World Traveler: Day 1 (but actually 2 since now I'm working Friday...)

I forgot to mention a big story yesterday (had to get ready for bed in a hurry!). After my Japanese lesson I get back to my desk and Oikawa-sensei tells me that Interac called and it's urgent. My first thought (as it always has been), "I'm in trouble!" He dials the number and speaks to Shimizu (Tsukasa)-san and then hands me the phone. She tells me that Sugita-s scheduled classes for me this Friday (I had asked for it off since it's a workday). What relief! I said sure I would teach and took a different day off the following week. Whew. What a panic attack!

T5B: 1) My speech went really well in front of the teachers - even though I cried and (literally) shook like a leaf in a very brisk wind! 2) Oikawa-s got pictures of me giving my speech so I can put them here! :D 3) Two people told me my speech was very good. (Kanamori-s, Oikawa-s) 4) Did I say my speech went well? ;) I got to spend some time with Jerod and it was more stress free since I wasn't thinking about lessons for the next day. 5) Tomorrow Jerod and I will go to City Hall and pay my city taxes. Later we will go to onsen and an Indian restaurant with Limor. :D! Big plans for an awesome evening! :D

Morning:
- got ready
- Jerod walked me to the bus stop in the snow :)
- I was disappointed the bus was late and the copy room was locked as I thought my speech would be skipped
- I was asked to do it anyway :D (went well)
1st-4th - worked on Friday's lessons

Notes: I started out saying my samurai phrase. It fit PERFECTLY into the situation and got a very big laugh. :D Then I proceeded to cry and shake and thank them profusely. (And Oikawa-s took pictures for me. :D)

Afternoon:
- got a report on an idea I gave an English teacher for a lesson
- the teachers treated me to a goodbye lunch (of eel - yum!) (I gave them chocolates)
5th - taught my last lesson at MM (I didn't cry!)
- the students gave me a very sweet letter and a HUGE bouquet of flowers (I feel sort of bad I didn't cry)
- most of the girls lined up and gave me hugs, which I LOVED! :D
- (took a final count: 193 worksheets created)
- a group of teachers walked me out and I bawled the whole way, and at the bus stop, and on the bus, and when I got off and Jerod was waiting for me

Notes: I told her about something I had done in high school. We wrote a poem (and later a short story) as a row. The first person wrote the first line/sentence, and passed it back to the second person who continued, etc. I suggested she give the students the first line (to help them narrow down) and she did so. She said for the last sentence, "Ann ate natto two times and threw up," she got some good responses. One girl wrote, "She went to the heaven. She liked the heaven." (At least she thinks I'm going up rather than down after this life, lol!) Others wrote, "She ate natto again, and vomited again." "She ate cake." "She went to the hospital." Funny and creative students. :) -- Before I get comments about the hugging thing or maybe just to clarify in general: Japanese people aren't as huggy and affectionate as Westerners. So the fact that these girls all lined up to hug me made me feel super great. It was great what they said too, "Hug me!" LOL I didn't have a choice! ;) Also one girl told me I was like a celebrity since she had chosen a spider on which it was hard to read my "<3 Ann" (the thing was black). So she asked me to sign her folder. :) The students are so amazing!!

Evening:
- Jerod and I had hamburgers and brined veggies for dinner
- for dessert we had some little cakes a student gave to me yesterday
- we watched like 8 episodes of SNK
- ate the rest of my sunflower seeds and having a major salt reaction, ick lol

Notes: Hope you had a grand day too! XOXO, A

blasts from the past: At my last school, I taught ASL. I made my classes Deaf-space and actually decided I would never speak to my students (even outside of class - although I allowed them to speak rather than sign then). The school had a retreat and asked for helpers. I signed up and went for one day for a four hour period. While I was up there, I saw many of my students. One of them struggled a lot and hadn't learned a lot of sign. In any case, she's asking me if I will ever speak to her, and I'm signing that I will on the last day of class. Then this other kid (who I don't know), comes up and says, "She says she's Deaf and can't talk." I did the slow turn and the "WTFreak" stare. And this kid's eyes go wide as I sign, "That is NOT what I said!" And he goes, "I don't speak sign language" and walks away quickly. LOL Strange child.

One day while I was working at AMP, I was chatting with Logan (who sat next to me). He was going on and on about how he wanted to fire an AR-15. Me: I've fired one of those! They're so fun! Him: No you haven't! Me: Yes I have! Him: You have NOT fired an AR-15. Me:...Yes I have! Him: *looks up the gun on the internet and shows me* You fired THIS gun? Me: Yes. Him: ... Me: *rolls back in my chair and calls over to another coworker* Hey Justin! Tell Logan I shot your AR-15. Justin: She did man. Logan: You have an AR-15 and you let HER shoot it and not ME!? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!