Muggy Day

Insect count: 0! MMM!

Today started out ok. The sun rises around 430 here so I wake up between 430 and 530 everyday (and most typically between 520 and 530). This morning was no exception. I woke up at 522 and grabbed one of my hair socks to cover my eyes and had a small heart attack as I realized I had less than an hour to sleep. Monday-Thursday I wake up between 630 and 645. Fridays I have to wake up between 610 and 625. Today was 610. If only I hadn't realized I had less than an hour left! Dang it. Then my mind wouldn't settle down and go back to sleep. (So I yawned at work a lot, lol.) One funny thing - I almost passed out! I stood up and I got tunnel vision so I said, "Whoa!" And my whoa sounded very far away and it was muted. But, mmm, I didn't pass out. :) Oh man, I got close in the temple a couple times before I came to Japan. -- Side note for that story. I was going to the temple every week and this week I had gone to do sealings. (If I have any readers that are not LDS, sealings means I "stand in" as a proxy for a deceased person ~a woman~ to be sealed to her husband for time and all eternity, or a daughter to her parents.) Well the sealers (the man who pronounces the blessing) typically say, "Please warn us if you start to feel faint or dizzy." I had, before, scoffed at such people. How does that saying go? The foolish laugh? That's me! In any case, I got through about 3 daughters and I started to feel REALLY nauteous. I raised my hand to get the sealer's attention and said, "I don't feel well." His eyes went wide when he saw my face. I guess I was pretty pale or green. In any case, he had some missionaries help me to my seat. I sat down, and the room felt very hot. Luckily the woman sitting next to me had a fan and lent it to me. We also cracked the door open to let in more air. After I felt I had recovered I wanted to try again. It had been a good 20 minutes and I thought surely there wouldn't be a repeat act. Oh ho! As he was finishing up the FIRST daughter, my vision started going black and all I kept telling myself was, "Don't fait. Don't faint. Don't faint!" I heard the sealer say, "We're gonna lose her!" And then I couldn't hear anything or see anything anymore. I felt some arms pulling me up so I figured the blessing was over and as little as I wanted help to my seat, I couldn't see or hear so I had to be led. I said aloud, "I can't see or hear." So they would know I wasn't being obstinate. Once I was put on my chair, I put my head down and took slow, deep breaths. In a minute or two (felt like much longer) my vision was restored as well as my hearing. It was a crazy experience! Anyway -- this morning! I got out the door on time so I didn't have to run for this bus either. The Friday bus leaves RIGHT on time - if anything, it leaves 30 seconds early so I always have a little extra stress when it comes to Friday mornings. So I figured it was a blessing I woke up early as I got a jump on taking some pain medication, I was able to lie on the heating pad for a bit, and then I was already awake when my alarm went off so I moved faster than I have otherwise. I got ready for school, got my things together, and off I went. The bus ride was nice - I took a picture (it's below). My pain hasn't been too high today (compared to usual that is, lol) and I'm VERY grateful for that! The first half of my walk to the school was pleasant. The second half it felt like I was walking in a sauna draped in a wet blanket! I guess I hit that magic time when the universe's oven timer dinged and BING! Humidity, on! Still, I brought both my fans so it was all good.

My first class went really well. I covered third person and even the student who usually doesn't participate was doing his worksheet. I pointed out that the English infinitive to the conjugated third person was easy and so he did all that. (He skipped the Japanese to English verb match.) The other students were still working on the rest of the sheet when he finished and at first he was feeling like the king of the world, judging by his grin. Then he seemed to get a little worried and tried not to let me see, but started doing the rest of the worksheet. :) Yay! He had an appointment at one point so he had to leave, but it was a huge victory for me that he participated (and fully this time!). Or goal was to sing a song. I provided the lyrics for the primary song "Saturday is a Special Day," and with their third person sentences they wrote, they provided the actions. :) (Before any of you wonder why I planned singing for Deaf students, this is what happened. Last week, I taught Mai. Mai is not Deaf, nor is she deaf. She is mentally retarded. So I have sung a couple simple songs with her to help her remember and practice days of the week as well as animals. Well, last week Sugita-sensei heard us singing. On my SLP for the following wee ~this week~ was written: let's sing songs! ... Okey! So I was blessed with inspiration and we sang that song. It worked out very well!)

