yoroshiku!

Got to school this morning, sat down at my desk and the 1st grade teacher comes up to me and says 'yoroshiku onegaishimasu!'

Yoroshiku has many meanings, but whenever it is said to me it usually means 'thanks (for doing something i'm about to dump on you!)'

I quickly consider my schedule for today and no, no 1st grade class, so i tell her i don't know what she is talking about. To which she replies 'English song at the morning meeting, yoroshiku' and walks off. EH?!!

The next thing i know, the Vice Principle is telling me to get my ass down to the gym coz the Principle has called a school assembly.

The Principle does her looooooooong speech, of which i understood approximately 0% of, and then i hear 'music' and am ushered to the stage and handed a microphone. Holy mother of god! I manage to understand enough to hear that this months school song is 'Head, shoulders, knees ('needs' in this case!) and toes and that i've got 2 minutes to teach it.

So, off I go. And all the while i'm singing and doing the actions on the stage with the entire school watching me i'm thinking 'God, i wish i'd washed the wig this morning!'

kumo

Today one of my 5th grade kids came running up to the window of the teachers' room shouting 'Sha-ri sensei, Sha-ri sensei!' so I opened the door to see what the commotion was. 'Kumo, kumo' he shouted. Eeeek! I hate spiders! Then he said 'fishbone' in perfect English. WHAT?!! Now I was really confused. He said 'fishbone' again and pointed to the sky. Then it dawned on me. I always forget that kumo also means 'cloud'. How the hell he knew the word 'fishbone' I shall never know! The kids pick-up the weirdest words and phrases!

Anyway, he told me that I should grab my camera nad take a photo of the beautiful 'fishbone' cloud. So I did!

Coffee

I didn't get round to having my first coffee of the day today until 12.20.

By 10am I could feel something wasn't right. I was really sleepy and a bit light-headed.

By 12 noon I had a banging headache. I considered just going to bed and not returning to school it was so horrific. It was as though I'd got a bloke inside my brain, pounding his fists on my forehead trying to get out.

Had a coffee.

By 1pm there was absolutely no trace of a headache at all and I went into my lesson super-genki and jumping around like no-body's business.

Seems I've got myself a serious addiction. Scary!

Golden Week shenanigans

Golden Week in Japan is a string of 5 National Holidays one after the other, resulting in a week off work. Yippee! One of the holidays is 'Boys' Day' which involves hanging these beautiful carp kites from your roofs.

During Golden Week I went to Ninohe to stay with my friend Pete. Ninohe is 3 and a half hours by bullet train north of where I live. God, I love those trains!

I arrived at 4pm on Sunday and after dropping my stuff at P's and having a cuppa (we are so British) we headed up the 2 mountains in Ninohe. The paths were pretty damn steep and we needed gandalf sticks to steady us on route. I was still on my arse in under 2 minutes though! Beautiful views from the top so worth it.

We got back to the aparto at about 7pm and headed straight out with the Ninohe crew. We all went to an izakaya, then onto karaoke, and finally to the bar which P does a spot of moonlighting in. The bar is pretty classy for Japan! I was well impressed. It seemed like we were only in there for a couple of hours, but before we knew it, it was 6am and time to go home. We left the bar with a promise to be up and out at noon for a BBQ. I've absolutely no idea how we made this, but we did!

Had a great day. Relaxing in the sunshine, playing volleyball, chatting, and of course eating. Good times! The ball we were playing with seemed to have some sort of magnetic connection to the river in the park. Within 5 minutes of arriving (before the BBQ was even set-up) one ball had been lost to the elements. Grahame tried to go after it on his motorbike, but to no avail. By the end of the day there wasn't a single bloke who hadn't got wet trousers from wading into the river on a ball-retrieving mission!

Pete had ran off to recover the pesky ball on one occassion and returned absolutely soaked from head to toe. He'd been swept away by the current. Got the ball (woop!) but had forgotten that his phone was in his pocket and so completely bust that (boooooo!) The trouble that ball caused!

