November 26th, 2007
December Schedule is Set
I went up the hill this morning a usual, and when I got there, Y-san handed me my updated schedule for the holiday season. As I said before, most classes end the week prior to Christmas. The 21st will be my last class until January 7th. After that, things get a little complicated, but that’s something I can get to when the time comes. She also gave me Marc’s schedule to pass on to him; the English Club that he works with has its final day today. Wow.
After going over the schedule, I printed off the materials I plan to use this week for my Tuesday and Wednesday classes. There’s not as much there as I would have liked, but I think I can make do. I updated the blog, made a few responses to comments, and did a few emails, nothing especially interesting there, but I got caught up since the weekend. There is no news about that problem at school, but then it’s still Sunday night there, so I didn’t expect anything yet.
The Silent Class Speaks… Occasionally.
Then it was time for N-Sensei’s class. As time passes, I am getting more and more comfortable dealing with these guys. This is the class that I said was so non-interactive. Well, it still is, but I’ve managed to learn who will speak and who won’t, and I work with what I have. It all comes across pretty well. Today we talked about food across different cultures. No problems here, just one more class running smoothly. It’s amazing how much easier this has all gotten since the first few weeks here. The students must have gotten smarter or more eager to work; it couldn’t actually be that I have gotten better at this, could it?
Slacker or Sicker?
Next, I took my seat in the lobby and started studying for Japanese class as usual. N-Sensei’s class ends at 12:20 and Japanese class starts at 1:30, so that gives me a little time to review. Not today. Around 12:45, Y-sensei walks up and says we can start early today. I ask “What about Marc?” and find out that he’s not coming. Her boss called her to say Marc wouldn’t be here today. He didn’t say why, she didn’t know why either, and was disappointed to hear I had no idea about any of it. Not only was he healthy last night, but I think he stayed home all evening watching TV. I have no idea; maybe he’s sick, maybe he was doing some other job, maybe he was goofing off. I haven’t actually seen him since last night, so I have no idea.
Still, since he wasn’t coming to Japanese class, we didn’t have to wait until the usual starting time, so I was able to do the class pretty quickly and leave early. I didn’t have my usual study-time, so I wasn’t as clear on the vocabulary as I would have liked, but I remembered all the rules we covered last time and that was the important thing today. Class finished without incident, and I walked back down the mountain.
This Time, I Went Postal
Since I got out of class an hour earlier than usual, I had tie for a mini-adventure. As you all know, I’ve been doing my Christmas shopping over the past week. Today I tried the post office. I didn’t send the big package yet; I sent a smaller package today. This one goes to Canada, not the US, but since it was smaller, I wanted to try it as a “guinea pig” in case they confused me and I had to carry it back home. There was indeed a customs form to fill out, but surprisingly, it was bilingual. I have seen almost nothing here that was bilingual before, so that really shocked me. Still, it was quite a bit more expensive than I would have liked. I fear the day when I have to mail the larger box. I’m not going to apologize for the amount I’ve spent on gifts any more. Considering shipping, this is easily going to be one of the most expensive Christmases I’ve ever bought for. Still, I was able to mail it without linguistic agony or pantomime. I guess I’ll mail the big one on Thursday after I’ve had a chance to go to that Hiroshima store again.
On the way home, I stopped by… yes, you guessed it, Co Co Ichiban. I did try the spicier version this time, and also upgrade to a larger portion of rice. I’m starting to experiment with my orders. I think I’ll try one notch higher in spiciness next time. Then it was a quick bus ride to Happy Town, where I picked up Pepsi, Coffee, and Ice Cream to hold me over until the weekend. Then I went back home to unload and call it a day; a pretty busy day at that.
Coming Up Next:
Tonight I still have to sort through my papers and materials that I need to carry with me tomorrow and Wednesday, but that shouldn’t take very long. I haven’t heard a peep out of Marc since I got home. He’s either asleep or gone; neither would surprise me. I just finished a quick load of laundry and will listen to part two of another of the audio books in a little while.
There were a few surprises this afternoon, but overall it was a pretty smooth day.
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November 28th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
As is with you, I am getting everything ready to send for the holidays.
Seems like I have spent more on shipping this year than ever before, but as is already stated, it is all worth it.
A good smooth day is a nice thing.
You really have settled in, and your confidence lever is good.
This helps so very much!
I am watching the mail now, for good things(Insert grin here)
Blizzard here, for the last couple of days, the winds have been terrible, plummeting the already low temps to the
point where it feels like 60below F. (and that actually seems like an understatement right now, it is “COLD!”
My home is warm and toasty, and Painting takes most of my time now.
I think I have finally mastered working in smaller sizes, and I really like it as opposed to the huge murals I am known for.
Actually, as of this week, I have very little to sell,(My gallery sold the last five pieces on display) so I suppose that I should turn over the new stuff I have finisher here to them.
More people seem to be buying art as gifts lately.
(for me that is a very good thing)
Well, keeping warm here is important, so I send good wishes for wonderful weather to you for the next few days.
November 29th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
As “sister in law” pointed out in her response, what is important is not the amount of money you spend on presents. What is important is that you care enough to send gifts even though you are a half a world away! Your friends and family will appreciate ANYTHING that comes from you this holiday season, since you will be absent. I think that well-chosen, inexpensive gifts will be valued much more than any large cookie cutter purchases this year. This is especially true if you send gifts that are relevant to Japan and its culture; they will bring them closer to understanding where you are.
I am sure that you have improved tremendously since you started teaching N-Sensei’s classes. I have found myself improving as well. Besides, you were always the quicker study (or the “smart one”), It is wonderful what a little practice can do! I knew you would do well.
November 29th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
What bothers me about the gifts is that they were not super carefully chosen. I
think Ptuny, more than anyone will be disappointed in her package. The books she sent me kept me busy for two weeks, and the stuff I sent… seems so little (and it IS little). I wasn’t trying to “cheat” her, it’s just that I didn’t find anything she would like (and I do KNOW what she likes).
Dad’s gift is not even from Japan, but I do think he’ll like it, and that one WAS carefully considered. Mom got some good stuff, I think. Brother and Sisterinlaw will like their things, but they aren’t exactly personalized very much. The kids of course, will like what they got, although it was really inexpensive stuff.
I think I’ll be sending another round of gifts later on, this time more carefully chosen. Maybe I’ll do a “second Christmas” later on and not actually bring any “coming home” gifts with me. Dunno.