick as possible on Saturday). The week ended up going by quickly and it wasn’t until Friday evening that my apartment was livable and ready for any guests I would want to have. No worries, it all ended up working out.
On Saturday, I was able to get out of work quicker than usual and enjoyed . . . wait for it . . . yes, a date. And that’s all I’m gonna say bout that here (ok . . . it was really nice) =P Then on Sunday, a group of students and staff from the school took a day trip to Disney Sea over here. It was a wonderful day. I was actually really surprised at how beautiful the park was. Any description I give it really won’t give it the justice I want to, so I will just leave it at the fact that I strongly suggest anyone go there if they get the opportunity to come to Japan. A very beautiful and happy setting for a good day in here ^_^
Monday was the catch up day. I had to go to the government building and register the fact that I moved and have my new address printed on my alien registration card. I also took a trip to pick up some things at the store I had needed for the apartment and hadn’t yet been able to get. Other than that, I did the laundry and enjoyed the snow during the evening . . . That’s right . . . it snowed finally . . . and I loved it ^_^
Work has been more or less the same this whole time with just one concern; MY KIDS ARE QUITTING. By the middle of the month I will have said goodbye to 7 of my kid students since November. They all say that they are quitting cause of cram school and busy schedules and I understand that, but can’t help but to be a little bummed out by it. If I had been better, would they have been more motivated to stay . . . I dunno. A couple of them, I am a little happy to be rid of, but I will miss the others dearly. I wish them luck in their lives and hope to see em again someday.
Well, I have once again made this long enough. I’ll give you a break now haha.
Sorry it took so long!
The primary reason . . . My Move!! As many of you already know, my American co-worker’s contract came to an end and it was her time to move onto something different. Usually not a big adjustment, but due to changes soon taking place at my school, I had to move into her apartment. Thus, the week after my last post, I the time spent packing little by little and taking care of loose that needed to be tied up to make the transition smooth.
On the 23rd (two nights before I moved), we had my co-worker’s going away party and I partied quite well. All I did was drink at the main dinner portion; it wasn’t much, but still on empty stomach . . . so yeah. Then after the main party, I headed over with a big group to the local karaoke spot and we did our thing for about an hour and a half . . . THEN a student took two others and myself to a local bar and we drank and sang till like 230 in the morning. I went to bed quite drunk and with a smile on my face haha. Of course, I was tired as hell all day the next day (especially since I woke up around 830) and did very little beyond some extra packing.
On the day of the move . . . I didn’t even get to my new pad till 6 in the evening. I packed and got out of my old place by 2:00 and waited around the school till I was able to head to my place. I wasn’t in the apartment by myself and ready to unpack until around 7 in the evening. As you can imagine, I didn’t get too much done since I had to get ready for work the next morning. Since I moved on a Saturday and had to figure out a new timing routine for getting to and from work, I wasn’t able to get much cleaning and unpacking done. Actually, my place still isn’t exactly organized to the point where I want it at this moment -_- Its nice enough though.
Anywho, another factor that hurt my available time to be at home and take care of ish was that work was particularly busy. I had a lot more paperwork than usual and other small factors gave me less time than Im used to in order to do it. Thus, I would go in early or stay after later (actually doing work) to make sure I didn’t fall too far behind (and I wanted to scoot as quick as possible on Saturday). The week ended up going by quickly and it wasn’t until Friday evening that my apartment was livable and ready for any guests I would want to have. No worries, it all ended up working out.
On Saturday, I was able to get out of work quicker than usual and enjoyed . . . wait for it . . . yes, a date. And that’s all I’m gonna say bout that here (ok . . . it was really nice) =P Then on Sunday, a group of students and staff from the school took a day trip to Disney Sea over here. It was a wonderful day. I was actually really surprised at how beautiful the park was. Any description I give it really won’t give it the justice I want to, so I will just leave it at the fact that I strongly suggest anyone go there if they get the opportunity to come to Japan. A very beautiful and happy setting for a good day in here ^_^
Monday was the catch up day. I had to go to the government building and register the fact that I moved and have my new address printed on my alien registration card. I also took a trip to pick up some things at the store I had needed for the apartment and hadn’t yet been able to get. Other than that, I did the laundry and enjoyed the snow during the evening . . . That’s right . . . it snowed finally . . . and I loved it ^_^
Work has been more or less the same this whole time with just one concern; MY KIDS ARE QUITTING. By the middle of the month I will have said goodbye to 7 of my kid students since November. They all say that they are quitting cause of cram school and busy schedules and I understand that, but can’t help but to be a little bummed out by it. If I had been better, would they have been more motivated to stay . . . I dunno. A couple of them, I am a little happy to be rid of, but I will miss the others dearly. I wish them luck in their lives and hope to see em again someday.
Well, I have once again made this long enough. I’ll give you a break now haha.
Sorry it took so long!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
2 weeks
Sorry it took me so long to get this up and I am sorry to those of you who cant get the full scoop cause this post is mainly in video. Hopefully I can make sure the next one is typed.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Twenty-Ten or Two thousand Ten?
So the year at work has kicked off with a good start. Thank goodness. Today was moderately busy, and the transition to work after being free for the last nine days was quite smooth. Classes went really well actually. My genius six-year-old was awesome as always (even taught him a bit of lyrics from Michael Jackson, whom he loves), and all my other kids were really behaved for me today. I am going home very happy tonight ^_^
Though, today was a tad bittersweet. One of my favorite kids students had decided to stop coming to class so she could free up time to go to cram school in order to prepare for Jr. high, and today was the first day she didn’t show up. The class was, of course, easier to manage, but I will miss her presence. She was one of my brightest, and she really lightened the class atmosphere at times. I wish her the best of luck! On a brighter note; my first adult class went fantastic. I had two really fun ladies that are both excellent students and made the lesson really fun to teach. A great cap to a good day.
As I sit here typing this, I actually feel really refreshed from my break. I am totally ready to give it all I can until my next long break in May, and have high spirits and hopes that I will improve both as a teacher and a Japanese speaker. I am off to a nice start, but we shall see how it goes . . . Well, I hope >_<
Though, today was a tad bittersweet. One of my favorite kids students had decided to stop coming to class so she could free up time to go to cram school in order to prepare for Jr. high, and today was the first day she didn’t show up. The class was, of course, easier to manage, but I will miss her presence. She was one of my brightest, and she really lightened the class atmosphere at times. I wish her the best of luck! On a brighter note; my first adult class went fantastic. I had two really fun ladies that are both excellent students and made the lesson really fun to teach. A great cap to a good day.
As I sit here typing this, I actually feel really refreshed from my break. I am totally ready to give it all I can until my next long break in May, and have high spirits and hopes that I will improve both as a teacher and a Japanese speaker. I am off to a nice start, but we shall see how it goes . . . Well, I hope >_<
Monday, January 4, 2010
2010 is here
Happy New Year everyone! I hope that the last few days have been wonderful and relaxing for you and that 2010 has much happiness and joy in store everyone. My New Years Eve, day and following days were quite the contrast to the beginning of my break. Originally, I had plans to go to my Head teachers hometown and bring in the New Year at his family’s place. Well, he got sick and the doc told him to stay home and he followed the directions and told both my manager and myself on the 30th. Shortly after that text, my manager texts me that she, two of the students, and myself were moving our trip up to . . . TOMORROW the 31st (and we were leaving t 5am)0_0 Usually not a problem, but I had already had two-week old plans with my hip hop instructor to spend the night drinking and dancing in Tokyo (the 30th) and I didn’t want to be a spoil sport and cancel any plans. Thus, I soldiered it out. I had a great time in Tokyo with the instructor and got off to the ski trip with no problems.