After the BBQ we headed back to the same bar from the previous night for a bit more fun and frolics. The Master (bloke who owns the bar) had organised the BBQ and said we could carry on the festivities back there, so off we went for another night of karaoke and jokes.

Got back around 1am and watch the film 'Children of Men'. I'd not seen it before and it was pretty awesome. Reckon I'll have to watch it again though to get my head around it fully.

On Tuesday we left the aparto at 9.30am to go on a road trip. Again, I'm not entirely sure how we managed to get up in time, but we did. There were 6 of us, so we took two cars and drove the 3 hours to the beach, stopping numerous times on route for photo opportunities. It was the perfect day for the beach. Blue skies and sunshine. There was no sand at the beach however, so it was a feat of endurance to lie on the rocks and pebbles. But, when there's an opportunity to tan, there is no room for wimpishness!

I went for a quick paddle in the water, with the hope of wading across to some smoother rocks a bit further out but a) it turned out that the water was much deeper than anticipated and b) it was fecking freezing! My feet were completely numb within minutes! So, I spent the day lazing in the sunshine, watching Tyler make a rock tower and the boys skimming stones over the water.

On the way home we stopped for sushi and another photo opportunity, before heading back to Ninohe.

When we got back to the aparto, PJ and Ebun came round and we went out to get PJ some birthday drinks. We went to a small bar where we played table football (read 'played' as 'got thrashed') and did a bit of birthday karaoke before heading back home.

Wednesday morning and time to depart Ninohe. Went for lunch with PJ and Jar before nearly missing the shink back to Fukushima. As I raced to the platform, the train was about to close its doors, but I made it. Woot!

I had a great time up north and came back with a few jokes and a bit of magic too. I'm jealous of the guys up there. They all live really close to each other (3 of them in the same apartment block) and they are all super friendly, just popping round to eachothers' apartos all the time. It was also really nice to spend some time with British people. I know that sounds crazy (and a bit racist) but i'll explain...when you chat about stuff, you usually make references and jokes about popular culture and society. Even little things, like if I mention something amusing which my gran does, other British people will laugh because it usually turns out that their gran does exactly the same. All our families have pretty much the same dynamics. You dont realise what an impact on your conversation being surrounded by Americans has, until you mingle with a load of Brits again and you find yourself sliding into familiar conversations and jokes. It's really weird! Whilst I was in Ninohe, even though it was only for a few days, and on someone's sofa, I felt completely at home. They are indeed a great bunch up there and they made my Golden Week pretty fabulous!

Jet lag.

It seems I've become an expert in dealing with jet lag! The key seems to be to skip a nights sleep somewhere along the way.

On my way back to England I caught the nightbus to Narita airport and only got 2 hours sleep. I then only managed to get in another hour on the flight due to the cracking movie choices, so by the time I reached Heathrow I was exhausted. I then preceeded to sleep all the way up to Stoke and all night long. I awoke the next morning feeling a little hazy, but okay. Although I had a lazy first couple of days with the fam, my sleeping patterns were normal (UK-stylee). Hurrah!

When I returned to Japan I also skipped a nights sleep due to the seriously talkative (read 'annoying') bloke who sat next to me on the plane. When I reached my little house I had a shower and went straight to bed. The last thing I remember hearing before my head hit the pillow was the 5 o'clock bells. I then awoke at 11 o'clock the next morning. 18 hours sleep! A new record! Since then it's been back to school and Japan sleeping patterns again. As easy as that!

The other thing to note about going home is the really horrible, homesick feeling when you are coming back. It's really weird coz I don't generally get homesick, but 2 weeks at home just wasn't enough, and I also really liked the fact that I could read and understand everything! I had forgotten what it was like not to have to struggle with a language barrier everyday! I also miss living with other people. I like my own space, don't get me wrong, but just having other people tootling around the house is nice.

So yeah, the thought of coming back to my empty house and then not seeing any of my friends for a week coz we would all be at work was not a welcoming thought. Especially when I discovered that I'd forgotten all my Japanese and was breaking out into a cold sweat just buying a train ticket! (Doh!) But, to my delight, B text me and said he would pick me up from the station. I can't tell you how much I appreciated this! Not only because my bags weighed an absolute tonne, but also because a big smile and a hug on my return was just the ticket!

