Today was the last day of classes for my students for this term – there is a closing ceremony tomorrow, and then it is a fairly long vacation for the students. The teacher’s vacation isn’t quite as long, but things will be (even more) relaxed at my school.
I went in really early to school today – around 7 a.m. For the first time I was the first staff member there, right after the janitor came to open the doors and start the heaters. The janitor was really surprised, as were all the teachers that came in afterwards to see me already there working hard at my studies.
I did a lot of reading today, focusing on a couple of different sources. I also memorized some vocabulary, and fought an uphill battle to remember words that I have forgotten. It’s getting tough to keep everything that I’ve learned in my head. I’m just going to have to continue reading – it’s the best way to revisit all the vocabulary that I’ve encountered over the last few years.
Tonight we went over to Ito Yokado to have our New Year’s cards printed. It’s a big deal here in Japan, and this will be the first year I’ve done it. We’re running a little behind, though – we’ll be addressing cards the night before – yikes!
I had my lesson with the third year students, and that went pretty well. We chatted and looked at pictures of the wedding, and I got a few of them talking. I think they might have been a little nervous since Kuniko was in the next room, and since she is an English teacher – well, they might have been afraid to make mistakes. I’m not sure, though – maybe they are just tired from their exams – they seemed quiet tonight.
The bath is heating up now, and outside the cold wind is really blowing. I’ve heard a rumor of snow in Kobe tomorrow – yikes! The weather service is saying that this year’s winter will be the coldest winter in a long time.
