I love Fridays!

It's not only the end of the week, I also get to be with my Deaf kids. They are SO great! This morning started out REALLY stressfully. I didn't want a repeat of last week so I was very conscientious about my time and how much I had left. So when I was ready to go, I still had 5 minutes before I had to leave. That felt GREAT. So I went to grab my bus pass (that I always put in the same pocket in my purse everyday...) and it was gone. Oh man, I ripped my place apart in those last 5 minutes and then had to walk to the bus center feeling super stressed. And I was so stressed I was making myself ill. I said several prayers at my apartment (that card still has a little over $20 on it), and then I said some more on my way to the bus stop, on the bus, at the school. In any case, I bought a new bus pass on the bus but was only able to get the middle card (costs 3000 yen and goes up to 3300 yen) because I didn't have exact change for the card I usually get (5000 yen card that goes up to 5700). I get reimbursed for travel costs but I'm pretty sure they don't reimburse for stupidity! Well, I shouldn't say that. As I said, I always put the card in the same place, so hopefully I will be blessed to know what happened (as I remember putting it in that pocket when I got off the bus yesterday -because I've wanted to avoid this very situation) to the card or find peace some way. Of course only last night I was deciding to not stress about money anymore! Dah! So I'm down where I didn't expect it, but today is pay day so ... mostly I think it's the losing something that I've taken care of so well. It feels like I'm losing my mind. I put the card in that pocket and then it's not there. *sigh* As I said, praying for at least peace.

I tried not to stress too much on the bus. I mean, what could I do about it? The walk up to the school was okay - warm and sticky but bearable. In any case, when I got to school, I put that all behind me and got ready for my lessons.

First I taught a high school class. I had taught them last time and they didn't fully grasp the concept (interrogatives) so I was teaching that lesson again. (Ouch, my pride! lol But more than that, I felt really badly for the students. I really did try to make the worksheet easy and it appears I failed for that class :/ Sorry guys!) So I made a matching game with interrogatives and their answers. I actually made 4 over the course of the week because I would find a way to make it simpler (easier to understand) and redo it. So when I got here today, I had the cards with katakana for some words and hiragana for some others plus another game. In that class, out of the four students there is one that LOATHES English. He refused to come to class last time. The time before that he refused to participate. So today I thought, "Hey! At least he's here!" So we started the matching game and he was FORCED to participate by the teacher and the aide. Right when (and I could see it in his eyes and body language) he was going to quit and put his head down for the rest of the class, MMM, he got a match! It was a fluke (really it was a blessing), and it got him invested and playing for the rest of the game. He actually tied for second. (Which made me really happy too - no third place as one girl was absent.) Then he refused to play the second game - STILL, he played one game! Progress!!!

Next I went to the junior high. As I entered the room the boys were exercising so I joined in and then since I wore a skirt today I showed off my calves. LOL Then they showed off their biceps. THEN, they both challenged me to an arm wrestle! I won the first bout with K and then faced T. I went left-handed first since my right was tired then he demanded a rematch on the right. I won both! LOL They're pretty strong though! K especially made it hard for me to win! Then when Ito-sensei showed up, they told her how we had arm wrestled and I won. She laughed pretty hard at that. It was really fun though! Then I taught a lesson two on body parts. This time I came with the words and katakana so they could read them, etc. Class went really well. Luckily I had last minute thrown in some blank faces for them to draw face pictures if we sped through the lesson as the lesson went 10 minutes longer than the schedule said it would! They drew the best faces! I put them on my desk (under the plastic). :D T (that little boy who LOVED my lesson last time and who arm wrestled me twice today) LOVES English. He finishes so quickly and he LOVES being in my class. It's impossible for me not to love him! (I mean I love all my students but he makes me especially happy! Just like M - I can't not be super happy when I see her!) Then it was off to elementary.

