Brian's Japan Adventure

January 16^th, 2008

Birthdays and Time Travel

I got up around 4:30 and left the house by 5:15., Since I need to finish off my seissyun juhachi ticket. Next week I go back to sleeping late and taking the Shinkansen. I’ve had enough three-hour train rides to last me a long time.  On the way there my brother and his kids called to ding me Happy Birthday to you and talk for a bit. The train was packed with people, and I could barely hear him. He said he’d call back, but I guess he never got to it. Well, who knows, it’s my birthday where he is tomorrow, so I can still get calls a day late that aren’t really a day late. Time Travel always seems to complicate things. If I flew home tonight and had two birthdays in a row would I suddenly be two years older?  This is the kind of thinking you wind up with after listening to three solid hours of Doctor Who audio adventures first thing in the morning.

I arrived at the usual time in Hiroshima and went to the kindergarten.  I knew I was in trouble when the first child that ran up to me yelled “Happy Birthday!”  I think I mentioned it here when it happened, but at some point in the past, one of the kids asked me when my birthday was, and when I told him, a teacher scribbled it down. Now I see why. They are a sneaky bunch, these Kindergarten teachers!

So in all three classes, I had to be surprised when they sang the Happy Birthday song more or les successfully. Fortunately, it led right into all of them practicing saying the “My name is ____.  I am ____ years old,” routine.  We’re a sneaky bunch, we kindergarten teachers.

After class, Mr. Kindergarten had me wait in the office while he gathered a couple of spare teachers and they hand me a little present, a package of mixed candy and a card. It wasn’t much, but I am grateful that they remembered.  Quite a few people didn’t. I thanked them all, and practice my bowing again, and then it’s time to leave.  The lady who handles my train fare reimbursement wasn’t there today, so I hope they remember to pay me double next time.

A Mobile Hothouse

I had lunch at the Lotteria under the Hiroshima station, so it was another “Straight Burger combo” for me. They are small burgers, but the sauce is great. I decided not to look for the Mexican place today. It’ll be much easier next week when I am at least on the right side of town and can walk. There’s no point in paying 500Y and a half-hour each way for a bus ride to the restaurant, and I’m not even sure which bus is the right one anyway.  I can do it, I know that, but decide to skip the hassle for this time.

Then it was back on the train for three more hours. I got a birthday call from Mom just after getting on the train.  Then it was just a long and boring ride home, this time sitting next to some old guy who slept the whole way.  That’s not a problem expect he kept leaning on me most of the way. Sleeping old people get HOT!  I just cannot sleep on a train. Maybe it’s fear of missing my stop, or maybe it’s just the bouncing around.  More likely it’s the whole “sitting up” thing; I just cannot sleep sitting up.  I TRIED to sleep and was certainly tired enough to do it. As soon as I’d drop off I’d jerk back awake. Between not being able to movie and the geriatric heat machine next to me, I cannot remember being so tired in mid-afternoon.

When I finally get off the train, the cold air outside felt fantastic. I rode the bike home and the change from the hot train felt great. I walked in the door around 4pm, kicked off my shoes, and immediately lay on the bed to stretch out a bit.

Oops.

Then I woke up at 7am Thursday morning, fully dressed.  Oops.  I guess time travel works both ways. I just zapped myself a day into the future. 

So now it’s Thursday morning at about 8am. I guess sleeping away the day kind of enforces my “not-going-to-study-for-the-Japanese-test” plan. I have to prepare for K-sensei’s final class in the next hour. That’s no problem, as it’s pretty much ready-to-go as it stands now. Then this afternoon is the evil Japanese language test. If I had been awake yesterday, I’m sure I’d have given into the nagging and studied Japanese. I think I like it better this way. I had actually planned to study this afternoon for it, and I will, I don’t want to look like an idiot after all, but I could have spent a lot more time on it if I hadn’t forced myself not to.  And that should wrap up my Thursdays from now on. I think Thursday will be a day off from now till the end.

I had planned on getting my lesson for Friday’s class prepared on Wednesday night so that I could print it off up at the office Thursday morning. That didn’t happen, what with me being comatose and all. I still have plenty of time to make up the lesson Thursday night, but it will require a special trip up the mountain first thing Friday to print off handouts. Sigh.

Back to the birthday situation:  I know the Japanese teacher wrote down my birthday back when Marc talked about his. Will something happen today before the test? I wouldn’t put odds on it either way.  Speaking of Marc, he asked me Tuesday night if my B-Day was Wednesday. He worked a long day yesterday, so I never even saw him, but the fact that he asked may mean he’s got something cooking. I should probably worry.