The next day, rather then moping around feeling tired and lonely, I had lunch with B and Pete and then in the afternoon my neighbours came round to say hello and we all went for a walk in the sunshine to see the cows. This was just the BEST weekend I could have wished for on my return -relaxing, with lots of friendly faces. No more homesickness for me!

So, now I know how it feels to come back after a trip home I will definately make sure I'm around for anyone else doing the same. Pick-ups from the station and lunch the following day are all on the agenda. And anyone who reads this can hold me to that!

Actually, I'm gonna amend that - anyone in Fukushima who reads this can hold me to that!

'H' to the 'A' to the 'M' to the 'S, T, A!'

About 3 months ago, grade 5 got a pet hamster. It is the teeny, tiniest thing I've ever seen! Having said that, I hardly ever see it because it is nocturnal! Every time I teach grade 5 I ask if the hamster has got a name yet, but it never has. This doesn't surprise me as the rabbits also have no names and one of them is 8 years old!

Today, at cleaning time, I helped out in the 5th grade classroom and was greeted by the joyous news that the hamster had been named. Yippee! It's called 'Hamu ski'. Dear Lord! So, the word for 'ham' in Japanese is 'hamu' and 'ski' means 'I like' so they have come up with an oh-so-funny play on the word 'hamster'. Dunno whether it's the hamster that likes ham, or the kid that named it? But, there you go, the little mite's name is 'Hamuski Hamster'. It sounds like a dodgy name of a 90's rap act to me!

At 9.45 this morning I found myself getting a little peckish so I delved into my bag for a kitkat only to find that it was not there. Eeeeek! I must have eaten it! Oh no! I'd got over 2 hours until lunchtime! So I decided to go for a wander around the school to take my mind off the hunger. Just as I stepped out of the teachers' room I heard a 'Sha-ri sensei!'. I turned around to see the 6th grade students waving at me to go into the cooking room. It turns out that they were having a cooking party! All my prayers had been answered!

As it was their last ever cooking lesson, the 6th graders had been allowed to make party food and then eat it all together. Well, you should have seen it! I thought I was a bad cook! The first thing I was given was a cream sandwich. Yep, you heard correctly, a CREAM sandwich! They had literally just squirted cream onto pieces of bread and then shoved another piece on top. Interesting! Actually, it wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated, but then again, it's also not something I intend on repeating! I was also given tacoyakki (octopus dumplings), bread dipped in raspberry juice, and crusts fried in oil and sugar. I honestly have no idea how I managed to keep my face from screwing up as I ate it and told them how delicious it was! And you should have seen them wolfing it all down! Crazy! Well, that'll teach me to forget me kitkat!

Have you put on weight?

Yesterday lunchtime, amongst the other minging foodstuffs on my tray, were two giant balls of konnyaku. Bbbbllllleeerrk!

Now, in small amounts, or in miso soup, I can eat this, but in big balls? No thank you! So I left them. All the teachers laughed at me coz they can't believe that anyone wouldn't want to eat this stuff.

So, for you guys at home, I looked up the definition of konnyaku and I got 'root nodule bacteria'. Not quite, but it does definitely taste like it could be that. LOL! It's a jelly that is made from the starch from the bulb of some plant. It has absolutely no taste at all and is just a chewy lump.

The school secretary was telling me how lots of women eat it coz it's great diet food. This does not surprise me! It doesn't really have any nutritional value at all. But it does expand in your digestive system making you feel full, and it also cleans toxins out of your intestines. Yuck! Gross but true!

Anyway, this talk of diets prompted the school nurse to ask me if I had put on weight since coming to Japan. I told her that yes, I have, to which she gave the response 'I thought so'. WHAAAAAAT! However, she continued to say that this was a good thing and that if I lost any weight whilst in Japan, as the school nurse, it would be her problem, so please don't do it. I had to laugh.

