We both woke up with a pretty good hangover Monday morning, but the difference was that Kuniko had to get up and go to work at six in the morning, and I could afford to nurse myself to 100% before going to work at noon. It was a pretty slow morning around the house.
I went into work early to prepare for the week and that turned out to be a good idea. There was a lot of work to do today, and I kept pretty busy until the first students started showing up at 3:30.
Classes went smoothly. I’m getting more and more in tune with the chemistry of each class, and it is fun to see it play out. You can see who is going to grow up and be a bully, who is going to be a nice kid, and who could go either way. Although I often make guesses about students, a lot of times they will do things that surprise you, and you have to be careful to keep your mind open and flexible.
After my regular classes I walked over to Yuka’s house, and we had an hour lesson. We talked about her upcoming trip to New York. She’ll be going alone, and staying for about ten days with some of Nozaki sensei’s friends in the area. Her mom is a little worried because of the violence she hears about in the news, and Yuka’s top priority is to go shopping on Fifth avenue.
I’m trying to get Yuka to keep an English journal, and today I brought some books on the subject to try to convince her. Her weakness is vocabulary and making sentences, and I think the journal will be helpful in both of those areas.
On the way out of the house I met some more of the family, including their three little dogs, Yuka’s older brother and his girlfriend, and Yuka’s boyfriend (who was over for a visit). He was really nervous to talk to me but he seemed like a nice kid.
I made a seafood salad on toast for dinner tonight, and watched some trashy TV shows with Kuniko. There’s some good vocabulary to be picked up on those shows!