January 15^th, 2008

A Busy Day

Yep, today was the first “big” day of the new classes. I left the apartment at 11:10 and got the 11:26 train from Hokaiin to Okayama, then transferred to the 11:42 to the Fukuyama station. The ride was simple enough; at that time of day, the trains are mostly deserted. I listened to my iPod all the way there.  I arrived there at 12:30-ish and walked down the highway and halfway up the mountain. I was within sight of the school at 12:50 and sta down to wait a bit. My classes didn’t start until 1:30, and I was told to arrive ten minutes early. I still had a half hour to kill. 

I stopped in the same place Marc and I had stopped for him to smoke on the way there last Friday.  It’s the only place to sit down on the whole route there.  The next thing I knew, the Vice Principal had walked down the hill to meet me.  That was a little bit annoying. I actually believe they don’t think we know where we are going yet. Oh well, I guess it’s better that they assume we are complete idiots than assume we know everything there is to know. Expectations are lower that way, at least.

He walked me up to the office to get two new train tickets (one to go home tonight and one to get here on Friday). Then he led me to the teachers office to sit until classes start. The teacher came in and met up with me then and we talked briefly about what I was going to do today. She suggested I do essentially the same thing I did Friday since these are all new classes for me.  Gosh, why didn’t I think of that?

Class One

The first class was the smallest, with 12 students, all males. They were also the youngest group, about half 12 year-olds and half 13 year-olds. They were eager to participate had lots of questions, were easy to understand and loud enough to hear. I introduced myself, and then they all did too. One of the lines on the “Introduce yourself” worksheet is “My birthday is ______.”  I told them it’s tomorrow, and one of them stood up and sang me the Happy Birthday song, in decent English. After class, several of the students came up and thanked me for teaching them and shook my hand. My bowing skills even got a workout in this class. Wow. Excellent!

Class Two

The second class had about 25 students, a year old than the first class, and was both boys and girls. They were not quite as eager to participate, not quite as many questions, not quite as easy to understand, and barely audible. Sigh. But we got through it OK, it was just a little tougher to fill the time with a more one-sided class.  One thing that stood out to me is one girl in the class. She seems to be mentally retarded in some way, but I don’t see how that could be possible. She certainly had the look and the walk of someone challenged, and when she stood up to introduce herself her voice was nothing but a mumble. Still, she was in the same class as the rest, so I had to wonder what’s up with that student. Then I remembered what the teacher at the Elementary School told me a few months ago about rich parents and learning disabled students. This is the same operation, just an older level of student.

Class Three

The third class began and seemed to drag on forever. My back was starting to bother me after standing “at attention” for long. Teachers here do not slouch or lean on the desk or board; it’s disrespectful. The students, although older and supposedly more advanced, would barely speak at all. We got through the introductions without a problem, but they just wouldn’t ask me any questions. I was really struggling to come up with things to say toward the end of the third class. I don’t care if they do know more vocabulary and grammar, it’s not going to be of any use to anyone if they are afraid to practice it or use it when the time comes!

This is a perfect example of the single biggest problem I have found with Japanese schools.  They train the students to listen, not think.  They start out in kindergarten eager to learn, eager to please, and by the time they hit the university, they are zombies. The schools drive out all enjoyment out of learning. I have seen the kindergarten and university students plenty of times, but today is the first time I have really seen the “middle stages” of this process.  The younger students, who supposedly have “less ability” with English, are by far the better students in my opinion. Their vocabulary may be limited, but at least they are willing to use it.

Class Four: Chatroom

Eventually, I was saved by the bell, and went to the fourth class, or as they call it, the “chat room.”  I am in here for three 15-minute sessions or groups of students who want to talk about “whatever” with me. The first session was a little slow today because no one knew what we were doing there, including me. The second session was a little better; several girls who are going to America in the spring (To Findlay, Ohio) had questions for me about what they would find there. Findlay. Bwahahahaaa!  That’s almost as funny as coming all the way to Japan to live in Okayama!  My Home University has an arrangement with “The Company” here for transfer students, which I have discussed before. Students from both America and Japan do exchanges just like the students I had last August. I am assuming they also have a similar arrangement with a university in Findlay as well, because there seems to be a lot of students coming and going to Findlay; I’ve heard it all before.

