Today was the last official day for classes at my school. Tomorrow, the final exams begin for the term. Most of my classes today were review classes, so there wasn’t a whole lot for me to do but chat with the students and goof off.
I did spend a long time studying today. Ms. Miyake found an interesting textbook for me to use, and I’m able to practice reading with it. It’s much easier than the children’s books that I had borrowed. The level is a bit more advanced, but the vocabulary is more focused on what I’ve learned already.
Mr. Hayashi spent a lot of time today trying to convince me in a very Japanese fashion to do things that he wants me to do. For example, he told me that he heard that people that know Japanese have a very easy time finding a job on the west coast of America. I told him very directly that I’d much rather work in Japan. For some reason, he doesn’t seem to be too excited about me doing that. There are a couple of theories that I have, but who knows his real motivation?
Lately his tune has been the same, so I’ve decided to take all his career advice with a grain of salt. After all, he’s the same guy that forgets classes, listens to blank tapes in his car for the positive alpha waves, and calls his students monkeys without tails. I like the guy – he’s really a good person, he’s maybe just a bit too much sometimes. Can I work with him for two more years? Sure, it’s like jousting with Jell-O.
I left the staffroom about 15 minutes early because I wanted to watch the baseball team practicing after school. One interesting ritual they have is when somebody walks to the field, they all say something I couldn’t understand and they take off their hats and bow. No matter what they’re doing, they stop and bow. Weird. I watched them practice for a little while and while I was watching, one of the managers gave me a glass of iced soda.
A baseball “manager” in Japan means the person that manages the equipment, keeps the players refreshed and happy, and generally cleans up after the team. There are two managers for the baseball team, both girls. I know them from my classes, so I chatted with them a little bit. Everyone was curious why I was out there, but it was fun to watch and see some of my students in a different context.
Back home I cooked up some sausages that I picked up a long time ago at Carrefour, and had some wakame (seaweed) rice on the side. I decided to take a night off of studying to relax and recharge – I don’t want to burn out.
After dinner the YMCA called and said that I was accepted for the Japanese class. They asked me to come tomorrow to the first class, and I said yes, and thank you, and hung up, before I realized that I had already made plans with Antoine. Oops. Well, it’s a free class, so I’ll catch up with them on Monday. I’m already cutting classes – can you believe it?