On the way to the resort in Gunma (named Ishiuchi Maruyama) the weather was perfect, but turned blizzard-like shortly after we got on the slopes. I actually enjoyed it a lot though ^_^ The cold totally dispelled any drowsiness I was feeling and the limited visibility made it more of and adventure for me. It was an amazing way to spend New Years Eve day. Later on, we all had a big dinner and then the two students and I headed to our traditional Ryokan. It was great. The accommodations were comfy, we got free yukata to wear during the stay, and were able to enjoy their onsen for a bit. It was quite relaxing. To bring in 1200 am 2010, We turned on the tube and instead of seeing time square and the decent of its ever famous luminous sphere, we saw clips of what was going on at different Shrines across the country and the release of balloons at a famous shrine in Tokyo. It was different, but I was content nonetheless. About 15 minutes afterward, I was asleep and didn’t wake up till 1040 the next morning haha. I was freakin tired.
New years day was done in Japanese fashion (Hatsumode). We were in the town of Ikaho and the town’s Shrine is found at the top of a 365-step stairway. We made the trek up, threw in our 5yen coins, rung the bell, bowed & clapped twice, made a small prayer, and bought our new year’s fortunes. Mine was the second best you could get (out of 3). We then had lunch and headed back to our homes. It was a great way to spend the New Year.
The next day I accompanied a friend to Tokyo because she was unable to do her Hatsumode the day before. Even though it was the 2nd, it was still REALLY crowded, but the line still went by pretty quickly, so That was good. Fortunately, the shrine was in the same town as my favorite Ramen restaurant and we were able to head over pig out. Yummy ^_^ Then, yesterday was her birthday, so we went to this really cool spa/onsen (Check this site for all the details. http://www.ooedoonsen.jp/higaeri/english/index.html). It was a good 3 hours of ultimate relaxation. I am definitely going back there in the near future.
Now I am just recovering from my last 4 days and mentally preparing myself for the New Year. I am gonna put together an actual personal curriculum for my Japanese study, so I can get it going a little bit faster and kill the Japanese Language Proficiency Test I plan to take in a few months from now. I plan to print out pictures from my past to adorn my walls and keep my room from looking drab all the time. I have no resolutions though really. I stopped believing in them sometime ago. I decided that it was silly for me to wait for the first of the next year to fix any problems I may have now. Thus, I have nothing new to share in terms personal goals and aspirations.
Alrights, Im going to get to it now. Have a great 2010 everyone!
On the way to the resort in Gunma (named Ishiuchi Maruyama) the weather was perfect, but turned blizzard-like shortly after we got on the slopes. I actually enjoyed it a lot though ^_^ The cold totally dispelled any drowsiness I was feeling and the limited visibility made it more of and adventure for me. It was an amazing way to spend New Years Eve day. Later on, we all had a big dinner and then the two students and I headed to our traditional Ryokan. It was great. The accommodations were comfy, we got free yukata to wear during the stay, and were able to enjoy their onsen for a bit. It was quite relaxing. To bring in 1200 am 2010, We turned on the tube and instead of seeing time square and the decent of its ever famous luminous sphere, we saw clips of what was going on at different Shrines across the country and the release of balloons at a famous shrine in Tokyo. It was different, but I was content nonetheless. About 15 minutes afterward, I was asleep and didn’t wake up till 1040 the next morning haha. I was freakin tired.
New years day was done in Japanese fashion (Hatsumode). We were in the town of Ikaho and the town’s Shrine is found at the top of a 365-step stairway. We made the trek up, threw in our 5yen coins, rung the bell, bowed & clapped twice, made a small prayer, and bought our new year’s fortunes. Mine was the second best you could get (out of 3). We then had lunch and headed back to our homes. It was a great way to spend the New Year.
The next day I accompanied a friend to Tokyo because she was unable to do her Hatsumode the day before. Even though it was the 2nd, it was still REALLY crowded, but the line still went by pretty quickly, so That was good. Fortunately, the shrine was in the same town as my favorite Ramen restaurant and we were able to head over pig out. Yummy ^_^ Then, yesterday was her birthday, so we went to this really cool spa/onsen (Check this site for all the details. http://www.ooedoonsen.jp/higaeri/english/index.html). It was a good 3 hours of ultimate relaxation. I am definitely going back there in the near future.
Now I am just recovering from my last 4 days and mentally preparing myself for the New Year. I am gonna put together an actual personal curriculum for my Japanese study, so I can get it going a little bit faster and kill the Japanese Language Proficiency Test I plan to take in a few months from now. I plan to print out pictures from my past to adorn my walls and keep my room from looking drab all the time. I have no resolutions though really. I stopped believing in them sometime ago. I decided that it was silly for me to wait for the first of the next year to fix any problems I may have now. Thus, I have nothing new to share in terms personal goals and aspirations.
Alrights, Im going to get to it now. Have a great 2010 everyone!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
My bad!
It seems that my recovery just came in the nick of time. Just a couple of days after I posted my last blog, I got busy as hell. One of my good friends here had finished her contract with AEON and returned from a good exploration of the rest of the country and called me out on my first weekend night to join her and her friend from the states for a good time in Tokyo. Of course, I went . . . and stayed there my whole weekend lol. Her and her friend let me stay in their hotel room and we just goofed around Japan for two days. It was a great time. One particularly cool thing that we did was got to National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno where they had the body of Hachi stuffed and put on display with other animals that are indigenous to Japan. He must have been a damn cute dog when he was alive. Other than that, we roamed Tokyo for different things to see and do. I miss my friend already and hope that America has welcomed her home well.
The following workweek (last week) was a lot busier than I had anticipated; and we even had Wednesday off 0_0 For starters, Tuesday was the day of the adult Christmas party. We had normal classes all day that went just fine that was swiftly followed by the party; which went really well. We held it at my favorite curry place that my coworker and I go to every Friday. As usual, the staff was awesome and the food was delicious (though a bit spicier than usual). There was a lot of happy drinking, chatter, and everyone but me, enjoyed his or her first white elephant gift exchange. I wasn’t sure how well the idea was going to work out, but was relieved to see that people were enjoying themselves the whole time. Who would have thought the element of theft could bring such merriment to a Christmas occasion =P The after party was taken to silver lanes where only three students joined us five staff for some late night Karaoke and we managed a good time of it. So much so, that everyone missed their last train and we took the show to my apartment and talked the night away till everyone made their first train at a little after 5 AM. A great night!
As you can imagine, I slept most of the day away the next day, and in the evening I did my laundry and some other things here and there until I joined my head teacher for dinner and Avatar in 3D at the local mall. I had a delicious steak with rice and LOVED the movie. I can’t wait to own it for myself. But since the movie is over 3 hours long (or so), my day was over by the time I got home and went to bed soon after.
Christmas eve wasn’t too bad. My present assistant manager is getting promoted to manager of another school and starts there next week, and we thus welcomed her replacement that afternoon. She is brand new to the company, but is really nice and hopefully she doesn’t have too much trouble getting into the swing of things. I’m looking forward to working with her. I had three classes during the day and did a bunch of stuff to help the staff prepare for the kids’ Christmas party the next day or preparing for this week’s holiday. When the day was up, I stayed after for a good long while and just goofed off with whoever had the time. I had dinner at my Ramen place on the way home and watched the Polar Express (4th year running). It was a low-key evening fo sho, but good.
Chistmas was great! We had the kids’ Christmas party and it went over very well. The kids were really cute as usual, and I didn’t have to make sure they were paying attention to what I was saying. An extra plus. I also got to be Santa Clause toward the end of it and gave little gifts out to all the kiddies. They didn’t believe it for a second haha. One took my hat off, while others tried to peek at the pillow under my shirt or pull my beard from my face. Everyone seemed to have fun though and the kids left happy. I wish them and their families a happy new year ^_^ I had one class after the party and then we did the staff secret santa and chatted it up until we called it a day and went home. It was a good Christmas
Saturday went really nicely. I took down the Christmas decorations right away as well as anything having to do with the self-study program. It was very relieving to be able to put away the salesman side of me for a good long while until the end of this coming spring. Surprisingly enough though, I managed to make a sale 0_0 I did a verbal assessment and counseling with a student and he decided to do a little extra study to help him along. I’ll do what I can to make sure it helps. After all the students who did speaking assessments and such were gone, we ordered pizza and savored our last Saturday of the year and last night as the Nakayama 09 staff that I came to care for. 2010 will have a lot of big changes for me within the first four months. I look forward to what they may hold, but I will still look back on Nakayama 09 with a smile.