The Red Carpet Ride

Then the chat room was done, and the two teachers I worked with today met with me to discuss the future. They had a few suggestions, but they were minor things that won’t help much in choosing a topic for next time. I do know I am going to have to plan some English games for next time to get them more involved. Then it was time to go, and who do I bump into in the hallway on the way out, but the Vice Principal again. He offered me a ride to the train station in his car, and I didn’t say no. I was cold and dark by that time. On the way, he invited me to come early on Friday and we would go to lunch together.  I am pretty sure he said it would be in the school cafeteria, but I can’t say no. This guy is zealously helpful.

I wonder what the people in charge told him about us that we get this kind of treatment?  I bet they simply told them that we were treated somewhat rudely by the Elementary School and they want to really make up for it.  Or maybe they are just really, really happy to have English teachers. They all seem extraordinarily nice and helpful and eager to have us and make us comfortable. Almost too eager, considering we’re only going to be there for seven weeks. Oh well, it’s going to be difficult enough coming up with things to do with these kids without trying to second-guess motives.

I ended up getting off the train at 6:45 and picking up my regular order at the carryout. I then ate it at home in front of the TV. They have a show (We call it “Hide and Seek”) on where one group of wives hide and their husbands have to find them.  Tonight they are hiding in what appears to be an old castle under renovation. They get pretty elaborate with hiding places. They use secret doors, pits dug in the ground, they masking-taped one wife to the bottom of a bridge, and that sort of thing. I don’t know how anyone every finds anyone in this game. Out of ten wives, at the end of an hour, they found all but one of them. Since there was a woman left hiding, they won the 200,000 Yen.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Wednesday, and that means Hiroshima. It’s a short day for me, since I have no classes in the afternoon or evening this time again. I will be back to the usual routine on Wednesday next week, so that will really be the complete end of the holiday season for me. After kindergarten, I will probably try to find that Mexican restaurant, although it’s pretty far from where I will be. I may wait until next week, since it’s relatively close to the community center and I can walk there on my break. Maybe I can even get a student to come with me, who knows?  I’ll let the weather decide for me. If it’s nice, I’ll explore; if it’s nasty, I’ll wait.  The report says sunny, so we’ll see.

January 14^th, 2008

Rose Day

Today’s a holiday. As far as I can tell, they call it “Rose Day.” Apparently, it’s a special day where everyone who turns 20 this year celebrates. It’s a sort of “coming of age day.”  Beyond that, I don’t know how it works or what they do. All the stores seemed to be open today, but the university was closed.  For whatever reason, I had today off.  I assumed that library was closed today, so I went to Megalo this morning to get in some Internet time. Later, Marc told me that he’d been to the library and it had been open normal hours. Whoops!

On Thin Ice

While on the net I did get a few things done. I picked up an article that I like for K-Sensei’s class. It’s about the thickness of arctic ice and how new ice is thinner than old ice.  He wanted me to turn it in for him by Wednesday so he could copy it for Thursday’s class. That sounds reasonable except that today the school was closed and that I teach out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I guess I’ll have to go up to the university first thing in the morning to print off the article and then run right back down here to catch the train to Fukuyama. It’s inconvenient, but it’ll be my very last Thursday class. Unless they come up with something new, I expect to have Thursday off after this upcoming one.

If I email it today in order to arrive yesterday, I can have my answer by tomorrow?

I also wrote to Dr. M. back at the Home University regarding my “missing” TEFL certificate. I wrote that on “my” Monday afternoon, so it would have arrived in her inbox very late Sunday night. So as long as she answers it sometime during business hours on “her” Monday, I should be able to get an answer tomorrow (my Tuesday) morning.  All this time conversion between here and there makes me glad that I enjoy time travel fiction. It’s hard to make sense of it otherwise sometimes.

Ole! Salsa! Burrito!

Although I tend to avoid eating at the same place twice in a row, I did go to McDonalds again. I like that new egg-burger sandwich. Speaking of food, I now know (thanks Ptuny) about a Mexican restaurant in Hiroshima. I’m going to try to find it on Wednesday. According to the website, it’s the only Mexican restaurant in Hiroshima. I wonder why they are so rare here?  Japanese seem to like spicy food, so it’s not that. If I had to guess, maybe the ingredients are just too expensive. But how expensive can corn and beans actually be? Whatever—hopefully within 48 hours I’ll be having some tacos, nachos, and enchiladas!

Arriving home, I cleaned up my room a little bit. I think I am going to pack up a box of stuff to send home later in the week. There are plenty of things sitting around here that I am not going to be using in the next eight weeks.  It’s better to mail some now and some later than get stuck with a big expense all at once. Maybe. I’ll have to see what I can gather up, maybe I don’t have enough to bother with right now.  While cleaning, I sorted through my unused lesson material, and tossed out a huge stack of Christmas material. I am keeping everything I have used here for teaching in .PDF or .DOC files for possible future use, but not necessarily paper copies.