After that lesson, I was in the teacher's room doing some last minute things for my lesson with the elementary kids and chatting with Kawai-sensei. I asked her about something my students taught me yesterday: an action plus "oko!" They said it meant angry. I checked with her and she laughed and laughed at me. She said only young people say it. I said, "I am young!" She laughed REALLY hard at that, lol. I laughed too but then pretended to be upset. "Oh, only for teenagers?" "So! So! So!" (Essentially, "Ya! Ya! Ya!") Then when it was time, off I went to the elementary school.

On the way to the elementary school, I stopped by the junior high school to say hello. When I entered the room, no one was there. I walked over to the other door and started to leave when suddenly the VP ducked into the room. Her back was to me, but she's SUPER nice and we get along really well so I called out, "Hello!" and was about to say "Ohayou gozaimasu," but at my hello she screamed. Oops. I startled her. LOL I apologized and went on to the elementary school. Once there, I set up in the classroom and waited for the students to arrive. As it turns out, their schedule IS a bit different so I thought I was going to be late but I was a little early. Soon the girls arrived and I hung out with them. I interacted as much as I could with the JSL I know thus far. They chatted and showed me their fish. Soon the other little boy showed up and he went WILD when he saw my laptop. I brought it because I had pictures on it as part of my lesson. (By the way, my lesson was to teach, "What's that?" ... That's it.) He loves computers. He got so crazy about it the JTE had to tell him to calm down and sit down and no he couldn't play with it, etc. Poor guy, it made him really upset. However, the lesson went really well I think. :) In fact, once again I had things leftover that I left with the students. I was then escorted downstairs by the whole class (the first time this has happened), THEN they followed me all the way to the end of the hall. (Where the elementary school ends ~ then you go outside and go up to the junior high school building.) I was really touched that they wanted that extra time with me. Especially when out of all my students they're the hardest for me to understand. They not only speak Japanese, but with Deaf Voice as well. I have NO problem at all with Deaf Voice and I can understand it in English but a foreign language.. it's been a little rough. Really when it comes down to it, if I could understand the Japanese itself I would be a lot better off, but as I don't yet... I'm just glad they love me! I AM trying!

On the way back, I stopped again at the jhs to apologize all over again. However, Nagano-sensei was the only one there. So I tried to explain what had happened (in my limited Japanese and) with lots of gestures and he cracked up. I asked him to give a message to Anpo-sensei (the VP): roar! LOL

When I got back to the high school teacher's room, I struggled through telling some teachers what had happened and they supplied me with new vocabulary! YAY! Mwahahahaha! Anpo-sensei (the name of the VP), odorokaseru (to surprise), and fukukouchou (vice-principal ~ which I had learned a few days ago and forgot, now it will stick!). When Kawai-sensei got back, I told her the story. During lunch when Sugita-sensei came back, I told her the story in all Japanese. :D Although I stumbled through the verb (odorokasemashita) and the rest of the teachers chorused in for me, lol. I was like a three year old who makes their mom laugh with a joke and continues to tell it all day. I couldn't help it though! I just wanted to tell everyone in Japanese. :) After I finished, Kawai-sensei loudly said, "Good job!" (not sure if to my Japanese or the fact that I scared the VP), but we all, the entire room of teachers, laughed. Good times! I then went back to the jhs teacher's room and wanted to tell them too. Most of the teachers were gone on a school trip, but I got to tell two other Japanese teachers in Japanese about it. The VP laughed and put her head down. Then she explained the story. .. that poor woman! I'm glad she likes me! ... at least she DID...