Sunday was nice. I went out to get some snowboarding pants with my manager and a friend and then, joined my (former) assistant manager and her boyfriend for a house club night in Tokyo. . . though it was from 5-11 (gotta get that last train yo!). Her boyfriend was actually one of the DJs of the evening and really impressed me. I had no problems dancing the whole time while he did his thing behind the stand. The whole event was a lot of fun really. I was the only person there that wasn’t Japanese, so I got a TON of practice. As did some of the Japanese there that wanted to practice their English. Man, that event was definitely worth repeating. I even got a CD of one of my assistant manager’s boyfriend’s mixes . . . SWEET! Check him out at: http://www.myspace.com/yasuexesounds.
For the last two days, I have been a useless piece of crap. I have “spring cleaned” my apartment, but otherwise I have been veging out and loving it. I have been needing this time alone to just let my mind go and worry bout different things of a personal nature. For example, I have been selecting photos of times and friends that I have taken since I got deployed to Cuba. It took a REALLY long time, but the trip through memory lane was surprisingly moving and almost unsettling. Through these pictures I relived countless happy moments and the heat of old crushes. No lie, I got pretty homesick for a bit there. It made me think really hard and re-toggle my perspective about my current circumstances.
I had some really fun times over the last 4 years and seeing them again today and yesterday through these photos still managed to make my heart flutter with differing flavors of delight. I started playing with those two most terrible words as I viewed some of my most cherished memories and people . . . “what if.” I quickly remembered, as I was also reminded by some pics, of decisions made that I can’t take back and how I could never get back to those times if I even wanted to anyway. Those decisions lead to courses that lead me to this very moment, place, and emotional contentment. It would be a waste and immature of me to doubt them for even a moment. Nonetheless these memories are who I am and I plan to have them printed and spread around the walls of my apartment in order to remind myself and show off to any guests that I am truly lucky.
Sorry for the novel, I’ll leave it at that. Have a wonderful new year!
The following workweek (last week) was a lot busier than I had anticipated; and we even had Wednesday off 0_0 For starters, Tuesday was the day of the adult Christmas party. We had normal classes all day that went just fine that was swiftly followed by the party; which went really well. We held it at my favorite curry place that my coworker and I go to every Friday. As usual, the staff was awesome and the food was delicious (though a bit spicier than usual). There was a lot of happy drinking, chatter, and everyone but me, enjoyed his or her first white elephant gift exchange. I wasn’t sure how well the idea was going to work out, but was relieved to see that people were enjoying themselves the whole time. Who would have thought the element of theft could bring such merriment to a Christmas occasion =P The after party was taken to silver lanes where only three students joined us five staff for some late night Karaoke and we managed a good time of it. So much so, that everyone missed their last train and we took the show to my apartment and talked the night away till everyone made their first train at a little after 5 AM. A great night!
As you can imagine, I slept most of the day away the next day, and in the evening I did my laundry and some other things here and there until I joined my head teacher for dinner and Avatar in 3D at the local mall. I had a delicious steak with rice and LOVED the movie. I can’t wait to own it for myself. But since the movie is over 3 hours long (or so), my day was over by the time I got home and went to bed soon after.
Christmas eve wasn’t too bad. My present assistant manager is getting promoted to manager of another school and starts there next week, and we thus welcomed her replacement that afternoon. She is brand new to the company, but is really nice and hopefully she doesn’t have too much trouble getting into the swing of things. I’m looking forward to working with her. I had three classes during the day and did a bunch of stuff to help the staff prepare for the kids’ Christmas party the next day or preparing for this week’s holiday. When the day was up, I stayed after for a good long while and just goofed off with whoever had the time. I had dinner at my Ramen place on the way home and watched the Polar Express (4th year running). It was a low-key evening fo sho, but good.
Chistmas was great! We had the kids’ Christmas party and it went over very well. The kids were really cute as usual, and I didn’t have to make sure they were paying attention to what I was saying. An extra plus. I also got to be Santa Clause toward the end of it and gave little gifts out to all the kiddies. They didn’t believe it for a second haha. One took my hat off, while others tried to peek at the pillow under my shirt or pull my beard from my face. Everyone seemed to have fun though and the kids left happy. I wish them and their families a happy new year ^_^ I had one class after the party and then we did the staff secret santa and chatted it up until we called it a day and went home. It was a good Christmas
Saturday went really nicely. I took down the Christmas decorations right away as well as anything having to do with the self-study program. It was very relieving to be able to put away the salesman side of me for a good long while until the end of this coming spring. Surprisingly enough though, I managed to make a sale 0_0 I did a verbal assessment and counseling with a student and he decided to do a little extra study to help him along. I’ll do what I can to make sure it helps. After all the students who did speaking assessments and such were gone, we ordered pizza and savored our last Saturday of the year and last night as the Nakayama 09 staff that I came to care for. 2010 will have a lot of big changes for me within the first four months. I look forward to what they may hold, but I will still look back on Nakayama 09 with a smile.
Sunday was nice. I went out to get some snowboarding pants with my manager and a friend and then, joined my (former) assistant manager and her boyfriend for a house club night in Tokyo. . . though it was from 5-11 (gotta get that last train yo!). Her boyfriend was actually one of the DJs of the evening and really impressed me. I had no problems dancing the whole time while he did his thing behind the stand. The whole event was a lot of fun really. I was the only person there that wasn’t Japanese, so I got a TON of practice. As did some of the Japanese there that wanted to practice their English. Man, that event was definitely worth repeating. I even got a CD of one of my assistant manager’s boyfriend’s mixes . . . SWEET! Check him out at: http://www.myspace.com/yasuexesounds.
For the last two days, I have been a useless piece of crap. I have “spring cleaned” my apartment, but otherwise I have been veging out and loving it. I have been needing this time alone to just let my mind go and worry bout different things of a personal nature. For example, I have been selecting photos of times and friends that I have taken since I got deployed to Cuba. It took a REALLY long time, but the trip through memory lane was surprisingly moving and almost unsettling. Through these pictures I relived countless happy moments and the heat of old crushes. No lie, I got pretty homesick for a bit there. It made me think really hard and re-toggle my perspective about my current circumstances.
I had some really fun times over the last 4 years and seeing them again today and yesterday through these photos still managed to make my heart flutter with differing flavors of delight. I started playing with those two most terrible words as I viewed some of my most cherished memories and people . . . “what if.” I quickly remembered, as I was also reminded by some pics, of decisions made that I can’t take back and how I could never get back to those times if I even wanted to anyway. Those decisions lead to courses that lead me to this very moment, place, and emotional contentment. It would be a waste and immature of me to doubt them for even a moment. Nonetheless these memories are who I am and I plan to have them printed and spread around the walls of my apartment in order to remind myself and show off to any guests that I am truly lucky.
Sorry for the novel, I’ll leave it at that. Have a wonderful new year!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
"I'll get chewed out . . . I've been chewed out before"
Back to normal! So the doc prescribed me some quite effective medicine and I am typing this in normal good health. Feels good. I have gotten back on the workout regimen, am feeling great, and am enjoying the weather that the Japanese winter has to offer so far. As usual, most departments of my life have been going really well.
Last Wednesday during my kids’ class; my once shy introvert proved her comfort in the class in a funny way once again. I was doing something with my arms and I accidently hit her in the face with my fingers as I was moving around. I quickly apologized in English with a clear expression of shock and concern on my face; and her response was . . . (in Japanese and jockingly) I’m gonna kill you. I was quite surprised to say the least, but really entertained as I thought about it later. A funny story I soon won’t forget.
