Pool and Dinner et al

Yesterday was a fun day (Sorry for the late update). 

Swimming season begins next week, so the teachers cleaned the pool at school yesterday at school. I decided to help :) 

Apparently, that was such a big deal to them - I seem to be doing a lot of firsts for ALTs at that school haha. 

Anyway, I got to wear a jersey for the first time, and went to clean the pool....wait for it....in the rain!! Yup, it was raining all day yesterday. But rather than change the schedule and move the cleaning till....oh idk, today, lol, the PE teachers decided it must be done yesterday.....

So, we all marched, umbrella in one hand and scrubber in another, to the pool. Was quite a bucket of fun, as I had expected haha.

Afterwards, the VP took all those who cleaned out to dinner (yup, the good kids gor rewarded) lol. Had a nice meal of gyoza et al, where I found out everyone else has been thinking I was 30 for the longest....should have included my age in my intro I see....that and I need to get on Vi stat.....but thats for a different location. 

In other news, I got two new students at church!!!! I get to teach privately.... I can't actually explain how or why I am so excited about this, but I am. Been planning lessons for the entire week now lmao....I'd let you know how it goes.

It would be nice to have someone to complain/exclaim to every now and then who reacts in the right manner. The only person thus far is my bff and she's busy of late sadly....

Anyhu, off to go learn Korean lol

xo

Tuesday's Report: Take 5

  They say Monday is the worst day of the week. But for mi, Tuesday is fast gaining ground in that regard. I refuse to have a worst day though, so I just try to look on the bright side all day - no one said that job was extra exhausting.

My Tuesday starts off with a class that insists on saying Isi (my name), instead of itchy. They have an 'Isi-fetish' I dare say. But compared to the other classes, I'd let them pronounce itchy any way the feel. They always have way too much energy, like a 5 year old bunch on speed. 

Next I'm off to a senior class, where my presence is of little to no difference to them - depending on the day, time and people. Once in a while, they do perk up and react as I talk. Its those times I relax a notch. This would have been my favourite class of the day, except for the fact that I always feel like I am on pins and needles around them. 

Drum rolls please, as we flip the coin. 

I'm off to a class where I get a headache even thinking about. The kids are the noisiest bunch on earth, with more ADHD than a properly diagnosed patient (if it were countable). Another fascinating aspect is the fact that they seem to be obsessed with the word 'gay'. Everything, and I mean everything, has gay as its synonym. As far as they are concerned, as long as its an English word, it can also mean gay. 

So after leaving the gay fanatics, I walk into a war zone, where the enemy is as predictable as the Second Coming. This class, as a whole, is bipolar. One minute they are happy, next minute, in a mood. Soon after that, they are mad! Having not decided if they hate mi or just want to ignore mi, their reactions flip back and forth where I'm concerned. Its like I am being bullied in Junior High all over again by boys in early puberty that are just starting to realize girls don't have cooties either! They seem preoccupied with the word 'sex', and occasionally, let that be included in their answers to questions. Its here however, that I sometimes wish I did not understand Japanese. 

So after a day of 'hyper active 5 year olds', 'gay fanatic ADHD undiagnosed kids' and a 'war fighting bipolar class', who can blame mi for saying I'm exhausted afterwards? My only consolation is that I do get to see the rest of the school in between. And my handicapped class, bless their little souls, with the proper diagnoses, are the light of my day as always. Cause regardless of how bad the day has gone, nothing beats seeing their eyes light up and the smile that appears when they see mi walking away from hells gates and say 'Hello!!'

Wish I had someone I could complain to for a bit....since they say talking makes you feel better. 

In other news, the teeth-less teacher at the school purchased a brand new set of teeth!! He finally took the permanent mask off and smiled, smiled, smiled all day today. I couldn't be happier for him. 

Off to bed to pray away this headache.

Till next time.

xo

Welcome :)

Today, two of my co-workers took mi out to dinner (shh, don't tell lol). Both of them make an interesting pair, you wouldn't guess they had things in common haha. But it was pretty fun. We went to an Okonomiyaki store, which I love by the way, and had three different kinds. While eating, I remembered the last time I had Okonomiyaki, I wasn't full - Random thought lol. 

Anyway, we had dinner for about two hours, and talked about the most random things. I admit, at first, going there, I was a little unsure of how the evening would go cause I had no idea what kind of things they were interested in. But the two of them were nice and in the end, paid for my dinner!!

On the way back, the one who dropped mi home asked about Christianity and church and I invited her to church and she said she would come!! She was very excited and asked if it was ok for her to come though she wasn't Christian. Interestingly, this is the first time (church wise) I have wanted to invite people to come to church with mi. And it came so naturally too.... i guess I must be growing up huh??

Work was quite interesting. Regular classes, but in the 5th period, I went to watch the student's power point presentation. 6th period, we had CPR training, which was interesting. The teachers found the mini drama hilarious, and so did I haha. I remember having CPR training sometime in the past, but can't pinpoint when exactly. 

Afterwards, spent about an hour goofing off with some coworkers in the office. Mi and Mr S, next to mi, would make a fine comedy duo I think. And everyone thinks my Japanese is so cute, as usual, and at the same time very Kansai - I guess my reactions and etc - which makes it more interesting lol. 

Needless to say, I loved my job today and thank God for giving mi a smile yet another day.