After that I went back and was going to work on prep. However, I was asked by Kawai-sensei if I wanted to take a walk. I said sure, thinking we would just walk the grounds and then go back... oh no. We visited the principal! He is a very kind man, but it was very intimidating to knock on his door. In fact, lol, she urged me to knock, then she did and when he called, "Hai!" I shook my head and refused to open the door. So she opened it and in we went. (Not that I thought we were going to knock and run... but still! The PRINCIPAL!) He invited us in (my hopes that it would be a quick hello were dashed) and we had a 20 minute chat with him. I was able to follow most it, mmm. :) He asked me about how I liked the school and I told him I loved teaching there. He thanked me for coming to the school and said he was REALLY glad that I was there. And then he said something about the students. I'm not sure what it was... but they were involved too. Either they like me or I'm good for them or something - he was smiling when he said it. :) So, yay! He asked me about my summer vacation plans and we talked about the weather in Japan versus the weather in the US. And then we were on our way. We stopped by the jhs teacher's room ~ I felt bad going back there but we only stayed for a minute. Then we went to the elementary teacher's room but no one was there. THEN, THEN!! We visited the preschool! It was my first time there and it was AWESOME! All these little Deaf kids running around signing was so amazing. They were so small and adorable. We sat down and tried to play with one kid but he was really funny about not sharing his toys. A little girl asked her teacher for my name. Her teacher was shaking her head, so I waved to get the girl's attention and signed "My name is Anikku" in JSL. She asked the teacher for my name again, she motioned to me and I spelled more slowly then the teacher repeated it again. She also signed it was difficult name. This other little Deaf boy ran up and gave me a little plastic plate with a plastic roasted chicken and a knife and fork. I thanked him (JSL) and pretended to eat it. He watched me in wide-eyed amazement then took it back. He soon came back with fish. I turned my head so he could only see my profile and pretended to eat the fish sliding it by the cheek he couldn't see. :) Then it was time for them to put away their toys and go back to class. A definite high point in my day. :D -- Oh! And on the way to that class a mentally retarded girl (not M) who stalks me when I enter the elementary (seriously - she follows me everywhere and her teacher has to drag her away) head butted me in the chest! Ow! Turns out she was trying to bow to me and didn't realize how close she was standing. --Oh! And earlier in the day I passed a guy in the hall I've never see before. I assumed he was a parent (that may or may not be the case). Anyway, his only comment after we greeted one another? He said I was REALLY tall. :) Yep. Even for American women. (I was as tall as him.)

(Sorry this is disjointed) - One story I forgot from a couple days ago. A girl stopped at my desk during lunch on Wednesday when she saw me with my lunch. "Carrot? Carrot?" She asked. "Hai! Ninjin! Carrot!" She then tried to ask and ended up motioning, was I going to eat it raw? "Yes! I love carrots!" I then asked for her name (I wrote it down, which is awesome as now I can't remember it), and found out she is in class 2.1! I told her I would teach her in "Juugastu" (October). She got REALLY excited which made me really happy. :) YAY! I'm so glad she stopped and talked to me. And now I know I have one ally in that class so it will be less intimidating to start teaching it. (LOL I don't know if you remember me telling you about when I saw 2.5 the first [and only, so far] time - a girl screamed. LOL Not EXACTLY the reception I was expecting. But the Japanese really do have a certain amount of xenophobia. It doesn't matter where I go in public, people are always staring at me. The elderly are funny about it. They will usually stand 6 inches away from me, facing me, and stare at me with their jaw dropped. Sometimes they follow me to see where I am going and what I am doing. It's like I'm a celebrity or a freak show. *laughs* It's intimidating sometimes but it's been ok so far.

