Some days seem like normal days, and some days seem like everyone is staring at me. Today was one of those days where everywhere I looked, someone was looking back. It’s all a matter of how I perceive it, because I realize of course that nothing has changed. I have no major pimples on my face and my clothes seem to be free of dirt and chalk.
On the train one of the ladies that sits across from me every day smiled at me, but instead of looking away like she normally does she held the smile and kept watching me. It was a little uncomfortable, and for once I could feel what it’s like for the Japanese people that I smile at all the time.
At school I had four classes. Three were classes for the second year students. A week or so ago while I was planning the lesson I was having trouble coming up with an activity. I hit upon an idea while thumbing through the JET manual – it was talking about life insurance and I thought, “Let’s write our own wills in class!”
I’m a freaking genius! I wrote a quick will, mainly pulling words from TV shows that I watched when I was a kid, and when I was done, it looked great. I drew a little headstone with my name on it, and then put a big R.I.P. on it. It worked really well – the picture got the student’s attention right away, and then everybody was bequeathing their possessions to their loved and unloved ones.
I walked around and tried to get the students to leave me stuff, but they were pretty adamant about giving me nothing. So adamant, in fact, that I was afraid that they might have misunderstood and thought this was a legally binding document. I was tempted to collect the worksheet after class as a joke, but decided not to.
The best part was when we had the students read their wills at the end of the class. We’d pick a student, and they’d stand up and solemnly (because that’s the only way they know how to read English) say, “I, Akiko Matsuda, leave this document as my last will and testament. I leave my room to my mother. I leave my dog to my brother…”
After school the history teacher was sitting at the desk next to mine waiting to talk to me. He’s actually staking me out, now. Yikes. We talked about how much fun last Friday night was, and he was eager to discuss the merits of “Deep Space Nine” with me. Lucky I know a little Star Trek lingo to teach him. This is how you pronounce “port nacelle”…
Next week exams start, so we’re prohibiting students from entering the teacher’s office. The first few days are tough because the students don’t read the big sign at the door and walk in. The first person they meet is me. I know they are about to get screamed at, but there isn’t much I can do. Lately I’ve been trying to get their attention, and I saved a few students from an auditory ambush today. If they are students that misbehave in my class, I just let them go through. Karma, man.
I’m off to do a little studying and hit the sack. Tomorrow I’m going to be teaching Azusa again. This week is flying by – pretty soon it’ll be the weekend again!