The rest of the week at school went well enough and I honestly can remember anything else that stood out until I was off for the weekend . . . OH! My head teacher helped me purchase an electric Japanese/English dictionary for cheap and I am quite excited now that I have it. Now I won’t be up the creek without a paddle when I go to the doctor or something . . . or when I talk to girls =P
Saturday, right after work, two of my co-workers and I headed off to another school in the area to support a mutual friend at her going away party. Her contract had come to an end and her school was seeing her off with a lively event. I estimate that maybe forty students were there at least. Our friend was definitely one loved teacher. She had been there for a year and a half, and being the charming gal that she is, I was not surprised to see so many people wanting to be around to say goodbye to her. The event got pretty emotional actually. There, were some really good heartfelt speeches, as well as a few tears here and there. It was quite the event. I am sure plenty of the people at the school will miss her and I will be missing her as well (until she returns). We had some good times together ^_^
On Sunday, I headed to one of the popular mountains near here named Mt. Takao (Takao-san). On a sunny day, around the time of the winter solstice, one is able to watch the sun set directly atop of Mt. Fuji. The Japanese call this occasion Diamond Head. But alas . . . it was cloudy -.- BUT, all was ok, as I had a really good time with my companion and the mountain had a beautiful view and a lot to see on the trails. It was not at all a wasted venture. After Takao, we enjoyed some delicious Chinese food and I headed off to hip-hop. Their performance is in less than two weeks and the group is pretty much ready to go. I’m bummed I can’t be part of it, but hope that they do well.
Monday was a lazy day for me. I did some laundry and chores, and then headed to the local mall to get my secret santa gift for work. While there I decided to catch the movie: Inglorious Bastards. It was actually very thought invoking (don’t read on if you haven’t yet seen it, cause I am gonna spill the beans about this movie). So basically it is another WWII story with a plot revolving around an attempt to kill Hitler and end the war right away. Well, I have to admit that I was really surprised to see that the story goes against history and realizes this fantasy. In a theater owned by a Jew in hiding, Jewish American soldiers (the commander isn’t Jewish though) and the Jewish theater owner manage to kill Hitler, Goering, and two more Nazi top dogs amidst roaring flames and machine gun fire in a crowd of German officers and elites in her theater. At times it is a gory and vulgar spectacle, but I have to admit I was amazed with some of the acting and some lines were said that just make ya think. I could go on for a while bout the movie, but I wont bore you with it. I’ll just leave with saying that it was . . . woah.
The week has been coming along well so far and I am facing everyday with a smile. I hope the same goes for you ^_^
Last Wednesday during my kids’ class; my once shy introvert proved her comfort in the class in a funny way once again. I was doing something with my arms and I accidently hit her in the face with my fingers as I was moving around. I quickly apologized in English with a clear expression of shock and concern on my face; and her response was . . . (in Japanese and jockingly) I’m gonna kill you. I was quite surprised to say the least, but really entertained as I thought about it later. A funny story I soon won’t forget.
The rest of the week at school went well enough and I honestly can remember anything else that stood out until I was off for the weekend . . . OH! My head teacher helped me purchase an electric Japanese/English dictionary for cheap and I am quite excited now that I have it. Now I won’t be up the creek without a paddle when I go to the doctor or something . . . or when I talk to girls =P
Saturday, right after work, two of my co-workers and I headed off to another school in the area to support a mutual friend at her going away party. Her contract had come to an end and her school was seeing her off with a lively event. I estimate that maybe forty students were there at least. Our friend was definitely one loved teacher. She had been there for a year and a half, and being the charming gal that she is, I was not surprised to see so many people wanting to be around to say goodbye to her. The event got pretty emotional actually. There, were some really good heartfelt speeches, as well as a few tears here and there. It was quite the event. I am sure plenty of the people at the school will miss her and I will be missing her as well (until she returns). We had some good times together ^_^
On Sunday, I headed to one of the popular mountains near here named Mt. Takao (Takao-san). On a sunny day, around the time of the winter solstice, one is able to watch the sun set directly atop of Mt. Fuji. The Japanese call this occasion Diamond Head. But alas . . . it was cloudy -.- BUT, all was ok, as I had a really good time with my companion and the mountain had a beautiful view and a lot to see on the trails. It was not at all a wasted venture. After Takao, we enjoyed some delicious Chinese food and I headed off to hip-hop. Their performance is in less than two weeks and the group is pretty much ready to go. I’m bummed I can’t be part of it, but hope that they do well.
Monday was a lazy day for me. I did some laundry and chores, and then headed to the local mall to get my secret santa gift for work. While there I decided to catch the movie: Inglorious Bastards. It was actually very thought invoking (don’t read on if you haven’t yet seen it, cause I am gonna spill the beans about this movie). So basically it is another WWII story with a plot revolving around an attempt to kill Hitler and end the war right away. Well, I have to admit that I was really surprised to see that the story goes against history and realizes this fantasy. In a theater owned by a Jew in hiding, Jewish American soldiers (the commander isn’t Jewish though) and the Jewish theater owner manage to kill Hitler, Goering, and two more Nazi top dogs amidst roaring flames and machine gun fire in a crowd of German officers and elites in her theater. At times it is a gory and vulgar spectacle, but I have to admit I was amazed with some of the acting and some lines were said that just make ya think. I could go on for a while bout the movie, but I wont bore you with it. I’ll just leave with saying that it was . . . woah.
The week has been coming along well so far and I am facing everyday with a smile. I hope the same goes for you ^_^
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Freakin body -.-
BAH!! So I got to the doc last week and he looks in my mouth and tells my head teacher (translator of the day) that he saw that my glands were swollen and gave me all sorts of meds to beat the symptoms as well whatever it was that was ailing my system. It worked to the extent that my symptoms were reduced significantly . . . till I stopped taking the meds. Yesterday was really rough at work because of this. I was having some nasty sinus pressure to the point where I could feel a constant dull pain at the spot where my nose connects to my head. It was even throbbing at times, and my eyes were bloodshot and tearing up frequently. Fortunately Wednesday is a light day and my staff took extra concern and my manager took me to a different doctor. The doc thought it was something more along the lines of what I was actually feeling and gave me knew meds. Thank gosh. My manager sent me home and I promptly went to bed after taking some. Like before, they are working, but I am feeling a lot better already. I feel nothing like I did last night. Hopefully these pills persist and knock whatever it is that has been afflicting my immune system into non-existence. I am a lot more optimistic this time around.
Now that I got that out of my system . . . I have had my eyes opened to a new consideration in terms of kid students. I have noticed that shy and nervous kids tend to not perform well in class. They are often too quiet for me to hear and do not open their minds to class activities. On the other hand, I have noticed that if a kid is too comfortable with you, they wont respect your authority or the class in general. I am working on finding that happy medium where I am in good with the students to the point where they are comfortable, but not sacrificing their classroom attentiveness in the process. It is a conundrum that I know I won’t solve until I have a bit more experience, but I am at least aware of the issue and am happy to be striving toward that.
The past weekend was particularly good. I had dinner with an old friend from the states (worked at In N Out with me), his family and a friend of theirs. He has been here for the last six years and is married with a son (an adorable little boy). It was a wonderful few hours over some nabe, beer, and Kyushu made souchu. We sat around and talked talked about each other (as I didn’t know two of the people), tried to make the boy smile, and did a lot of laughing. I could feel the closeness of everyone at the table and I found the atmosphere to be spiritually therapeutic. There is something so peaceful about being in vicinity of a happy family or family like atmosphere.
There is more to discuss but I find myself out of time. Sorry . . . more to come next time!
Now that I got that out of my system . . . I have had my eyes opened to a new consideration in terms of kid students. I have noticed that shy and nervous kids tend to not perform well in class. They are often too quiet for me to hear and do not open their minds to class activities. On the other hand, I have noticed that if a kid is too comfortable with you, they wont respect your authority or the class in general. I am working on finding that happy medium where I am in good with the students to the point where they are comfortable, but not sacrificing their classroom attentiveness in the process. It is a conundrum that I know I won’t solve until I have a bit more experience, but I am at least aware of the issue and am happy to be striving toward that.