Anyway, it's been raining since early afternoon (YAHOO!) and so I had my umbrella out when I left the school. I was also told about a festival they wanted me to attend (which means I'll get home REALLY late on the 19th). When I heard about it, I wanted to cry. Fridays are my early days and I get home SO late every other day it's just nice to have more time to unwind. However I just told myself, "This is your period talking. And you'll get to spend more time with the students! This will mean a lot to them." Just as my dad taught me, "You valued the time I spent with you guys MORE when I had to stop working to play with you." And he's right. When I knew my parents were using some of THEIR time on me, it made me feel great. So I'm happy to help my students feel that way. (Just feels overwhelming at present.) I needed to do some prep but that walk took a long time and also my cramps were so bad it took all my will power to sit up straight. So I have some work to get done this weekend. :/ Limor might be coming tomorrow to Morioka. I love seeing her, but I've been praying in my heart that she'll switch to next weekend. I have a ton to do, I feel awful, and I just want to lay on my heating pad the whole time. *sad sigh* Hopefully it will all work out. I also made myself some dinner when I got home and ate it even though I didn't want to eat. It's made me feel ill and I'm not sure what I should have done. I hadn't had dinner but my body didn't want it. :/ Just be nice to me! Well I've stayed up too late (was cleaning and doing laundry). Even though I can sleep in tomorrow, I don't like to throw off my sleep for the weekdays. I've got to finish folding clothes then get ready for bed. Hope you all had a wonderful fourth! I'm jealous I missed the fireworks! XOXO, A

(sorry, some photos removed)
 

Me on the bus this morning - that's Japan zooming behind me

The other style of Japanese bus

The back two rows were bench seats (I was sitting on one - the two seater is across the aisle and then the other bench is the entire length of the back of the bus)

There are buttons to stop the bus on the ceiling! ~ for those passengers standing

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

I survive!

insect count: 0 (YAY!)

(Last night I got to talk to my maman - yay!) Today started out ROUGH. Oh man. I cried on the bus. I ducked into the bathroom to cry before my first class. But the "good" news is that my period started! So with my mom's help yesterday I figured out why I am feeling so incredibly stressed. (There's the kernel and then period=to the tenth power! It's a week early but the last one was only 7 days -an all time low for me- so here to hoping for that!)

Once I got into the day it got better. My first lesson was big numbers with one of my first grade classes. They were great! I say it all the time, but seriously, my students are so smart! One of the girls was really struggling during the listening portion and I went by her desk still talking and showed her the answer. I don't know if that helped or stressed her out, but I wanted her to have at least ONE answer written down. I also made sure to go by the desk of another student who had forgotten most of his English (he was asked by Hashimoto-sensei, "What month comes after March?" The student replied, "Friday." Funny, but sad too!) so I was paying special attention to him while trying not to look like I was doing so. I helped him with a lot of his numbers, but he got the first half of part one done! I also asked him to write one of the answers on the board. That other girl who was struggling was given chalk to do a number near the bottom of the paper. She had not yet reached it, so I gave her my paper (the answer key) and said, "Here, you can use mine!" with a big smile. She thanked me in surprise (I wanted her to be successful and FEEL successful - and most importantly for her, LOOK successful to the other students). She then wrote the answer on the board and then started showing off that she had my paper. LOL I had to track her down to get it back. I ain't even mad! Anyway, sorry back to that boy! During the listening section I was worried he would put his head down (usually he does this for the majority of the class) but instead he tried to write some numbers and mostly copied off of the kid behind him. At least he was participating! I'll take it.

I then had a prep period and I worked like a fiend to get some of the six worksheets I needed to make/finish. Today I finished the three I needed for tomorrow (mmm - and printed them), and I finished the worksheets I need for Friday. Now working on Monday. I need to hear about another one for Monday as well, but hey! Keeping up! After that, I taught 2.6. I haven't seen them in ... 6 weeks maybe? So I was a little nervous to see them again. However, they were awesome today! There were still those students who talked over me and the corner boys who REFUSE to speak any English, but our lesson was on sports and this class is a PE track class. I complimented them on their performance in the sports taikai (I know the kanji for that!), and then was able to speak to specific students during the speaking practice portions of the lesson and tell them I watched and cheered for them. They responded REALLY positively which made me happy. Also that corner of boys was still a little rude to me when I came by, but they actually wrote a little bit on their worksheets! :D YAY!! Also I had a bingo game on the back and started playing it myself and they gave me the hardest time. It was really fun. I would ask, "Do you like _______(sport)_____" And each student (without even consulting someone else across the room) would loudly say, "No!" And say no to most of the things I asked, lol. I made a big show of it too. "No!? What!? Really? Hmmm.. how about..." I really enjoyed myself. :D I had another activity planned but we didn't get to it. :) So yay, it went well.

