December 17, 2007
The Not-So-Friday
OK, I’m ready for a weekend. I had to work all weekend last time, so now all of a sudden, today feels like a Friday (according to the calendar, it’s Monday for real). I think this is the first case of “feels like…” since I arrived here. Yes I guess that’s proof positive that I have a normal routine now.
Business Update
First off, I went up to the office and dig the blog. I asked Y-san a few questions. The office here will be closed from December 27th to the 6th of January. No mention of Christmas itself. This means that if you have anything else for me, wait till after the holidays because I won’t be able to get it. Even with Priority Mail, it’s too late now. I also checked with her about a conflict between my new Friday assignment and old stuff. I was supposed to be making a special trip to the Kindergarten on the 11th, but that is cancelled now. Also, I will no longer be going to the elementary school once a month. Instead, I will be teaching High School and Junior High school starting in January.
Non-English Class
Then it was time for N-Sensei’s class. Last week’s case of “dumbitis” has spread, or maybe it’s just the ideas in this chapter are too much for them. We’re talking about fashion and why people wear what they wear. It was awful, even worse than last week. I couldn’t make it ay easier than I did, but they just weren’t following anything. I don’t know. I have a few weeks to think of something new I can do with them, so hopefully something will come up. There aren’t many weeks left for this class. It’s entirely possible that by following along the book, that they are simply getting into more difficult material that they aren’t ready to handle yet. At the beginning of class, N-Sensei explained to me that since I taught the whole class a few weeks ago (when he was in Taiwan) that his part of the class has gotten behind. He wants me to take the 7th off so he can teach the whole thing. He said this before the awful class, so he didn’t come up with this in order to get rid of me, either!
Nihongo No Kurasu
Then it was time for an hour break and then Japanese class. We worked more on chapter six, and did a bunch of worksheets. It was nothing new, but the longer we play with the same material, the easier it gets. Simply knowing that we will not be getting to chapter seven gives me a lot more patience with the current chapter. Previously, I had always wanted to move ahead quickly, but now it’s time to simply master everything from the past. I can do what I want when the class ends.
Script Meeting
Then it was time for our meeting with the “correspondence school” teacher at 3:30. We went to our office so Y-San could take us to the meeting place, and I found that I had yet another package waiting. I told her about the two Christmas trees, and she thought that was just hilarious. So we met with the teacher and handed over our scripts. He seemed happy, and we know where to go on January 13th now, so that was that. There wasn’t much to the meeting really.
I took my box and headed down to the apartment for Christmas Cheer part IV
Christmas IV: The Final Chapter
Opening the box, this one is from my brother, same as Friday’s box, so I know before I open it that it’s not gong to be another tree. As far as I know, this is also the last box that I am expecting. Firstly, there is a bunch of candy and cookies and little filler stuff. Not that cookies are bad fillers, mind you! (munch munch) There was a pair of Christmas tree boxer shorts. I knew I should have sent them a list. Boxers are a long-standing way of saying, “Next time give us a better list” in my family. The last time I got them, it was “Moo Cows.”
Then came the fun stuff. There was a DVD, “Battlestar Galactica: Razor.” This miniseries was broadcast a month or so ago in the States and I obviously didn’t get to see it, so this lets me stay current on the series. I had heard the series was supposed to begin airing again in January, but then I heard it was pushed back, so I may be home before it starts up again.
Then there were three books. “Brother Odd,” I am sure was chosen for the title alone. It actually looks pretty interesting, except that it’s book three in a series. I dunno if I should try it or wait for the other two. The other two books are also in a set, but it appears that the two books are the complete set, so I don’t need to worry about missing parts. This is the “Kingmaker/Kingbreaker” series, which consists of “An Innocent Mage” and “Awakened Mage.” These are fantasy novels, and I’m really not into fantasy as much as I used to be, but they look like fun, and they’re here, so I’ll read them!
After sorting through the loot, I decide that I am actually pretty hungry, and want to be well-fed before watching “Razor,” so I rush on down to CoCo Ichiban. I had wanted curry all day, and wasn’t going to let laziness slow me down tonight. After that, I walked over to the Maruzen bookstore, to use my gift card, but didn’t find anything I wanted. It was probably because I knew about all the new reading material sitting here already. That card will be good later on.
And that’s about it for today. I’ll either watch my DVD or start one of the books tonight. Tomorrow, I have my almost-last classes in Takahashi. I actually have to go again on the 16th, but the students are already planning a party for that day. I’m going to take my Santa hat, and Christmas vocabulary lists along. Maybe I’ll read them “The Night Before Christmas” to see what they say about it. The words are big and the grammar a little too poetic, but it’s fun.
And to all who sent gifts: Thank you very much and Happy New Year!
OK, now that brings up a new point. The Japanese just aren’t satisfied with “Merry Christmas.” Nope. It’s “Happy Merry Christmas” most of the time. One of these days, I am going to compose a list of the “Engrish” that I see here.
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