The past weekend was particularly good. I had dinner with an old friend from the states (worked at In N Out with me), his family and a friend of theirs. He has been here for the last six years and is married with a son (an adorable little boy). It was a wonderful few hours over some nabe, beer, and Kyushu made souchu. We sat around and talked talked about each other (as I didn’t know two of the people), tried to make the boy smile, and did a lot of laughing. I could feel the closeness of everyone at the table and I found the atmosphere to be spiritually therapeutic. There is something so peaceful about being in vicinity of a happy family or family like atmosphere.
There is more to discuss but I find myself out of time. Sorry . . . more to come next time!
Freakin body -.-
BAH!! So I got to the doc last week and he looks in my mouth and tells my head teacher (translator of the day) that he saw that my glands were swollen and gave me all sorts of meds to beat the symptoms as well whatever it was that was ailing my system. It worked to the extent that my symptoms were reduced significantly . . . till I stopped taking the meds. Yesterday was really rough at work because of this. I was having some nasty sinus pressure to the point where I could feel a constant dull pain at the spot where my nose connects to my head. It was even throbbing at times, and my eyes were bloodshot and tearing up frequently. Fortunately Wednesday is a light day and my staff took extra concern and my manager took me to a different doctor. The doc thought it was something more along the lines of what I was actually feeling and gave me knew meds. Thank gosh. My manager sent me home and I promptly went to bed after taking some. Like before, they are working, but I am feeling a lot better already. I feel nothing like I did last night. Hopefully these pills persist and knock whatever it is that has been afflicting my immune system into non-existence. I am a lot more optimistic this time around.
Now that I got that out of my system . . . I have had my eyes opened to a new consideration in terms of kid students. I have noticed that shy and nervous kids tend to not perform well in class. They are often too quiet for me to hear and do not open their minds to class activities. On the other hand, I have noticed that if a kid is too comfortable with you, they wont respect your authority or the class in general. I am working on finding that happy medium where I am in good with the students to the point where they are comfortable, but not sacrificing their classroom attentiveness in the process. It is a conundrum that I know I won’t solve until I have a bit more experience, but I am at least aware of the issue and am happy to be striving toward that.
The past weekend was particularly good. I had dinner with an old friend from the states (worked at In N Out with me), his family and a friend of theirs. He has been here for the last six years and is married with a son (an adorable little boy). It was a wonderful few hours over some nabe, beer, and Kyushu made souchu. We sat around and talked talked about each other (as I didn’t know two of the people), tried to make the boy smile, and did a lot of laughing. I could feel the closeness of everyone at the table and I found the atmosphere to be spiritually therapeutic. There is something so peaceful about being in vicinity of a happy family or family like atmosphere.
There is more to discuss but I find myself out of time. Sorry . . . more to come next time!
Now that I got that out of my system . . . I have had my eyes opened to a new consideration in terms of kid students. I have noticed that shy and nervous kids tend to not perform well in class. They are often too quiet for me to hear and do not open their minds to class activities. On the other hand, I have noticed that if a kid is too comfortable with you, they wont respect your authority or the class in general. I am working on finding that happy medium where I am in good with the students to the point where they are comfortable, but not sacrificing their classroom attentiveness in the process. It is a conundrum that I know I won’t solve until I have a bit more experience, but I am at least aware of the issue and am happy to be striving toward that.
The past weekend was particularly good. I had dinner with an old friend from the states (worked at In N Out with me), his family and a friend of theirs. He has been here for the last six years and is married with a son (an adorable little boy). It was a wonderful few hours over some nabe, beer, and Kyushu made souchu. We sat around and talked talked about each other (as I didn’t know two of the people), tried to make the boy smile, and did a lot of laughing. I could feel the closeness of everyone at the table and I found the atmosphere to be spiritually therapeutic. There is something so peaceful about being in vicinity of a happy family or family like atmosphere.
There is more to discuss but I find myself out of time. Sorry . . . more to come next time!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Here comes the weekend
There is a video along with this post. Please refer to my blogger site to get the full scoop on my update.
Here are pics of something I forgot to mention in the video. We put up some decorations for Christmas in the office (and here are some pics of the Sushi). I like the atmospheric change and think the decorations to be a nice touch . . . Enjoy ^_^
Here are pics of something I forgot to mention in the video. We put up some decorations for Christmas in the office (and here are some pics of the Sushi). I like the atmospheric change and think the decorations to be a nice touch . . . Enjoy ^_^
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Made it!
I was granted the privilege to breath easy at work 26 days before I was scheduled to. My school managed to meet it’s sales goal for the self-study program this fall/winter in record time (the goal wasn’t even reached last year). Now my head teacher has to buy the TMX Elmo for the staff’s entertainment and I can now feel less pressure in offering materials to my students. Some of them can actually benefit from what the materials have to offer, and I will happily do so if I think they will truly benefit from em or are actually interested. I am expecting to enjoy December at work a bit more now ^_^
Classes have been going well since my last entry . . . for the most part. I had an open house where three of the four kids’ brains wouldn’t work cause their Mom’s were in the room. It drove me absolutely bats and I felt horrible after that class (UGH!!). Other than that though, I have no other negative things to report. Something funny happened today though. One of my originally super-shy kids really surprised me today. I forgot what I did, but I said “Im sorry” to her because of it, and she responded to me in Japanese “I can not forgive you.” It wasn’t a big deal and she was clearly playing, but it was sooooo funny. I was so shocked (in a good way) that she would say such a thing. I wish you could have seen it. I was laughing even after she left LOL. Usually this would bother me, but even though she said something like that, she tried her best when it came time to getting serious. I think she is just comfortable finally, and I am glad she can express that haha.
On Christmas day, we are having our kids’ Christmas party at work . . . That will make the day a lot happier for me than what I expect it would probably be if I was doing nothing that day. I think I will be just fine this Christmas . . . Though I still wish you were here to share it with me.
I made a difficult decision this week. As most of you know, I love the music artist named Kaskade. Well, he is coming to Japan this week for a three-day tour. He will be in Tokyo on Friday, in Nagoya on Saturday, and in Kyoto on Sunday. I decided not to go to the Friday show cause I have class Saturday and thought it would be childish and unfair to my students to lower my teaching effectiveness for the sake of a concert/good time that amounted to nothing more than a good memory. I could go to event in Nagoya on Saturday, but the trip there and back would cost about a hundred bucks. Not only that, but I would need to rest somewhere as well in order to recover and I wouldn’t have much time to explore. If I was making a short trip with a friend out of this venture I might have done it, but the present circumstances are not desirable enough. Too bad, but I am sure he’ll be back! This is a big deal for me. I have done dumb stuff in the past just to see this guy perform . . . I am glad I have grown past that . . . Can’t wait till he returns though!
Classes have been going well since my last entry . . . for the most part. I had an open house where three of the four kids’ brains wouldn’t work cause their Mom’s were in the room. It drove me absolutely bats and I felt horrible after that class (UGH!!). Other than that though, I have no other negative things to report. Something funny happened today though. One of my originally super-shy kids really surprised me today. I forgot what I did, but I said “Im sorry” to her because of it, and she responded to me in Japanese “I can not forgive you.” It wasn’t a big deal and she was clearly playing, but it was sooooo funny. I was so shocked (in a good way) that she would say such a thing. I wish you could have seen it. I was laughing even after she left LOL. Usually this would bother me, but even though she said something like that, she tried her best when it came time to getting serious. I think she is just comfortable finally, and I am glad she can express that haha.
On Christmas day, we are having our kids’ Christmas party at work . . . That will make the day a lot happier for me than what I expect it would probably be if I was doing nothing that day. I think I will be just fine this Christmas . . . Though I still wish you were here to share it with me.