After that I had a prep period and then lunch. I kept working like a fiend again. In fact, during lunch I was still working hard and realized that I was teaching fifth and sixth period and that I better eat! So I grabbed some lunch. My fifth period class was great! We played a review game and the students really had fun and were very attentive today which I really appreciated. After that I taught the same lesson with a different teacher. Once again the game went really well. :) During each class I took a folding chair around and would sit with a group for a turn and then go to the next group and interacted with all the students (10 groups). One group, when I sat down, was saying something in Japanese. I opened my eyes wide and cocked my head and when they were finished I said, "Wakarimasen." They all burst into laughter. I have no idea what they said, but their laughter didn't seem malicious so I laughed at their laughter. :) On the way back to the teacher's room I saw another first grader in the hall. He's one of my English lovers. Pretty sure he drew a picture of me on his last assignment. I wrote, "Self portrait? :)" Underneath it though. AHAHAHA! In any case, some of my boys have said, "I like you!" to me before but he stepped it up. "I love you!" He proclaimed. It actually surprised me a lot. However, I replied as I have to the likes, "Aw! Thank you!" Right on the ball, this kid replied, "You're welcome!" LOL I hope my students don't feel like I don't like or love them - I love them all! But it's not exactly appropriate for me to respond with an "I love you" to a student who says that to me in the hall! I didn't even go that far in my speech just in case. I said I love working at the school (which is true). Anyway...

I feel like I'm forgetting another funny story from today... sorry. When I remember it, I will write it up. Today's weather was great! It was 18-21, rainy, but SUPER muggy. I'll take it though! Tomorrow is supposed to be 29 and muggy. *stricken face* Please only one! Sheesh 90% humidity on top of 29 degrees does not sound like fun!

After that class I put finishing touches on the worksheets I was making throughout the day to be printed at home. I'm going to take my computer tomorrow (sigh - and my guitar, and I will be bringing home my shoes, lol) so I can do some more work on it tomorrow. I wish they had brought out the computer they offered to let me borrow! Oh well. After that I helped clean - actually I had to be told to stop. LOL I am very meticulous when it comes to cleaning and I was vacuuming in order to clean rather than look like I was cleaning. Well one of the vice-principals came over (Moniwa) and stopped me. Oops. Cleaning time was over. But those rows are SO much cleaner! After that is when I actually put on the finishing touches, then I grabbed my things to catch my bus.

The bus was late (which is fine but it always makes me a little nervous), and I got rained on a lot! :D I had my umbrella but the rain was a spraying mist that just got everywhere. By the time the bus got there I was pretty soaked. As soon as I got home, I grabbed a pair of pants, my jacket, my bike and back out I went. I think I told you I had to go to the office today. Well it wasn't too bad. Although I was told to do something that before I had been told NOT to do. And they wonder why I can't fill out their form! Oh well, I made it. I was given a little cake and introduced to the new guy. I felt pretty awful though and so I didn't stick around and chat. I felt really strange. I just didn't feel like myself at all which made me feel so alien and unsure of myself. Yuck. So that passed quickly and I went home. I ate the little cake (it was really good) as I made my dinner. I ate dinner and talked to my best friend. Friends and family make it possible for me to calm down. Thank you all and I love you all! It means SO MUCH to me. So right now I am in pain but I don't feel like crying until my eyes fall out of their sockets. That's something, eh? :) Wishing you the best from Japan! XOXO, A

Surprise Lesson!

Insect count: 2 small flying bugs that I was able to dispatch myself, 1 GIANT beetle that was under my shoe this morning and really freaked me out - then I starting worrying there were others and maybe some in my shoes :/ - swept it out the door and he pretended to be dead on my porch. Get the heck outta here!!

