Sports' Festival Day 2

Bug count: 0! (mmm)

First off, I forgot to write about something yesterday. Right when I got into my apartment and took out my headphones I heard my phone repeatedly buzzing. I ran over to my bag as I knew it was a phone call (here it costs money to make calls but not to receive them). It was Tsukasa! She said that she had not called to tell me anything but that she wanted to chat. She wanted to make sure I was ok since I had not visited the office in a while. And now I know for sure, Tsukasa really likes me! :) We chatted for about ten minutes. She told me a little bit more about her and I told her about what I was doing at the school and about the teacher's party tonight. "Oh! Drinking party?" "I don't know, but it doesn't matter because I don't drink." I thought she knew that already, but I guess not as she gasped, "Really!? I LOVE drinking! That is the best part of summer! Go home to a beer. I LOVE beer." I laughed at her and said I came home to cold water everyday so I was set. Feels really good to be liked so well though! It still sort of blows my mind how often she has emailed or called me about coming into the office. :) I had to go there on Friday anyway! I guess I will try to make it a weekly thing. :)

I was woken early this morning by my phone (I had mail!) but I like emails so it was ok. I am planning on going to bed early tonight. I need it! Getting ready was easy. I actually was ready ten minutes early so I wrote an email (a reply I've needed to make for a while) and then left to the bus stop. The bus ride was pleasant and I got to the school right before the morning meeting started. :D Win! They actually started a minute late because they forgot that they turned off the bells (the chime) for the Sports' Festival, lol. During the meeting I tried to listen (I always see if I can catch any words) and I worked on the nickname (Supaishi Koon ~ Spicy Corn) for my shirt. I had brought my masking tape in my bag. :D I was very proud of my work and showed it off to a few teachers until one of them reacted like, "Ya, so what!?" I was shocked at how curt they were with me (maybe they were having a bad day?) and I decided to not chance another run-in and started working on my worksheet for Monday. Kanamori-sensei was really worried I wouldn't show up for volleyball (as if I would miss it!) and kept coming by my desk asking if I was going to leave yet. (This was an hour before the game was scheduled, lol) I finished my worksheet with 25 minutes to spare. I wanted to be there 15 minutes early and I had to go to the bathroom so about 20 til, I headed out. I arrived just behind Kanamori-sensei and she told me she was worried and looking for me. LOL I'm here!

The game!! Well... we didn't get stomped, thank goodness. We lost each game by 5 or 6. So I felt that we had made a fairly good showing for ourselves. I wish I could have spiked it though. When I was center net (I don't know if that's the official name for the position, but I know what I'm supposed to do!) they kept taking my hits! The second hit of the ball on our side is ALWAYS mine unless I call for help. They kept taking the ball from me! There was only bumping on my side as well. So, at the end of it all, I'm glad we didn't get stomped. I'm glad we had six teachers. I'm very grateful I got to play at all. I had a lot of fun.

Today was 26 and it's amazing the difference 3 degrees can make. I took my fan and spray with me but found them mostly unnecessary. The most I used them was right after I played. Even then it was only a little bit until I felt fine again. :) All day I bounced between men's basketball, women's table tennis, and women's volleyball. I got to watch our (the teacher's) men's team take all. At their second to last bracket I was the only teacher there who wasn't a player cheering them on. At the final game, there was one another teacher. I was the only female teacher to show up at all. I don't know if that will earn me any notoriety but I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I was cheering and yelling and might have jumped out of my seat a few times. The final game was pretty great! Most of the school showed up! :D Before the game started, the girls who had suggested my nickname asked for a picture with me. Then they got one of my back (the nickname itself). (Also while I was finishing up the day, one of my third grade girls asked Suzuki-sensei (male) to ask me if it was ok to take a picture of my nickname. I said sure and jumped up and posed. :D That's the first time I have been sought out by a student in the teacher's room. Feels great!)

After all the games I still had two hours to kill so I headed back to my desk and started working on more prep. Now I have one more worksheet to create and some more materials to gather. I will find out about another lesson for next week tomorrow. Feels great to be ahead. I'm SO glad I have had time to work on my lessons AND to watch and cheer on my students. They're awesome! :)

The bus ride was good, then after I got home I had to hurry and get ready to go to that teacher's party. I actually left a little late. But luckily there were other teachers arriving when I did so I wasn't late. Luckily I had brought money as I found out I needed to pay some money. The dinner was CRAZY. There were some 7 or 8 courses and they were VERY Japanese. Oh man. I ate several new foods tonight. I ate lots of new veggies (yum), salmon roe (... I made sure I actually bit down on one... oh man), a slimy thing that was so slimy it was setting off my gag reflex, a prawn split down the middle with it's body still intact... (it was accusing me the whole time), some raw fish, a beef stew pastry, cashew broccoli chicken (my first time having Japanese cashew broccoli chicken), miso ramen (ok that one wasn't new), and fruit and an inch square of cake (ok the fruits - watermelon and cantaloupe weren't new either). The raw fish was served IN A FISH - the head was PROPPED UP AND IT STARED AT ME! SO freaky! The only things I didn't eat were one kind of raw fish (I didn't see it) and raw crayfish (craw fish?). It still had a head.. you had to dig it out.. no, sorry just no. Each teacher was getting called up to report on their sports and LUCKILY (mmm) I was warned by Hosokawa-sensei, "You will be called up to make a speech." "Me!?" "Yes!" So I got to stress for a few minutes, but also got to plan. The teachers were chatting while the other teachers got up but when I got up... everyone was silent and stared at me. My hands started shaking so badly! This is what I said: "Kinou to kyo spootsu taikai ha tanoshikatta desu. (applause) Morioka Minami no sensei to seito ga arigataku omoimasu. Morioka Minami de hatarakukoto ga ai shiteimasu. (WILD applause) Seito no spootsu ha ganbarimashou! (wild applause again)" What I THINK I said, what I PLANNED to say was: Yesterday and today Sports' Festival (Sports' Tournament) was fun! I appreciate the MM teachers and students. I love teaching at MM. (Essentially) Go, fight, win the students' sports! When I got back to the table my table applauded me, they told me it was great. :D My hands were shaking SO badly. The rest of the evening was everyone pouring drinks for one another (you never pour your own drink). I got involved and they were impressed. :) I got to talk to Oikawa-sensei for a little bit and one little office guy came over (drunk) and talked to my chest. *rolls her eyes* I took off a little after 9 pm so I could go home and write this and get ready for bed. Crazy but fun evening!

Funny moments:

This happened last week but I forgot to write about it. In Morioka we have these GIANT crows. I think they are really cool (but that's probably because I don't have farm land like everyone else). IN any case, they like to sit outside MM on the phone lines and caw to one another. I really like the sound. I don't know, I just think it's really cool! Well Sato-sensei got REALLY annoyed at one point last week because they kept going on and on and on. So he started cawing BACK! I was already laughing because they had been cawing for so long and then when he joined in... golden. That will be one of my favorite memories forever I think. My Japanese Vice Principal (high position in Japanese society) cawing like a crow. :D

At the teacher's evening, one little office guy who is balding and his hair sticks out everywhere (it always looks like he rolled out of bed and came straight to work) came over to talk to me but he was drunk and slurring Japanese at me, well, talking to my chest. It was creepy but I'm laughing at the awkwardness of it all. I just kept saying, "Wakarimasen." LOL oh man.

P.S. Got a phone call and am making it to bed REALLY late. I'm so tired my hair hurts! Hope tomorrow isn't icky. :/