Since the time was all off I didn't know when the class started. Luckily one of the girls saw me and took me to the classroom. I gave her something I had prepared for A since last time A was there ten minutes ahead of everyone else and she, I, worked on that (two blank faces but they had hair - I put that on my desk as well). Today we did alphabet stuff. We practiced writing it and saying it and then I taught them the sign alphabet (ASL alphabet). I couldn't help but think that would be more useful to them, and also here is a concrete way for them to remember/practice the alphabet they just learned. We also played some games and I had to do a little filler stuff at the end that didn't work well because again the class was longer than my schedule said it would be, however it overall went very well. Those two girls are so cute! The little boy was missing as he was in the hospital - but the teacher said he's ok and that it's an eye hospital (as if that makes it seem safer to me or something. So weird. "Daijobu, daijobu, eye byouin." Uhh.. ok? ("Ok, ok, eye hospital.") But all my lessons went well, and it was great to see the students!

On the way back to the high school from the elementary school, I saw that Nagano-sensei (funny man) was in the teacher's room. Last week he had brought some chocolate that other teachers had me try and I wanted to thank him. I ducked into the room and thanked him and he told me (in Japanese) to have some more. Then he said he would bring more! I think... he said it in Japanese. I tried to tell him it was ok and I just wanted to say thank you. He then said he English was muzukashii (difficult) and I said Japanese was too. Then he said, "English more!" And I told him, "English doesn't have kanji! Kedo, kanji o manabimashita - a few!" (I learned a few kanji.) Then I was asked by the vice-principal in that room (a lovely woman who seems to adore me) to show the kanji I knew. So I wrote a few up for the crowd to their cheers and applause. Then Nagano sensei wrote up another kanji that I didn't know and had me practice it. (Ya, I couldn't reproduce it right now to save my life! I'll have to look it up again later and learn it.) In any case, then the vice-principal wrote up some Korean and I told them I understood what she had written (it was a formal hello in Korean which I actually learned while selling pest control in California and then heard from Simone and Nadia several times) as she said it out loud. Then they all looked at me and I said, "Oh! Ok..." and wrote "bonjour" on the board. They all laughed at me and I said, "I don't know Korean!" In any case, there was much laughter and applause and one of the female teachers ran over to their little stash and grabbed me some crackers and some more chocolate and gave them to me. "Oh PRIZES!" I yelled. I thanked them profusely and said I was going back to the high school (as it is where my desk is) then ran back to say, "Otsukare sama desu!" (Which is, from what I understand, a goodbye but it is also thanking them for their hard work.) Ito-sensei was super impressed with me! She always is exclaiming, "Oh! Sugoooooiii!" Which makes me happy. Man teachers that are easy to please are the best! ;)

When I got back to the teacher's room I put those pictures under the plastic protector on my desk and started working on some things. Then M came in and brought me wakame (well brought all the teachers)! Wakame is seaweed - this stuff was fresh! That is, it wasn't dried! It was really good though. It has some sort of sauce on it and it tasted vaguely of ginger. It was only slightly slimy (which HERE is pretty great, lol). Oish(i)katta! This school treats me like a treasure and it feels amazing! :>

While I was chatting with Kawai-sensei (the girl who sits next to me), another teacher gave me some wakame! It's from her husband's farm! I asked them about the preparation of it and they gestured the things I should do. I think I'm going to make some miso tonight with it!! I also learned how to make the other wakame - the sauce was sesame oil (thought it tasted familiar!), plus ginger, another sauce (mentsubura or I can use soy sauce), and sesame seeds. I'm really excited to make it! It was really good! :D

I also found out, since Sugita-sensei is so good about giving me my schedule and I hadn't received one from her so I asked, I'm off for next week from the school! So either I will have next Friday off, or they will tell me to come into the office. I found out on Interac's copy of the SLP for Minami, they put "p"s on Tuesday so I am required to go to the school and use the time as prep time. Only they haven't given me anything to prep! Hopefully I can find out some of the lessons the teachers want me to do the following week and I can work on those. Then it will be time well spent. I like to have a little time to study Japanese, but if I have too much time I end up inundating myself with information and then not remembering most of it! So I would like to avoid THAT if possible. So, WOW! Maybe next Friday will be my compensatory day off for that other training I did and then I will have a long weekend! (I think though that Tsukasa, since she keeps saying it, wants me to visit the office and will schedule me to work there. LOL If so I'll be slightly frustrated as their office is SOO muggy and I haven't yet received the promised compensatory day off, but at the same time, I love those office people so it would be ok.

