I spent lots of time today taking practice tests for the big exam in December. I’ve been planning on failing it and focusing my efforts on passing it next year. It’s only offered once a year. Realistically, I will probably be ready to pass it next summer, but I’ll have to wait until the end of next year.
The practice tests went pretty much as I expected. I was getting around 40-50%. I need 60% to pass, and it’s close enough that it gives me a chance of passing this year. I’m going to have to really focus my efforts over the next few months, and if I do pass it will be by the skin of my teeth. It’s a lot of pressure, though, and I’d prefer just assuming that I will focus and continue working at my own pace. I might as well give it a go, but I know it’ll be heartbreak if I miss it by just a few points.
My classes went really well today, and I had one of my favorite classes in the afternoon. They are really active students and they don’t mind speaking English in class. It’s always a pleasure to teach them. They were full of energy today and they did great.
After school I went across the street to Tsuji-san’s place and chatted with her for about an hour. She finally got her fiancee and her father together in the same room and it sounded like a really fun time. The father sat and talked for four hours, and the fiancee just nodded and said “Hai”, “Hai”, “Hai”. I don’t know if anybody learned anything from the experience, but at least the father feels better.
At 6 o’clock the ALT that replaced Daniel came in for her lesson. She is fresh from Pittsburgh, PA, and she doesn’t speak any Japanese. Tsuji-san is going to help her out. She seemed like a nice enough person, and she’s been adopted by a group of ALTs in the Himeji area, so she should be just fine.
Kuniko beat me home and she cooked up an awesome dinner. It was a dish called “Mabonasu”. It was meat, eggplant, and peppers combined with a spicy sauce and served up with some miso soup on the side. I was raving as I scarfed it up – I even licked the plate clean it was so good. There are some leftovers so I get to take to work with me in my bento lunch box. Oh yeah.
Tomorrow is Friday and there’s nothing special planned in the Fredricks household. Kuniko is stuck working this weekend in preparation for the school festival, and so I’ll have a weekend pretty much to myself. I have to do community cleanup on Saturday morning, but other than that I have no obligations. Maybe I should hit the books and go for that passing grade…