Now then, need to update Chrome before it crashes on mi lol.

xo

Why I Love My Town

The Day:

At 7:30am, the group of doting parents seeing their kids off outside my house tell mi 'itterashai' (have a nice day) as I leave. 

10 minutes from school, across the street from the convenience store, the lady who greets the elementary school kids and helps them cross tells mi good morning. 

2 minutes latter, the constantly smiling man on the bicycle smiles at mi as he rides past, with a 'good morning' in his wake. 

At the last store, Welcia, I begin to see students on their morning run. 

Around the corner, another group of doting parents await the school bus for their kids. They all chant 'itterashia'/ 'ohayogozaimasu' (good morning) as I walk past. 

There are the kids from the other JHS, who, I think, heard about mi from my students. They all say hi/hello/good morning, mid their run. Some stop to tell mi their names/ask for mine. 

There is the one kid who thinks he is super cool (and I do too, sue mi haha), and simply says 'hey' or nods as he jogs past (lmao the girls in his future are in for trouble).

Then there is the kid who asks mi daily if I like spagetti. Can't decide if thats the only English sentence he knows, or if he seriously forgets each time haha.

Of course, the icing on the cake: My kids. Ever surprised to see mi, like they did not expect mi to show up again!! 

They have the loudest and most joyous hellos, some screaming and waving vigorously from across the field.

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.

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My day ends with the unanimous 'See you!!' or 'Bye, bye' from the kids as I walk out the gate. 

Sometimes, I meet the bicycle man on the way and he nods with his constant smile. 

On my street, there is some little old lady or stay at home mum who is out and about, and ready with the 'okaeri' (welcome home) as I pass.

I get into my house and count the hours till the cycle begins again, with all the warm smiles.

Whats there not to love about my new home? 

My Weird Kids and Other Stories

So I have concluded that I weird kids.... Its not yet a law, but given time I'm sure it would be. Here are a few whys to back my theory up .....

For some reason, beginning yesterday, my kids, mainly the boys, have been staring at mi, then laughing, then whispering to each other. I have no idea what the are staring at or why the are laughing, and it is beginning to be very odd. 

The girls, in their quest to speak English, have taken up to asking mi odd questions with regards to a certain female teacher. The first day I walked into one of the classes, a student asked mi if I liked Miss. K.... I'm like huh? Then she rephrased and said 'Do you love Miss K?' Against my instructions, I had to ask her to say it in Japanese cause I was certain she was not phrasing her question properly. A lass, she was. I laughed that off. But over time, I've gotten random questions related to said Miss K. All suggesting some sort of feelings or something. Such as 'Do you think Miss K is cute?', or 'Do you like Miss K with short or long hair (after her hair cut)?' and so on.... I'm choosing not to read anything into all that. 

The adorable side exists too, thank God. There are the oh so adorable ones who run up to mi and say 'You are very cute!!' all the time - mainly a group of girls with messed up teeth (bless their hearts). Or the boys that debate, in Japanese - in front of mi - which one of them should tell mi I'm cute.... Then, as they all lack the balls, give up giggling and run away. 

A few laughs for my day....

xo

JHS #101: The 'Hello' Attack

I don't know where it started, or whose bright idea it was, but it seems like all the JHS kids learn only one form of greeting - HELLO. 

In the last month since I've been working, I can honestly say I have used the word 'hello' more times than in the rest of my life in total!! From the 1st years to the 3rd years, they all want to, innocently, say something to you, and at some point in time, someone said the universal form of greeting in English was 'Hello'. Which I can say is honestly not true. 

When I was growing up, I don't know about you, but I was taught to say 'Good Morning' in the morning, 'Good Afternoon' after noon and 'Good Evening' the rest of the day. At no point in life could I say 'hello' to someone older and get away with it. 

One could make the argument that the American culture doesn't exactly teach those 'greeting etiquetes', and are less formal than other cultures, but still 'Hi'/ 'Hey what's up?' are more frequently used. And I doubt kids at school say that to their teachers in America either. 

And its funny though cause in Japanese, they use 'Good Afternoon' (Konichiwa) for the general greetings. No one says 'Ossu', which means 'what's up/hello' regularly as a form of greeting....

And the volume with which they scream it, bless their little hearts. They all have megaphones and believe they need to propel their feelings with the volume of their voice. So the louder they are, right next to your ear, the more sincere they believe the hello comes out. I get scared out of my wits cause I'd be walking alone, and suddenly this loud voice from behind mi yells 'hello' at mi!! 

I think from tomorrow or so, I'd tell them what to say when they see mi. Maybe not in class cause the teachers have their own agendas, and it would be more of a pain getting to explain to them what I am trying to do to begin with.... idk. 

Anyway, in other news, I started teaching the Special Class today. They are called 'Handicapped Class' here, but that can come across as confusing as none of the kids are actually physically handicapped. Was fun but since it was the first lesson, I was a bit cautious. I did however make a few provisional diagnoses. 3 DS, 1 or 2 possible CD and a possible BD. Lets see how the rest of the time plays out. But the kids are lovely though!! So innocent, it makes them look more fragile than they already seem.

Thats all for now. 

Tudles. 

ALT Corner

So my school has this thing called "ALT Corner", which is essentially a part of the notice board where I get to design with pictures and information about my country. I am super flattered, but at the same time unsure of what to write. They wanted to know about events like National festivals, independence day, etc. But my country is so diverse that would be a little challenging to summarize into a maximum of 16 pictures!!!!

xo