Today I had a couple of classes, and they both went fairly well. The students were for the most part enthusiastic. A couple of them could care less about the lesson, but it seems like they all know more English than I expected. It looks like I can ratchet up the difficulty of the classes a bit next time we meet.
I caused quite a stir in the staff room today when I heated up my leftovers from last night – I had teriyaki beef with rice, which is nothing too special, but the idea that I had cooked it was pretty impressive. Many teachers stopped by to check it out, and even the vice principal stopped by to inspect it. I’m missing some key piece of information here, but I think they are just surprised that I know how to cook. Weird.
I offered to teach a teacher’s English course on Fridays, and I already have four teachers committed to attending during sixth period. They speak almost no English, so it will be a tough class for me to teach. They have a lot more patience and motivation than my high school students, so I think it will even out nicely. Everyone is really excited, and I’m also looking forward to our first class tomorrow.
I am serving as president of the English Speaking Society (ESS) club in our school. Today, we met after school and we had a party to welcome me to the school. Mrs. Tsutsumi came along to smooth things over translation-wise, and it went very well. There was plenty of soda and snacks, and we talked about movies, music, and the club for almost an hour. I brought my photo album, and that was a big hit – everyone enjoyed seeing my family and friends, and some of the places I’ve visited.
There are five 3rd year ESS members, and they will graduate after next term. These students are ones that I have met already through Andy, and so I’ll be sad to see them go. That will leave me with just five members, so I’m hoping to recruit some first years during next term – it will be more fun with more people. Unfortunately, there are no boys in the club – it’s considered to be a girl’s thing.
I got out of school late because of the club meeting, so I stopped in at my local Yakitori place for dinner. The owner was in there and he remembered me from last time. We tried again to have a conversation, but it was pretty tough. I had bacon wrapped cheese on skewers, pork, beef, and chicken. With a couple of beers, the total came out to about $20. He actually has a large menu, but since it is in kanji characters, I can’t read it. I asked him if I could make a copy of the menu to take into my teachers and translate it, but he insisted on copying it by hand for me right there in the restaurant. He’s a really nice guy, and we watched the Hanshin Tigers play baseball on the TV while I ate and drank.
Afterwards, I walked home about two blocks, and walked by two Japanese girls standing on the sidewalk waiting for someone to pick them up. They were staring at me the whole time I walked towards them, so just before I passed I smiled and said “Konbanwa” (good evening) to them in Japanese. Both their jaws dropped, and one said “Eeeeehhhhyyy?” loudly, which is the Japanese equivalent of “What the hell?” They just watched me finish my walk to my apartment without saying another word. Another international experience in the books.
