Pretty Great Day

Insect count: 1 - I don't know what it was, or how it got in (medium sized bug) but luckily the first throw of a slipper flattened it! (mmm!)

This morning I ran slow as I always do when I am in pain. I just can't FOCUS. I ended up leaving a little before when I would have had to run to the bus. So, mmm, I left in enough time to walk and wait for the bus. The bus ride was good. When I got to school the morning meeting had already started so I sneaked in with all my stuff. When the main meeting was over I greeted the people I passed and made sure to also swing by the VPs' desks. As I mentioned yesterday, I took my guitar. OH! I think I forgot to write yesterday about my first real bike "accident." I was coming around a blind corner while I was biking to the office and luckily because I have brains I slowed down. This girl came flying out from the other directions and we both panicked and applied our brakes. ALSO luckily (MMM) we both had good brakes. We still crashed (my tire hit her tire on the side) but it was a gentle bump and we were both profusely apologizing. Oops! At least it wasn't because I did something stupid and neither of us were hurt. We were both fairly shaken though. (I'm also really glad she wasn't angry. That would have been scary for me to be yelled at in Japanese right in my face.)

Anyway, sorry. Also yesterday Oikawa-sensei had heard about me bringing my guitar and was asking me a million questions about it. He's a real afficionado when it comes to the body and details of guitars. I couldn't answer his questions so I told him I would show him my guitar today. And I did so. He was duly impressed, and I offered to let him play. He said, "Maybe." (Later he told me his big dream is to go to Tennessee and visit the guitar factories.) My first class was third period so in the meantime I worked on prep. I finished some things I needed for Friday and I got 2 worksheets done for Monday. Now I only have two worksheets left to make for next week. :) It was rough though. I spent most of the morning at work playing the, "Please, please, PLEASE don't let me vomit!" game. Angèle and I especially love it. HA! I'm not sure about my color but my stomach kept churning and my mouth would start watering and I was gulping air and just trying to think about anything else. Yeesh. I did though! So far: Ann: 1, Vomit game: 0 (mmm)!

Then my first class. I guess I really was jealous of the reaction Mr. Toki got from the students for singing for them so I bit the bullet and I sang and played guitar for my class. I was SO nervous. My hands shook! I also feel like I didn't do that well, but they all clapped for me. So that counts for something, right? :) (I'm a bit of a fool for it I'm sure - but it's done now! lol)

My second lesson I was going around (after lunch) and helping the students answer questions from the chapter. The chapter is about Harriet Beecher Stowe. One question something like, "Why was Harriet Beecher busy after she got married?" Well I got to this one group and I read that question with them. This one kid... oh man, his eyebrow quirks and I KNEW, I KNEW what was going to happen if I didn't walk away. So I looked right at him and said, "Check the book!" I couldn't help but laugh but as I said I had to walk away before he was able to say anything because it was going to go downhill fast! (Later as I was getting ready to leave, I told Oikawa-sensei the story ~as it was his class~ and he couldn't stop laughing.)

My last class was a number part 2 class with some of my first years. They did really well. I was dying though. I felt suffocated in all the classrooms because of all the heat and humidity on top of my body putting out a TON of heat (my period in the summer is ICKY). This class though was the worst. I was SUFFERING. Luckily I had my fan but it was all I could do to (it felt like) keep myself conscious. When I got back to the teacher's room Oikawa-sensei and another teacher pointed out our heat "clock" (it displays the temp, humidity, warnings, etc) and said that it was showing a "red" level warning of heat stroke. Oh is that all? *gulp* Made it though! ... I think! ;)

During clean-up the VPs were absent again. The other times I had hesitated to dismiss the students, this time I thought I would take advantage of the time to talk to them and then send them on their way. I told them I was the boss. LOL They went all wide-eyed, "Hontou ni?" "No, no! Joke. Joke. Don't get me in trouble!" I tried to explain we would blame it on this quiet kid (he's a really nice guy) but it was lost in translation and I eventually gave up and dismissed them.

The bus ride home was AWESOME - the bus has a/c so it was glorious. When I got off I had to buy another bus card. I kept telling myself, "Almost home, almost home." When I got home, to my credit, I did not melt into a puddle. I did my dishes, grabbed a fruit juice popsicle and THEN melted. (So at my kitchen is clean!) I then mostly laid on the heating pad and tried to distract myself. At some point I had to go make dinner and I'm not hungry because I feel ill but because I need to replenish nutrients my body was demanding food, it was painful to be cooking... it was just a weird experience. Luckily it's over! I hope this blog has made sense (I signed into the wrong account to post it at first, doh!)! I hope you are all healthy and that the temperature in the US is going down! So in spite of the nausea and intense pain, I had a pretty good day. XOXO, A