I rocked through four classes in a row today, nicely cutting my day into three distinct parts. The morning was spent preparing worksheets for the classes, the day was spent actually teaching the classes, and in the afternoon I did a little bit of studying and chatting in Japanese with the part-time computer teacher that sits across from me.
Students in my two second year classes today didn’t know it, but it is their last class with me until after summer vacation ends, sometime at the end of August. I sense that they are really pretty overwhelmed by my lessons, so I’m going to spend some time over the summer trying to come up with simple ideas that they can work with.
The computer teacher that sits across from me, Matsumoto sensei, is pretty good at English. She enjoys talking with me in a blend of Japanese and English, and she is really outgoing. Oshita sensei sits right behind her, and I often see him leaning over to listen in on our conversations. Oshita sensei is an English teacher, but he’s pretty shy and is kind of afraid of speaking English out loud. Matsumoto sensei is not afraid at all, and sometimes she outdoes the English teachers – not for being correct, but for being unafraid of mistakes.
After school there was a couple of staff meetings, and I wasn’t invited. That is actually great news. I could sit and study in peace and quiet. The vice-principal came by and told me that it was fine to leave early if I liked. I thanked him, but it was bad timing. Today at five o’clock I had an appointment to chat with the Takasago ladies lead by Keiko-san. So, I had a free ticket out of work, and I couldn’t use it.
At five I went outside and met up with Keiko-san and another lady, and we walked over to a restaurant near Takasago station. We ate big and chatted in English. We covered all kinds of topics: the increasing power of women in Japan, famous Japanese food, American agriculture, my girlfriend, my future, their husbands, housework, single sons and gigantic families. It was a nice time. After about an hour and a half I made my goodbyes and took off. It’s actually nicer with a small group. I’ve talked with them when there were seven or eight ladies, and it’s a little overwhelming.
My stomach handled the food from the restaurant OK, so that was a relief. I spent the evening pleasure reading in the living room, and I’m going to hit the sack early. Ever since yesterday I’ve been really sleepy. An early bedtime might be just what I need.