My plans for tonight: clean my apartment (mostly so I don't have to do it tomorrow - also it needs to be swept!), get my haircut (trimmed), and perhaps have a pizza night with some Interac people. And most important part of my night: RELAX! (Which pretty much will mean a book and some popcorn. Yep. I'm easy to please!) Hope you all have a great evening and weekend! For many of you, today will be the last day of school, enjoy it! Love you! XOXO, A

Ok update: I cleaned my place and turned my place upside down... no bus card. :( I have NO IDEA where it ended up. :/ In any case, I went to my hair cut and she talked me into getting layers. I asked if it was going to cost extra and she said no so I agreed. She washed my hair, gave me a small massage, and then cut my hair. I was there for an hour. In my head I was thinking, "Wow all this for 2000 yen!? Cool!) Then when she rings me up.. 4200 yen. Ouch. I have now paid $50 for a haircut. It was a really great haircut though! I asked her to cut off the damage and she said it would take 2 inches. "Ok. It grows back!" She cut off like 6 inches in some places! It was surprising for me, but as I said, it was a great haircut (I have pictures below). Since Tsukasa has been bugging me to go to the office, I decided to swing by there on the way home. So off I went. I spent some time chatting with them and Tsukasa said she loved my haircut. She said it was very Japanese and the color is the color that the Japanese love. In fact, she said "I love that color of hair! I want that color hair!" I thought it was a very sweet thing to say. Then when I got out of the office, disaster struck! My bike lock couldn't open. I started freaking out. I tried it for twenty minutes. And while I was doing that, I was thinking, "How am I going to get to church? What about carrying all my groceries? What am I supposed to do with the bike in the meantime? What about getting home!?" Bryan had come by and tried the lock and the key just wouldn't turn. I was praying and praying and finally the Lord told me to go upstairs to get some soap. (Back to the office) So I went up but there was no soap in the bathroom, however luckily the Japanese wash their dishes after their meals. So there was some dish soap. I put some in my hand and went down to the first floor. I put it in the lock and miraculously, it opened. (mmm!) I rode home saying thank you prayers all the way.

When I got home I started thinking about dinner and suddenly my doorbell went off. I figured it was Bruce but it was the elders! Aww! They brought me (essentially) chocolate cream puffs. They stayed and chatted and we made each other laugh. I especially made Elder Iida laugh because I used a lot of gestures and faces while I was talking so he could follow along. I used as many Japanese words as I knew in what I was saying too. It was great... then a dark shadow on the evening.. a moth flew onto my shirt. I screamed loudly and scared the elders. I pointed out that I hadn't cried though! They kindly killed the few tha thad flown into my place (as they couldn't come inside - the rules). I also promised them I would come go to the Eikawa (English class) this coming Wednesday. :) I also gave them some wakame I had. (Dried wakame not the gift that that teacher gave me.) The elder from Washington state (Elder Noruwong) offered to go grocery shopping with me too. I was like ... "Waat!?" But it's because Elder Iida can read all the labels. "Oh cool!" I said and planned to go with them after the Eikawa Wednesday night. It makes me feel great! They kept asking me what they could do and I told them I would go to the Eikawa BEFORE they had a chance to commit me to it. LOL But they were so happy that I said I would go and also they showed me how to change the batteries for the light on my bike so I will be safe going to Takamatsu at night. (Since it's pretty far away.) Then I wrote this update. -- Oh and I ate dinner. :) Yum! Have a great evening!

My new haircut - on the way to the office

present from the elders!

the back of the bag :)