Palm reading.

When I was at the driving test centre the other day, during one of the many 'waiting around' stages of the process, my Japanese translator friend asked if he could look at my hand. I showed him my left hand (as he was sitting on my left side) and he proceeded to read my palm.

He told me that I would live a long life and would have a good marriage with a good husband. He then took a closer look at the base of my little finger and said that I will be getting married when I am 35.

I then asked him what it meant if the lines on both my hands are completely different, which future am I to believe? But he said that your left hand tells of your situation now, and the right hand is your future.

WAIT A MINUTE...didn't he just tell me that I was getting married at 35 from my left hand?!! I mentioned this to him and he asked to look at my right hand. I showed him and after looking at it for approximately 5 seconds he said that yes, as he thought, I will be getting married at 35, to a good husband, and will live a long and happy life! Hahahahahahaha! I had to laugh. I then asked him if he could tell whether I was going to get my licence today and he said that yes, I would. And I did. Must be true then!

licence day

Today I went to get my Japanese driving licence. This mostly involved lots of waiting around.

I set-off at 8am, along with a translator, to the test centre. We arrived at 9.10am and went to sign-in but were told by an angry-looking woman that foreigners can only sign-in after 9.30am and so to come back later. Eeeeek! As if I wasn't nervous enough! This woman looked at me like she wanted to kill me!

At 9.30am we went back and signed-in. I gave all my documents to the woman and went and sat in the waiting area. She said at would be another hour.

After about 30 minutes she came out and gave me some forms to fill-in. These asked questions like; Did I attend a driving school in England? How many lessons did I have? How much did it cost? Was my test on a course or on the streets? How far was the test (in METERS)? etc. I did this, with the help of my translator friend and then handed the forms back to scary 'I hate foreigners' lady.

After another 15 minutes a smiley, old man came out and asked if he could interview me. My heart leapt! 1) it was not super scary evil woman, and 2) he was cute and smiley - I can work with this!

He asked me a couple of questions from the form I filled in, but in more detail. He was very impressed with how expensive my lessons had been in England and how many I had taken. He said it must be difficult to pass in the UK. Of course I agreed, wholeheartedly! The interview only lasted 5 minutes and thanks to my friend P, who had previously translated all my answers for me, I was able to answer them all by myself and not look like too much of a tit.

After the interview I waited for another 10 minutes and was then told to go downstairs and pay 4500 yen (about £30) and to fill in some more forms about my general health and stuff. One of the questions was whether I had fallen asleep at work. Hahahahaha! Almost!

More waiting. 20 minutes later I had an eye test and then had a photo taken on a swanky machine. The smiley bloke asked me if I wanted a few pictures and to choose the best one, but I said no, anything will do if I can have a licence!

More waiting. After another 30 minutes smiley came out and presented me with a beautiful Japanese licence with my mug-shot on it. WoO-HoO! ご苦労様でしたto me!

Sundays

I love Sundays. Sunday means a long lie-in, having a cappacino or two and reading a good book until lunchtime, watching some TV, having a powernap, and phoning my mum back home. Lazy and lovely.

However, yesterday I was rudely awakened at 7.30am by an announcement on the village tannoy system. God, that thing is LOUD! And they deemed the message so important that they played it twice, so it literally went on for a full 5 minutes! The message was informing everyone that at 9.00am at the community centre there was going to be a talk on "woruku rifu baransu". WHAT?!?!?!?! WORK/LIFE BALANCE! At 7.30 on a Sunday morning! I'll give them bloody work/life balance! Needless to say, I did not attend the meeting!

Big balls.

When we opened the local paper at school yesterday there was a big picture of the janitor from my other school in there(he is also head of the PTA at this school). It turns out that he has formed a band with the bloke that comes round selling stationary supplies. Half-way through reading the article (or rather, having one of the teachers read it to me) I burst out laughing. The name of their band is 'Big Ball Concert Dream' which they shorten to either 'BBCD' or 'Big Ball'. I was in hysterics! I then had to explain my amusement to the other teachers. Awkward! (the perfect word to describe this, thanks Gemma.)