I had REALLY strange dreams. People I haven't seen since high school and weird stuff. I was disconcerted when I got up to get ready. I got ready just fine. Caught the bus, got to school and was on time for the beginning of the meeting again. (mmm)

Something I forgot to mention before! One of my students is going to be in the paraolympics! So cool! I'm not sure the event as the whole article was in Japanese, but so sweet. :D

I was slated to teach 2 classes today. My first two period were open so I worked on prep and then when I finished as much as I could (I had left my computer at home), I colored. Yep, it got to THAT point. Then finally it was time to teach. The first lesson was a part two lesson of a lesson that I taught them SIX WEEKS AGO! Sheesh! But it went well. Some of the boys were really funny when they got up to present. "Hello everybody. Please listen." LOL And then one guy who said to one quiet student, "Use your big person voice!" AHAHAHAHA! I don't know where he learned it, but I love it! Then the next class after that was the music II lesson. I brought my guitar and played a little for them. Mr. Toki, I found out, plays guitar so I asked him to play after me. He REALLY got into it and started singing really loudly. Man, I thought >I< had had guts, nope. The students went WILD. They were cheering and laughing and clapping. I started them sighing and sang the chorus with him. They called for an encore but he said to go ahead with the lesson. I spent a lot of the time talking over them. He got REALLY frustrated with the students because they weren't listening to me. Then soon that class was over.

I had lunch and as far as I knew, the rest of the day was prep. I started to brainstorm some more and get creative and was making aids for lessons I'm teaching. Then I had to go to the bathroom. Well it was between classes so that shouldn't have been a big deal. However, when I got back to my desk Toki-sensei shows up. "You're supposed to teach 3.6" "What!?" The class had started some 7-10 minutes previously. I told him it hadn't been on my SLP (not trying to get out of it - just trying to exonerate my bathroom break), he said he had the students doing some book work and gave me ten minutes. I said, "I can be there in 5!" And quickly went to make copies. After I got my copies, I went back to my desk to grab some things and Moniwa-sensei (YAY! I remembered his name - one of the VPs) told me to go to 3.6 DAH! *sigh* I said sorry, thank you, finished grabbing my stuff and off I went. Luckily the WHOLE class cheered when I entered. LOUDLY. I thanked them and said sorry several times. "Sorry! Gomen! I was confused." I then went on to teach my lesson. I got right up to when I was supposed to play the samples of music and then the bell rang. I'm always groaning and making a small show of disappointment when the bell rings, but this time it was more than just me saying, "OOOOH NOOO!" The students were really bummed - or at least made a show of it for my sake. So Mr. Toki said, "Next time?" I know he's skipping the music lessons for another class (aww), so I'm not sure if he will stick to that, but he said next time so I will honor that even if we are doing a different lesson afterwards. I keep my word to my students (everything I promise them I write down so that I won't forget it!). After that there was one more class period but the time pretty much flew for me. Then I helped the students clean up, learned 2 new kanji, and off I went to the bus.

The bus was late (as usual) and the ride home was pleasant (also as usual). I was feeling stressed though - I have a LOT to do. I was planning on going to Taiko practice this evening and worrying a little bit about getting everything done and getting into bed on time THEN I got a call from the office. I filled out a form wrong AGAIN. I checked and double checked that thing before I sent it in but NOOO. And not only that, I get spoken to in a way that is so condescending .. and I have to go into the office after work tomorrow. I ALREADY get home late and now I have to add more work and ... I was feeling EXTREMELY overwhelmed. Then I went out to meet some girls to go to Taiko. In the meantime my heart is racing, my stomach is killing me, and I'm shaking. I was so panicky I didn't even feel safe on the street alone. I told myself I would wait 10 minutes for them but after 6 I went back home. I was so stressed I knew I needed to just lie down and calm down and try and center myself a little. I also had to cry a whole bunch I guess. :/ I'm not crying anymore now (yay) but my stomach is still killing me. I'm not sure the root of all this stress but having to go to the office tomorrow put me over the limit for today. I hope I can handle it tomorrow. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow plus I'm teaching four lessons plus I have to go to the office... all last night and this morning I kept telling myself, "You can do this. You're not stressed. Everything is ok. Everything is going great." Apparently some greater portion of myself considers me to be a liar or just refused to listen. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! I just need some good sleep, I need my stomach to settle, and I need to feel successful and on top of things again. I guess tomorrow will be take 2. *sigh* *Starts mantra again*

Hope you all had a much better time of it! XOXO, A

Are you kidding me!?