I made a difficult decision this week. As most of you know, I love the music artist named Kaskade. Well, he is coming to Japan this week for a three-day tour. He will be in Tokyo on Friday, in Nagoya on Saturday, and in Kyoto on Sunday. I decided not to go to the Friday show cause I have class Saturday and thought it would be childish and unfair to my students to lower my teaching effectiveness for the sake of a concert/good time that amounted to nothing more than a good memory. I could go to event in Nagoya on Saturday, but the trip there and back would cost about a hundred bucks. Not only that, but I would need to rest somewhere as well in order to recover and I wouldn’t have much time to explore. If I was making a short trip with a friend out of this venture I might have done it, but the present circumstances are not desirable enough. Too bad, but I am sure he’ll be back! This is a big deal for me. I have done dumb stuff in the past just to see this guy perform . . . I am glad I have grown past that . . . Can’t wait till he returns though!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Feeling better
I am coming around from a long run of a mild cough or cold that has been persisting for over the last two weeks. I had a few too many drinks with a friend last Monday and made my situation even worse and I decided to give in and finally go to the doctor this Monday after I realized I wasn’t going to get any better on my own. Like I said, the affects of my illness were mild overall and I did a lot of resting, so I was ok to work but did little else. I would usually go home and quickly go to bed. Thus, there will be a sense of discontinuity with my entries over the next few days, cause I don’t want for these to be too long for you to read by packing in everything I have wanted to relay over the last seven days.
Over the last week, I had a lot of time to myself because I can be kinda grumpy when I am sick and thus avoided real-time Internet communication or hanging out during the week. I did a lot of thinking in that time and realized a little bit more about myself. I have been able to change in my short time here. The person I was when I left California would have trouble understanding the person I am right now. Some of my values have shifted and beliefs towards certain things have been shifted. I feel like lot more is clear me, and making small life decisions will now be that much easier. To sum up what I have learned in one sentence, I say that; just because I have the lifestyle of an “adult” doesn’t mean that I automatically become one.
I was still somewhat of an idiot kid when I came to Japan and acted in that capacity, but I realized that as time drew on and have reduced that behavior to (what I believe to be) an age appropriate level. I am relieved to report that I am 26 and actually seem to be acting like it.
Last Friday I got one of the best surprises. One of my kids students presented me with this:
I am was and still am so touched . . . even if his Mom made him do it LOL. He presented it to me with sincerity. Not much more to say.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sochu -_-
Good weekend last weekend. I didn’t do as much as usual, but it is nice to relax and relatively bum it once in a while. Work on Saturday went well. I was rested and enjoyed all of my classes. A couple of them got cancelled, due to students not showing up and I was able to get a head-start on this weeks prep. It was very helpful as I didn't feel too hot today (I’ll explain later) and was a bit busy, so I needed the extra time today. I was also able to make a sale of self-study material, which kept the pressure off a bit. I’m grateful for the ease of my present situation and it further helps that I think the student will benefit from and probably enjoy the material he purchased. A good Saturday, overall. After work, a co-worker and I hit my favorite Curry place and I took it easy for the rest of the evening. Felt good.
On Sunday, I was finally able to finish my Christmas shopping, to my great relief, and make a little trip out of the errand. The city I did it in was one of the big tourist stops here (Asakusa), but I checked out a different attraction than Senso-ji. My next-door neighbor in Irvine had a Japanese exchange student homestaying with her, whom I have recently been in touch with, and she told me about a really good ramen shop there. Naturally, I had to go and am so glad I did. I have a new favorite ramen place. The meal was amazing; I hadn’t even eaten breakfast and I was sooo full when I was finished . . . I couldn’t eve slurp down the soup 0_0 Anywho, I walked around some while and after I shopped and then later bummed it at home for the rest of the afternoon and night. A good day.
On Monday, I did all my chores, caught up with some friends back in the US and was fortunate enough to meet up with a long lost friend here. A co-worker from In-N-Out had come here 6 years ago a year after he graduated and he never went back. He is now married with a young child and seems to be doing really well. We had some dinner and a few drinks at the local izakaya. It was really nice catching up and also quite a learning experience learning experience as I was really interested in his job. We talked about stuff like that for about 3 hours and it definitely left an impression with me. I’m looking forward to hanging out with him again. . . and I wanna meet his boy lol.
Today was a good day even though I was feeling the effects of a few too many drinks from the night before. Got my work out in, enjoyed my Japanese lesson with my co-worker and survived work just fine with mild ill affect haha. I’ll be turning in early tonight though! Anyway, I had another good kid moment today. My genius 5 year old likes Michael Jackson a lot and his mom requested that I try to teach him to sing some of the songs in class if I could. Well I totally had time today and I taught him a piece of ABC by Jackson five . . . he and mom liked it ^_^ I also noticed that he expresses himself to me in English a lot more recently. It’s very encouraging. He may be better than me at English some day. The rest of the kids’ classes went ok. I don't like the lesson for today and since I wasn’t feeling too hot, class didn’t go as well as I liked, but they could have been worse for sure. Hopefully I am better tomorrow and won’t have any problems.
We’ll see!
On Sunday, I was finally able to finish my Christmas shopping, to my great relief, and make a little trip out of the errand. The city I did it in was one of the big tourist stops here (Asakusa), but I checked out a different attraction than Senso-ji. My next-door neighbor in Irvine had a Japanese exchange student homestaying with her, whom I have recently been in touch with, and she told me about a really good ramen shop there. Naturally, I had to go and am so glad I did. I have a new favorite ramen place. The meal was amazing; I hadn’t even eaten breakfast and I was sooo full when I was finished . . . I couldn’t eve slurp down the soup 0_0 Anywho, I walked around some while and after I shopped and then later bummed it at home for the rest of the afternoon and night. A good day.
On Monday, I did all my chores, caught up with some friends back in the US and was fortunate enough to meet up with a long lost friend here. A co-worker from In-N-Out had come here 6 years ago a year after he graduated and he never went back. He is now married with a young child and seems to be doing really well. We had some dinner and a few drinks at the local izakaya. It was really nice catching up and also quite a learning experience learning experience as I was really interested in his job. We talked about stuff like that for about 3 hours and it definitely left an impression with me. I’m looking forward to hanging out with him again. . . and I wanna meet his boy lol.
Today was a good day even though I was feeling the effects of a few too many drinks from the night before. Got my work out in, enjoyed my Japanese lesson with my co-worker and survived work just fine with mild ill affect haha. I’ll be turning in early tonight though! Anyway, I had another good kid moment today. My genius 5 year old likes Michael Jackson a lot and his mom requested that I try to teach him to sing some of the songs in class if I could. Well I totally had time today and I taught him a piece of ABC by Jackson five . . . he and mom liked it ^_^ I also noticed that he expresses himself to me in English a lot more recently. It’s very encouraging. He may be better than me at English some day. The rest of the kids’ classes went ok. I don't like the lesson for today and since I wasn’t feeling too hot, class didn’t go as well as I liked, but they could have been worse for sure. Hopefully I am better tomorrow and won’t have any problems.
We’ll see!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday
The cold has finally come to my town. I have been consistently wearing a scarf with my outfit when going out and wearing long sleeved garments when around the house. That’s only cause I am too cheap to use the heater most of the time though LOL. Of course, I intend to use it if you ever stay over at my place; I’m not that cheap haha. I like this weather though and have always enjoyed it. I don't feel sticky or gross all the time and it is easier to get warm than to stay cool, for me. I will definitely be enjoying the weather over the next 4 or 5 months.
