Today the sky cleared up enough to have a small sports day event for the students. The boys competed in kick-baseball, and the girls played volleyball. It was a good chance for me to walk around and chat with students. The boys asked me all kinds of questions: what’s my favorite band, what movies do I like, what sports do I play. The girls, on the other hand, ask me if I have a girlfriend. They want to know details, too, but I just give them the lite version.
I had lunch in the cafeteria today with two of the part time teachers, and we had a perfectly normal conversation completely in Japanese. I was able to follow most of it, even if I didn’t understand everything they were saying. I asked them about the girl students’ fascination with my personal life, and they said that students had asked them in their classes whether or not I have a girlfriend or not. They said I’m very popular at the school, regardless of the fact that I’m a foreigner.
I only did a little bit of studying today. Instead, I did some pleasure reading in the staffroom, and chatted with some of the teachers. I had about five hours to kill, but I did it nicely, and tomorrow I’ll be in the same situation. I’m hoping to do a bit more studying tomorrow. I want to take advantage of all this free time – things are going to get busy again after the summer break.
Tonight for dinner I made zaruudon, cold udon noodles dipped into a broth with onions and wasabi. It turned out great, and combined with my leftover takoyaki it made for a filling and pretty healthy dinner. Not much else to report this evening – I’m off to bed.