Insect count: 0!

First let me back up to yesterday. All of a sudden Elder Norawong lost his voice and he sounded HILARIOUS. I was laughing at his voice and joking around with him when suddenly he laughed. You know how Mozart laughs on Amadeus? It was almost EXACTLY like that. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. (Maybe my first time laughing that hard in Japan.) Soooo great! I had to ask him if he was messing with me. Then he laughed (that goofy high pitched laugh), and said no it was his real laugh. Then he got fake angry that his voice was so funny and the cause of so much amusement. (The zone leaders kept making fun of him throughout lunch.)

Another thing I thought about yesterday. My bike mishaps. They say you never forget how to ride a bike. Well, I remembered how to ride, I just didn't seem to remember how to maneuver. Or be safe... or something. Here are some of my mishaps: 1) i tried to turn my bike, ended up going straight, careening across the street in front of a car (which luckily saw me and stopped), and ran into a bush. 2) I ran into a pole with my handlebars which abruptly turned my wheel and almost threw me off my bike (definitely threw me to the side). 3) (This was another guy's mishap, and I think I mentioned it before but anyway) I was riding to work (legally on the right side of the road, which here is the left ~ with traffic), and I looked back to see if a car was coming up on me and turned to see a guy headed STRAIGHT FOR ME. Our front tires were seconds away from smashing together! Luckily we both veered off in different directions from one another but when I got to work I was STILL trembling. Sheesh that ultra maroon! He definitely could see that I wasn't looking at him AND he was on the wrong side of the road! 4) Tried to go up on a bike path (they're a couple inches higher than the street) and missed the angle so my tire rebounded off the lip and I almost fell off my bike. ... I think that's it for now. I promise I'm safe! Or at least trying to be - I've relearned some techniques and am applying them. :D

Ok now to today. So all night I had nightmares that my classes went horrifically wrong. I woke up at least 6 times terrified. It was ridiculous how stressful my night was. When I got up, my stomach was aching and I felt like I was going to throw up and I was panicking. At one point I had to stop moving around my apartment because just the motion of walking around was making me violently ill. I took several deep breaths, some antacid and said several prayers in my heart. I used to get so stressed before I would teach at Walden (for MONTHS I was that way every single Tuesday and Thursday), so at least I was familiar with that. However, since my first day I haven't really been as stressed as I was this morning. There's always a little anxiety over new lessons and after longs breaks, but this morning was RIDICULOUS. It was frustrating. I got ready fairly quickly. I put all the things together that I needed (I took my guitar today so my hands were definitely full!), and off I went. When I got to the bus stop, I had another mini heart attack. I was early, but none of my students were anywhere to be seen. In fact, there were all new faces at the bus stop. It made me feel like I had entered the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. I resisted the urge to check the time more carefully (probably was terrified I'd find out that I had woken an hour too late). But I kept fighting that panic. "I set my alarm last night. I got up this morning and didn't notice anything wrong with the time. Maybe it's just being so early to the bus station (I had so much to carry I left extra early). Maybe the first graders have an activity and are gone. Maybe (and my brain fought me on this one) they all managed to get sick at the same time!" In the meantime I was keeping an eye out for this one girl who always wears shirts to work. (Seriously. She wears a shirt that barely covers her bum and tights. Tights are her pants.) A minute later, she showed up. WHEW! And actually right as the bus arrived one of my students popped up out of nowhere. *HUGE sigh of relief* - The bus that came before ours did confused both me and half naked chicklet. This girl on the bus started motioning to us and we were like... What the!? It made us both unsure about what was going on. In any case, our bus rolled up and I wonder if she was as relieved as I was. On the bus, I listened to Linda Ronstadt. I was craving some light, soothing music. At first I worried about draining my phone battery then remembered I had set my cord on my bag and brought my computer so while I was using the internet it would charge. Getting to school was fine and I felt pretty cool carrying my guitar around (heavy with my shoes, computer, lunch, water, rest of the stuff in my bag, and my guitar though). I got to school in time for the morning meeting's beginning and went from there. I prepared some last minute things and made sure my guitar was in tune (the top two strings needed to be tuned, I did so), and off I went to my first class.