I later saw the stationary bloke at school and the teachers couldn't wait to inform him of my interpretation of the band's name. OMIGOD! His face! Luckily, after the initial shock, he found the whole thing amusing (don't think the janitor will though!) He then told me why they (and by that read 'the janior') had chosen this name:

1. Ohtama (the village where I live) is built on the site where a precious stone was dug-up many years ago. When you actually got to the little museum here and see the jewel that everyone is so proud of, it's actually just a big marble! Anyway, literally, 'Oo' (or 'Oh' as they like to mis-spell it around here) means 'big', and 'tama' means 'bead' or 'ball'. And as the janitor is so proud of his English skills, he wanted an English band name and decided to translate the name of the village into English.

2. He then thought that he was being incredibly clever by changing the alphabet from 'ABCD' to 'BBCD' and so added 'Concert Dream'. However, I just found this even more amusing because now it sounds like a Chippendale-style strip show.

How I laughed! It has also kept all the teachers giggling for the last 2 days too.

Dreams come true together!

On Tuesday we had the 6th graders graduation party. This is not the actual graduation ceremony (that will be on the last day of term) but a party with all the teachers, parents, and the PTA.

When I arrived at school at 7.30am I found a giant party popper on my desk. And by giant, I mean HUUUUUUUUUUGE! The streamers inside were 3 meters long! Apparntly it was called 'DOM!', which even sounds monstrous!

It was explained to me that during the party everyone will shout the phrase 'Dreams come true together!' and after that I have to let off the 'DOM!'. Me and another teacher were in charge of the 'DOMs' and they were going to be a big surprise for everyone. I was told that they made a massive noise that hurt your ears. Great! This was gonna be fun! I'm going to hide at the back of the gym and then blast my 'DOM!' and scare the shit out of the kids! I had all morning to contemplate which child I was gonna aim mine at!

At 2.00pm each teacher was collected by a 6th grade chaperone and led to the gym. So, off I go with my little escort and 'DOM!' hidden up my jumper.

In the gym we were all shown to our seats. Each table seats 6 people - 2 students, 2 teachers, and 2 parents or PTA members. First there was the usual 10 minutes of speeches. Then we got down to the serious business of eating cakes and sweets and having the same old eating conversation; 'oishii ne.' 'oishii ne.' 'hai, oishii.' 'oishiiiiii!'

After the eating it was game time. Teachers vs. everyone else. The first game was a relay race where you had to hold a balloon between 2 people and run around a small obsticle course. That was pretty simple, but the second race was crazy! There were 2 members of the PTA stood on chairs and holding a washing line up at arms length. Attached to said washing line were bags of bread. In pairs, you had to run to the washing line and with your partner, get the bread from the washing line using your mouth. Panic struck into the hearts of every teacher in the gym! Firstly, none of them wanted to do it and make a tit out of themselves, and the ones that did, didn't want a partner because they don't do physical contact. Looks like it's just me and the Head Teacher then! He came to me and asked if I would mind if he gave me a piggy-back. WOULD I MIND?!! HELL NO! So off we go. We didn't win the race, but we got to keep the bread. Good times!

The games over, we go back to our tables and then it is announced that the teachers are going to sing a song and I am ushered to the stage. WHAAAAAT! It's the first I'd heard of this! A song sheet is thrust into my hands and the music starts. Luckily, the song is quite slow so I can keep up with the Japanese (and I made the tune up as I went). There was also a section of the song where the men sang the words and the women did a lot of 'ra, ra, ra's' so that was cool. I was especially good at that bit! The chorus was in English though, and here is where I twigged - the words were 'Dreams come true together.' Out comes 'DOM!' At the end of the song some of the teachers hold up a big banner with the phrase written on it and we all shout 'Dreams come true together!' at which point I let off 'DOM!' What a dissapointment! A slight 'pop' is all, and the 3 metres of streamers come out in one big ball and land at my feet. Booooooooooo! Still, everyone else seems to think this was a success and we are all ushered back to our seats to the sound of great applause.