Work has been going well. Still busy as I expected, but it has been nice to not worry bout prep as well as all these other responsibilities I have had to pay attention to. The open houses have gone well enough. Actually, only one Mom showed up yesterday, so it was pretty much a none-issue. On the other hand, all but one showed up for today’s class though. I was kinda worried as this class is probably my biggest problem class and I was expecting a somewhat tough time with them and the parents having problems. Fortunately, my students decided to help me out and actually play like well behaved and invested students and the class went better than it has in a long time. Whew! I have one tomorrow, which I think will go just fine, but the Moms are really involved and I fear any dissatisfaction. We shall see how it goes 0_0
Other than that; I have no real news or thoughts to report. Just gotta keep on top of my rest, so that I don't get sick amidst this change of weather. I hope all is well and miss you <3
Work has been going well. Still busy as I expected, but it has been nice to not worry bout prep as well as all these other responsibilities I have had to pay attention to. The open houses have gone well enough. Actually, only one Mom showed up yesterday, so it was pretty much a none-issue. On the other hand, all but one showed up for today’s class though. I was kinda worried as this class is probably my biggest problem class and I was expecting a somewhat tough time with them and the parents having problems. Fortunately, my students decided to help me out and actually play like well behaved and invested students and the class went better than it has in a long time. Whew! I have one tomorrow, which I think will go just fine, but the Moms are really involved and I fear any dissatisfaction. We shall see how it goes 0_0
Other than that; I have no real news or thoughts to report. Just gotta keep on top of my rest, so that I don't get sick amidst this change of weather. I hope all is well and miss you <3
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Weekend report
This past weekend was a great one! After work on Saturday, I just vegged in my apartment and did whatever while watching a couple of movies. It is nice to go brain numb every once in a while. On Sunday, I took care of some chores and refused to stay indoors since the weather was so freakin beautiful. I headed out to find this park in my city (that had alluded me one night back in the summer) and was successful in doing so it. It is a wonderful little spot. A perfect place to, go walk off some steam, go for a walk (even a romantic one with a date), or just forget the civilization that surrounds you all together for a bit. I walked around most of it and was really taken aback by its peacefulness even though a good amount of people were there. Every one I saw seemed happy and in high spirits. I took some pictures and did some good thinking and am looking forward to late May or June when the fireflies are supposed to be out and about.
After the park, I had hip-hop class and it went well as usual. Like I said before, the classmates are getting used to me and getting friendlier every week. It's a refreshing experience every time I go. After class I stayed after and chatted with my choreographer a bit. Turns out that He developed quite a fondness for hip hop culture as he studied it in college and on his own, which motivated him to start dancing. Now he dedicates himself to continuously further the art of hip hop dance whenever he has the time to do so. He’s got some undeniable passion and discipline. Haha, he also wants to go out drinking sometime after the performance in January. I am definitely looking forward to that!
On Monday, I enjoyed another cool first experience here . . . Footsol! Footsol is basically 5v5 soccer on a smaller field with a smaller ball and some of the minor rules are changed. So I went with a friend of my manager and he, as well as everyone else there, spoke and understood as much English as I do Japanese. He and everyone were really nice though and I had a really good time playing. It turned out to be a friendly tournament and with about 50 participants. I had the luck of being on the strongest team as we won the tournament 0_0 I wasn’t a starter for our team or anything, but I was ok with that. Footsol can be REALLY tiring if you aren’t conditioned for it and I was grateful to have been invited out and allowed to participate in the first place. Afterward, My manager’s friend took me to this restaurant at a market in Yokohama that had US portions of food at U.S. prices. I freakin gorged myself LOL. It was a great time and I was glad to have made a new friend. Ha plans to join my manager and I for snowboarding in the winter.
The workweek started off well enough. Due to all the work I was able to accomplish last week, I was able to majorly cut down on my normal weekly prep time. I easily finished everything today even though it was kinda hectic. Hopefully “the sailing” continues to go smoothly. Businesswise, we are in a good place right now, so the pressure isn’t too high and everyone is in fair spirits. I hope we can keep it going.
So this week and next, parents will be coming into class with their kids. I’m a little nervous about it, but I actually had one today and it didn’t overly affect me in any ill manner. Actually, I didn’t notice the parents for most of the class. I hope all of them go this well or better.
Haha, another cute attack story happened today. My head teacher has this lesson for 5~6 year olds with two really cute students and one of them is an absolute doll. She seems to have gotten comfortable with me since she was in my group for the Halloween party and has been all smiles with me as a result. Well today she broke my cute-meter twice. First time was before one of my classes while I was playin around with my genius 5 year old. I was just goofing off and did something goofy with my hands and the girl totally cracked up from the other end of the lobby. The laugh was quite infectious and I quickly joined in with her. Then after class, my head teacher was doing the lesson review with the two (they were going over what animals say), and When the head teacher asked “what does a tiger say;” she said “ROARRRR” and kinda leaned in to him as if she were an intimidating animal herself. It was too much and I started cracking up . . . and her Mom (right next to me) did the same. I am so excited to teach her in the spring >_<
One thing I have wanted to mention, and always forgot, is a funny phenomenon I wasn’t expecting. I guess some older women here find it fashionable to dye their hair purple. I’m not talking subtle highlights either; I am talking about straight up in your face unnatural PURPLE. I have no problems with it, but am just simply amused by how the old ladies find it fashionable here while the old ladies in the US fuss at their kids or grandkids for “having crazy hair.” Definitely something to look for if you ever come out here.
Other than that all I well and I will keep it commin ^_^
After the park, I had hip-hop class and it went well as usual. Like I said before, the classmates are getting used to me and getting friendlier every week. It's a refreshing experience every time I go. After class I stayed after and chatted with my choreographer a bit. Turns out that He developed quite a fondness for hip hop culture as he studied it in college and on his own, which motivated him to start dancing. Now he dedicates himself to continuously further the art of hip hop dance whenever he has the time to do so. He’s got some undeniable passion and discipline. Haha, he also wants to go out drinking sometime after the performance in January. I am definitely looking forward to that!
On Monday, I enjoyed another cool first experience here . . . Footsol! Footsol is basically 5v5 soccer on a smaller field with a smaller ball and some of the minor rules are changed. So I went with a friend of my manager and he, as well as everyone else there, spoke and understood as much English as I do Japanese. He and everyone were really nice though and I had a really good time playing. It turned out to be a friendly tournament and with about 50 participants. I had the luck of being on the strongest team as we won the tournament 0_0 I wasn’t a starter for our team or anything, but I was ok with that. Footsol can be REALLY tiring if you aren’t conditioned for it and I was grateful to have been invited out and allowed to participate in the first place. Afterward, My manager’s friend took me to this restaurant at a market in Yokohama that had US portions of food at U.S. prices. I freakin gorged myself LOL. It was a great time and I was glad to have made a new friend. Ha plans to join my manager and I for snowboarding in the winter.
The workweek started off well enough. Due to all the work I was able to accomplish last week, I was able to majorly cut down on my normal weekly prep time. I easily finished everything today even though it was kinda hectic. Hopefully “the sailing” continues to go smoothly. Businesswise, we are in a good place right now, so the pressure isn’t too high and everyone is in fair spirits. I hope we can keep it going.
So this week and next, parents will be coming into class with their kids. I’m a little nervous about it, but I actually had one today and it didn’t overly affect me in any ill manner. Actually, I didn’t notice the parents for most of the class. I hope all of them go this well or better.
Haha, another cute attack story happened today. My head teacher has this lesson for 5~6 year olds with two really cute students and one of them is an absolute doll. She seems to have gotten comfortable with me since she was in my group for the Halloween party and has been all smiles with me as a result. Well today she broke my cute-meter twice. First time was before one of my classes while I was playin around with my genius 5 year old. I was just goofing off and did something goofy with my hands and the girl totally cracked up from the other end of the lobby. The laugh was quite infectious and I quickly joined in with her. Then after class, my head teacher was doing the lesson review with the two (they were going over what animals say), and When the head teacher asked “what does a tiger say;” she said “ROARRRR” and kinda leaned in to him as if she were an intimidating animal herself. It was too much and I started cracking up . . . and her Mom (right next to me) did the same. I am so excited to teach her in the spring >_<
One thing I have wanted to mention, and always forgot, is a funny phenomenon I wasn’t expecting. I guess some older women here find it fashionable to dye their hair purple. I’m not talking subtle highlights either; I am talking about straight up in your face unnatural PURPLE. I have no problems with it, but am just simply amused by how the old ladies find it fashionable here while the old ladies in the US fuss at their kids or grandkids for “having crazy hair.” Definitely something to look for if you ever come out here.
Other than that all I well and I will keep it commin ^_^
Saturday, November 14, 2009
idiot boy!
