Today was a busy day for me – I had four classes. Three of the classes were ones that I had planned, and one was with Mr. Hayashi. The student teachers started today, and the English one was in my class with Mr. Hayashi to observe. Next time she’ll be running the show.
The teachers have caused quite a stir among the men in the staff room. The new teachers are mostly women, with the exception of one guy. The male teachers that were assigned to the student teachers walked around with a bit of flush in their face.
The student teachers each say “excuse me” before they enter or leave the staff room, just like the students are required to. I guess since they are not official teachers yet, they can’t just walk in and out like everyone else. Strange.
I also had a Japanese lesson with Mr. Hayashi, and I did much better than last time. I was strong on the kanji thanks to all the studying I’ve been doing lately. The grammar is still tough for me, but hopefully it will come along in time.
During the morning time it was sunny and clear, but by lunchtime a big storm moved in. The rain was coming down hard, and Mr. Komuri asked me about the expression “raining cats and dogs”. Why cats and dogs? Why not horses and cows? Good questions – I wish I had the answers for him.
After school I did just a little grocery shopping for dinner – Yasu came over to study English. I cooked up some spaghetti for him because it was easy, and we had beers and went over his pronunciation. It was good practice for him – he’s doing a great job. We also chatted for a long time – it’s been almost a month and a half since I’ve hung out with him. He’s a really nice guy.
I did my dishes and now I’m heading to bed. Tomorrow is the last day before I leave for my seminar, so tomorrow will be spent getting organized for three days away in Kobe.