Now was time for the kids. First they sang a song and then came the band. The band is my absolute favourite part of the school! I don't know why I love it so much? Maybe because I don't understand Japanese and the kids don't understand English so we communicate best through music. Whatever it is, I love it. They played for about 8 minutes, and the kids that didn't do the instruments were doing all the flag-waving and marching stuff. About half-way through, they played 'Oh when the saints come marching in'. It was at this point that I suddenly gained a different perspective. It was like having an out-of-body experience. I suddenly was looking at the kids in a different light. I realised that they were still only babies and yet they were playing better than any 16 year olds in England would. It was at this point that I started to cry. Blarting! I couldn't believe it! I don't even like 'Oh when the saints!'

To make matters worse, after the band, all the teachers were given presents by the students. I got a plant and a hand-made pencil case. Cue more tears and a very embarased 6th grader who was getting a big, squishy hug whether they liked it or not!

A couple more speeches from the PTA and we were sent on our way. All the teachers had to walk under a tunnel made by the students' arms. Damn! Just as I was pulling myself together!

I'm sad I won't be around for the real graduation ceremony (I will have already been in England for 3 days by then) but on the other hand, it'll save me a fortune in kleenex!

This party was at my stricter school, where I don't know the kids that well, and especially the 6th graders. I can only imagine what a mess I'll be in 2 weeks time when I have the party at my favourite school, with my favourite kids ever!

junbi, yoi, *beep*!

Today I spent the whole morning in the gym judging the skipping competition. God, it was cold! After 2 hours I could no longer feel my feet so I decided to join in a round of the competition - highly illegal, but no-one seemed to mind too much. I entered the 'how many skips can you do in 2 minutes?' challenge. Now, I know I'm unfit but Jesus! After 1 minute my head was pounding and I was sure I was gonna have a cardiac arrest! It was horrific! At the end of the 2 minutes all the kids rolled about laughing at me as I collapsed in a heap on the floor. Oh yeah! Very bloody funny! One of the teachers even took a photo thinking I was doing my usual 'clown-act' - if that ends-up in the school newsletter next week there'll be BIG trouble! Anyway, due to my serious lack of fitness and downright disgrace, I've decided to purchase a skipping rope of my own and once the weather warms up a little I'm gonna go outside and skip for 10 minutes everyday. Next year I'll show them pesky kids!

Just received a parcel from me mum. It was possibly the best parcel ever! Here's what was inside: 4 books, a bag full of Quality Streets (all my favourite flavours), 2 bags of M&S jaffa cakes, a bag of midget gems, and a bag of rhubarb and custards. My mum is the best! Official! It'll be jaffa cakes and a cappaccino for breakfast tomorrow! Mmmmmmmmmmm!

I'm sure most of you know, due to my photos on FB, but I went to the Sapporo Snow Festival last week. It was fabulous! I do intend to tell you all about it but I'm pretty beat tonight. Hopefully will get round to it this weekend.

Girl, you got a big mouth!

Woot! I'm official! Got my new visa today and a new re-entry permit, so I'm signed-up and ready for another year in Japan! It also means that my passport is all ready for my trip back home. Only 4 weeks and 2 sleeps to go! Yippee!

There was way too many exclamation marks in that last paragraph so I'm gonna calm myself down a bit and tell you about something else...

Am still ploughing through the letters I received from my students. I'm determined to read every single one of them, even if it takes me the next 10 years! Was reading one today from one of my 6th grade students (12 years old) it's quite a long letter but at the end it says that there are three questions he needs to ask me; 1. Are you single? 2. Why did you want to become and English teacher? and 3. How much do you get paid? Cheeky little swine! I couldn't stop laughing.

On Monday night I stumbled across 'Shipwrecked 2008' on the tinter-web. Wooooo-hooooo! My favourite programme in the world! I know at home the next season has started but I didn't get to see any of last years with being out here. I've only watched the first two episodes but I'm hooked already! Loving the third island scenario!

