This morning I went off to work a little later than usual. Yesterday I was ambitious and went off to school early, but I throttled my ambition back a bit and went in around 8:40 in the morning.
School was quiet as usual, but some of the office staff were looking for me. I spent the first hour of my day filling out some forms that they considered high priority stuff, but all it was was an optional change of address form for the JET directory. After that was taken care of I finished off my taxes and mailed them off, and printed some pictures from my trip to show everyone.
The principal and vice-principal called me into the office to talk about more secret work for the prefecture. I had already gotten the information directly from Hasegawa sensei, but I went through the motions with them. One of the days I have to work for the prefecture is a Saturday, so I asked them if I could substitute another day as a holiday, and they said “sure”. I got the impression that if I didn’t ask, they wouldn’t have given it to me. A little piece of information to file away for later.
At around 11:30 I snuck out, ostensibly for lunch, but in reality to go home. Back home I continued cleaning up, had a mind-blowing kimchee and pork sandwich, and worked on household stuff. Before I knew it, it was time to go to Sannomiya for my Japanese class.
It was really nice to get on the train into Kobe and see the city again – I had missed walking through the crowds of urgent people and exchanging looks with curious people. Because I had left early from work I was able to wear comfortable clothes, and my flip-flops that I had bought in Concord are working out great – so comfortable.
At the YMCA my class had only four students in it at first, but after about half an hour, three more came. The class was good, but it’s been a while since I studied. I seem to be good at casual conversations, but when we get to complex grammar points I tend to choke.
After class I caught some dinner at a noodle shop, and then went to the train station to head home. I saw one of my students that had graduated last year in line for the same train. She was standing with a friend, and she recognized me about the same time I recognized her. I smiled and nodded, and she kind of freaked out and talked animatedly with her friend. By my train stop they had figured it all out and both of them waved to me as I got off the train.
I went to bed late, around midnight, with the idea that I’ll sleep in a little bit tomorrow. It’s still hot and humid around here, but I’ve cooled down the bedroom, so it should be pleasant dreams.