So I got to video chat with my family in VA for two hours and reconnect with some other friends on skype. It was a wonderful experience and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to see everyone smiles in real time and “catch up.” I am looking forward to a lot more video chatting in the near future ^_^
Work was a bit bothersome for me today though. I was a bit on the tired side and it affected my last class. The teaching point for that class is kind of tricky for me to teach because I don't often use the “present perfect for continuation” that much when I speak, and I let myself get confused over a particular part of the lesson. I felt very ashamed because I think it looked really bad in front of the students. I hope that they didn't mind too much about my goof up. I did recover, but I still don’t like making mistakes like that. They are steps in the wrong direction -_- I will try to make sure THAT doesn’t happen again.
On a different note, I have come to a funny realization. The gym I frequent here is like my own personal version of that local bar where everyone knows eachother. It’s really like that show “Cheers.” Every time I go in there, the same group of older men is there talking amongst themselves between sets. They are pretty impressive though as a few of them actually out lift me. There are some other folks I see there often also and everybody is starting to be friendly with me. Today one of em even went out of his way to talk to me as I left. It was a good moment ^_^ It’s actually kind of comforting in a way.
Now I am off to bed to face a hopefully fun weekend . . .z z z ZZZ z z Z
Work was a bit bothersome for me today though. I was a bit on the tired side and it affected my last class. The teaching point for that class is kind of tricky for me to teach because I don't often use the “present perfect for continuation” that much when I speak, and I let myself get confused over a particular part of the lesson. I felt very ashamed because I think it looked really bad in front of the students. I hope that they didn't mind too much about my goof up. I did recover, but I still don’t like making mistakes like that. They are steps in the wrong direction -_- I will try to make sure THAT doesn’t happen again.
On a different note, I have come to a funny realization. The gym I frequent here is like my own personal version of that local bar where everyone knows eachother. It’s really like that show “Cheers.” Every time I go in there, the same group of older men is there talking amongst themselves between sets. They are pretty impressive though as a few of them actually out lift me. There are some other folks I see there often also and everybody is starting to be friendly with me. Today one of em even went out of his way to talk to me as I left. It was a good moment ^_^ It’s actually kind of comforting in a way.
Now I am off to bed to face a hopefully fun weekend . . .z z z ZZZ z z Z
Friday, November 13, 2009
None of my business
Today went fairly well! Once again I was able to get a lot finished due to the fact that I only taught two classes. My life up until April will be a lot more manageable at work since there is a lot less prep and unnecessary busy work I have to do around the office. Feels good to have so much done.
The classes I taught today were pretty interesting. It was actually the first time I taught them ever (formally). My head teacher had business at the head office and I took over his low intermediate and high beginner classes for the day. They went fine, but I had to slow down my speech some and simplify my words a bit. I’ll be good if I ever have to teach those classes again though.
A funny thing has come to pass at work. I taught my manager and assistant manager the meaning and different ways of telling someone “its none of your business.” It was a humorous event as they got it, but what is even funnier is that they have been using the phrase on me (accurately) ever since I taught them lol. I guess they learned too well haha. So, if you meet them, be sure to mind your own business =P
The classes I taught today were pretty interesting. It was actually the first time I taught them ever (formally). My head teacher had business at the head office and I took over his low intermediate and high beginner classes for the day. They went fine, but I had to slow down my speech some and simplify my words a bit. I’ll be good if I ever have to teach those classes again though.
A funny thing has come to pass at work. I taught my manager and assistant manager the meaning and different ways of telling someone “its none of your business.” It was a humorous event as they got it, but what is even funnier is that they have been using the phrase on me (accurately) ever since I taught them lol. I guess they learned too well haha. So, if you meet them, be sure to mind your own business =P
Thursday, November 12, 2009
GOAL!
Tis the end of my second day of the workweek and things are going pretty well. The weekend ended up being great and I had a good time of it. On Sunday, I went to the soccer game and had an absolute blast. It wasn’t too crowded, my head teacher and I had good seats, and the weather wasn’t too cold. Not only that, but the crowd seemed in high spirits also. As with baseball games, Japanese fans have a lot of chants to help bolster their team’s confidence. Loud rhythmic drumming, clapping, and a good portion of the crowd jumping to the beat accompany these chants. There are also a lot of giant flags being waved around. It is a wonder whether most of the fans even can see the game amidst all the activity. It was really cool to watch (my section wasn't at all involved hehe) though. Unfortunately, my town’s team lost, but the game wasn’t a wasted outing. I will definitely catch another soccer game should the opportunity arise.
On Monday, I was able to take care of cleaning my pad, running errands and doing some shopping with my coworker. It was a good time as we chatted away a big chunk of the afternoon picking up things we need and a gift for another co-worker. In the evening I was able to work out and then go rock climbing at the rock-climbing gym near me. It felt good, but I did a thorough job of exhausting myself and slept REALLY hard that evening haha.
Yesterday started off my week well. This week is counseling week and many parents will be coming in to talk about how their kids are doing, if they will be coming back for the next year, and if they want some extra study materials. I had two of these counseling sessions yesterday. I have to let you know how funny it was to me, that one was for my best student and the other for my worst. They both went better than I expected actually and the mom of my worst student even gave me permission to discipline her kid. I don’t plan to get any stricter with him though, but . . . it's a nice though lol. He isn’t a bad kid, just an uninterested student.
Classes went well enough. Though I kinda goofed in one of em -_- (mixed up my lesson days and did the review lesson a week early). It's a complicated explanation as to why, but the mistake was caught early enough to where I was able to catch them up on what they needed to know and they did fine up to that point in the lesson anyway. The rest of the classes went as usual and one of my adult students even bought some self-study material (makes my life easier in terms of “business”).
Today was really productive as I only had two (instead of up to 5) classes and got hella prep and things around the school done that will make life easier for me in the future. I also had a good time talking and goofing with my coworkers here and there. Work is pretty nice when it is quite and everyone still has a lot of work to do. Even though there were no kids’ classes yesterday, one of my cutest students came in. She lives one or two stations away on the subway and came in all by herself. Big brave girl eh (she’s ten)? We all felt really bad and I ended up hanging out with her for an hour till her dad came into pick her up. It was fun ^_^ The rest of the day went well enough and I even helped make another sale. I’m resting easy this week. I hope the rest of it goes well.
On Monday, I was able to take care of cleaning my pad, running errands and doing some shopping with my coworker. It was a good time as we chatted away a big chunk of the afternoon picking up things we need and a gift for another co-worker. In the evening I was able to work out and then go rock climbing at the rock-climbing gym near me. It felt good, but I did a thorough job of exhausting myself and slept REALLY hard that evening haha.
Yesterday started off my week well. This week is counseling week and many parents will be coming in to talk about how their kids are doing, if they will be coming back for the next year, and if they want some extra study materials. I had two of these counseling sessions yesterday. I have to let you know how funny it was to me, that one was for my best student and the other for my worst. They both went better than I expected actually and the mom of my worst student even gave me permission to discipline her kid. I don’t plan to get any stricter with him though, but . . . it's a nice though lol. He isn’t a bad kid, just an uninterested student.
Classes went well enough. Though I kinda goofed in one of em -_- (mixed up my lesson days and did the review lesson a week early). It's a complicated explanation as to why, but the mistake was caught early enough to where I was able to catch them up on what they needed to know and they did fine up to that point in the lesson anyway. The rest of the classes went as usual and one of my adult students even bought some self-study material (makes my life easier in terms of “business”).
Today was really productive as I only had two (instead of up to 5) classes and got hella prep and things around the school done that will make life easier for me in the future. I also had a good time talking and goofing with my coworkers here and there. Work is pretty nice when it is quite and everyone still has a lot of work to do. Even though there were no kids’ classes yesterday, one of my cutest students came in. She lives one or two stations away on the subway and came in all by herself. Big brave girl eh (she’s ten)? We all felt really bad and I ended up hanging out with her for an hour till her dad came into pick her up. It was fun ^_^ The rest of the day went well enough and I even helped make another sale. I’m resting easy this week. I hope the rest of it goes well.
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