So I've had a lot of contact with my company over the last couple of weeks, which has been strange because I've not spoken to them in almost 9 months and they completely forget I'm here most of the time (not that I mind too much - it means I can do pretty much what I want). Anyway, I was chatting away and mentioned that I had just come back from the Sapporo Snow Festival. BIG mistake! The next thing I know I'm writing an article for the Company online newsletter! I didn't even know there WAS a company newsletter! When will I ever learn to keep my trap shut?! It's only gotta be 200-400 words though so shouldn't be too much of a problem. In fact, I fear the problem will be keeping it UNDER 400 words! Although, looking at other aricles for the newsletter, they are quite informative rather than waffle - which I specialise in - so not sure how I'll get on with that. We'll see...

Love is in the air.

Today is Valentines day. In Japan the women are supposed to give chocolates to the man - and not just your boyf, but to all the men you know! One teacher at school bought chocolates in for everyone. I think my sister put it the most eloquently when she said 'they can kiss my ass!'

I did get some tomo-chocs ('tomodachi' means 'friend' in Japanese) from a teacher at school, and a lovely text from my friend Peter. You guys rock!

My 3rd grade students asked me the other day about the Valentines day customs in England. After explaining it to them, they asked how many valentines I'd be receiving this year - cue the sad, lonely face - which they all laughed at! Anyway, yesterday they gave me a valentines present in the form of a song which one of them had written and that the janitor had put to music. Now, bear in mind that these kids are 9 and 10 years old! It was called tanpopo (dandilion) and was pretty fabulous by all accounts. It made me smile, which I suppose is what Valentines is all about. :)

I love イングリッシュ!

So it is almost the end of my first full year teaching in Japan. Man, it's gone fast! Overall, it's been absolutely fantastic. Some lessons have been great, some good, some bad, and some down-right ugly! Luckily, the majority have fallen into the first two catagories.

It's difficult to know how you are doing at your job. The Japanese don't give you any feedback (unless there is a major problem) so you just have to roll with it and hope they are happy with you. I'm pretty lucky though coz in Elementary schools the objective is to get the kids to enjoy English. If they learn something while we are at it, that's a bonus. Having said that, the teachers do expect the kids to learn. This can be hard though coz at Junior High the kids have more lessons and are given homework. At Elementary there is none of that (you aren't even allowed to write words on the board) so the only thing the kids have to rely on is their memories. With this in mind, I tend to act the clown on a regular basis and encourage the kids to do the same. If they are doing something ridiculous at the same time as saying an English phrase they tend to remember it.

Anyway, yesterday I was given 48 letters from my 5th and 6th graders to say thank you for this year. The letters are beautiful. They have put so much effort into them. They have drawn and coloured pictures of us playing their favourite games in English class (which means i'll definately be playing those again next year!) and they have even written the furigana above the kanji in their letters so that i can read them. One even says 'I love イングリッシュ (English - literally 'Ingurissu') I love シャーリ(Sha-ri)' Precious! I was really touched.

Also yesterday I had to do a big demo lesson for the new curriculum next year. Every man and his dog came to see me. Literally. There were 18 people observing! I was scared to death, and so were the kids. The lesson went okay, but it could have been better in parts. I definately think the rap saved the day!

After the lesson there was a 2 hour staff meeting to dissect it. Eeeek! But, it turns out that everyone thought it was brilliant. The scary bloke from the BOE who used to be a kyoto-sensei (vice principal) and who is never, ever, happy with anything, said it was the best lesson he'd ever seen! YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! And a woman from our Tokyo training and lesson development department asked me if i'd like to go into their department in the future. JESUS! I said I was happy where I am at the moment but I'll do any trials of new ideas for them and give them feedback. Wanna take it easy for a while and enjoy the job I'm doing. No more climbing career ladders for me just yet thanks. This is my semi-retirement phase.

A great day. Really moved by the letters from my students. There is no way I can go back to England now. My schools are just too fabulous.

Blabbermouth.

Someone told to me yesterday that i had a lot to say. I'm gonna take this as a compliment, and put it to the test. So here we go...