In my first class, I played some guitar for them. I played a little Bach and a little Green Day. I think it was a little hard for them to hear (as my guitar is electric and I didn't bring an amp), but I felt like a rockstar. They were not good groupies though. LOL The class was so mellow throughout the entire lesson I thought they had hated it. However Fujieda-sensei said, "I think the students really liked the lesson!" Oh ya? Awesome! :D (I have no idea what they were saying about it.)

I had some prep time before the next class I was slated to teach so I worked on things I needed for those other classes today and talked to some of the teachers about this idea I had. This morning as I was getting ready I was thinking, "How cool would it be to skype my younger brothers and sisters and have my students talk to them!? That would be a TRUE situation (talking to another teenager) and it would be so fun!" Then I thought, why COULDN'T we do that? I pitched the idea to each of the grade levels and we'll see what happens. I told them, either was I was fine. I also said I thought it would be a good opportunity to connect with another teenager across the world who speaks the language you're learning. I don't know. I guess I think all my ideas are cool. (But in my defense I get them from God and they are cool!) ;) As I was coming close to when I would be teaching my next class, after having blocked out my worksheet for a lesson I'm teaching this Thursday, I turned on my computer. I went to grab my phone cord from my bag... not there. DAH! I set the cord ON the bag this morning so I would remember to take it. I guess I moved the cord to put something else in my bag... I could only hope it was at home as it wasn't with me at school. Doh! I only had twenty minutes anyway so I packed it up and waited until my next lesson.

My next lesson was ... interesting. When I entered the classroom, (pauses to count) there were eight students sleeping on their desks. ... !? Since I had already planned on starting with a game (fruit basket), I did so and hoped they would get into the game. Ya... not so much. Some of them participated. The others stayed put until Oikawa-sensei got mad. Then another student got hurt. One boy hip-checked another boy... I was thinking to myself, "What is wrong with today!?" In any case, the rest of the lesson went fairly well. I had to fight with a couple students for the attention of the class, but I was up to it. :)

After that class was lunch, lunch was great but I forgot my ohashi. I know it's pride, but I wanted to use my chopsticks! Then I don't feel like everyone is judging me/laughing at me. Well, not everyone. Just a couple teachers who seem to periodically check up on me. They walk by my desk slowly and check out what I am doing. "May I help you!?" lol I tried to use the wireless connection to create that worksheet and my computer wouldn't allow me to do so. SO annoying. I didn't plan on bringing my laptop the next couple days as I, again, have to carry my guitar. (Well, I am choosing to bring my guitar - anyway I can garner interest and attention from the students so they will learn, worth it.)

My last class went well - which is great because it was a part 2 lesson of a lesson that was only supposed to have one part. (Large numbers) I had a lot of fun and I believe the students did as well. :) After that class, I helped clean up and then did some more work and took the bus home.

After I got home, I started some laundry going, made some dinner and got a call from Limor. I talked to her until she left for Taiko practice. Then I read a little bit and now I am writing this and getting some work done that I was unable to do because my internet wouldn't work! But the good news is that my cord was here at my place and that I didn't lose it. I also have two surprises for you. Happy Canada Day! XOXO, A

my self shaming - I've been meaning to make this since last Sunday (the Sunday before yesterday) -- dah! oops :/

the face behind the poster

Well the other surprise isn't working. *sigh* As per usual. In any case, I finished that worksheet I was trying to make at school. Gotta get ready for bed. Love you all!