No Avoiding the Chat Room

Tomorrow I have those dreaded new Fukuyama classes, two more junior high classes and one high school class, as well as an hour in the “chat room.” The classes are going to be more or less like what I did last Friday (only solo without Marc this time), so I am not too worried about them for this time. I have to come up with something new for the class on Friday, and this week I think I will focus on asking questions. I need to make up a worksheet or handout concerning how to ask questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? 

I am a little unsure about the so-called “chat room.”  We walked through it the other day, and it’s a room with bare shelves. Supposedly there will be magazines in English and pictures on the wall by tomorrow. What do I do in there? Well, chat I assume, but I can’t be more specific than that.  Unless I they tell me otherwise, I am going to assume that’s it’s a lot like the Student Support Center that I did in Takahashi; students come in to talk and practice English, but it’s not a formal class.  Both Marc and I are convinced that this whole room was a last-minute idea that the school assembled just for us. When they found out they were getting a regular weekly supply of foreign teachers, they decided to put together a chat room, probably with no further thought than that.  When people go to a lot of trouble to build something up, they tend to expect a lot in return.  It’s when they have vague expectations that things tend to get troublesome.

Too Few Whos Make The News

Finishing my preparations for the first part of the week, I turned on the MP3 player and listened to another Doctor Who audio story for two hours.  It looks like I only have about fifteen more of these stories… and about 60 days left in Japan. I don’t listen to one every night, but I’m going to be cutting it close. Plus, I probably ought to save a couple for the flight home. I have Internet sources for a huge number of classic books and things on audio now, but I like the Who stories best. They’re just fun and I know all the characters already. I guess I’m going to have to start rationing my stories or listening to something else for a few weeks.

January 13th, 2008

Correspondence Class: Case Closed

Before class, I filled my time by doing some laundry and captioning photos in iPhoto. I only found out how to do it last week. I had not realized that the captions from iPhoto upload directly into Picasa, so I can caption everything once and only once. Previously I did it separately at both places, and that was a real waster of time.  So now I’m getting my iPhoto stuff in order, and I’ll redo all the online photos when I get all that finished.

My class today began at 2:00, and Marc did his at 1:00.  It was just up the hill, so there was no train or ticket involved. I sort of messed around at home first, since it was early enough that I couldn’t go anywhere or start any real projects, but late enough that I couldn’t schedule much after it either.  For a 45-minute class, it couldn’t get much more inconvenient. At least all my course materials were worked out and approved over a month ago, so there wasn’t any preparation or worry involved. This thing was supposed to be so structured that pretty much nothing could go wrong; there would be no surprises.

OK, to begin with, this isn’t exactly a correspondence course.  It’s a class where students who work or for some other reason cannot come to class during the week. They come once a week on Sunday and do the rest at home. Where was this when I was in high school?!?!

Shingo’s Search for Shiny Shoes

I walked up the hill at 1:30, and waited at the escalator until about 10 till 2. While I waited, Shingo walked by. He didn’t have any classes today, but needed to get some shoes out of his laboratory.  That’s a heck of a walk to get shoes, but then I’m a lazy American, what do I know?  He asked what I did over the holidays, and I told him. He is originally from Hiroshima, and knows Miyajima well.  He told me that I should have taken the ropeway up the mountain in Miyajima, and said it was hard to go the other way.  Yeah, no kidding!  He did the traditional New Year meals and noodles and stuff, and spent Christmas at his girlfriend’s house. Time was getting short, so we rode the escalator up and parted ways.

I checked in at the high school office.  The big campus on top of the hill is not just the university. There is also a junior high school and high school as well. The idea is that your kids can get a complete education at just one facility. They can keep their friends and not have to relearn everything new. I’m not sure whether that’s a good idea or not, but that’s the way it is.  The principal asked me about my holiday, and I told him about Kyoto and Miyajima, leaving out the mountain part. Everyone seems to know about the temples in Kyoto, when I say the names of the places, they all nod like they’ve been there themselves. Well, they probably have, travel here is easier than in the States. Travel and vacations in the States would be so much easier and cheaper if we ad something like these train lines there. Unfortunately, I doubt passenger trains will make a comeback in the USA anytime soon.

Anyway, an assistant teacher took me to the classroom, where the real teacher has already begin the lesson. When I walk in, he very quickly tells them my name, but nothing else, and signals me to start reading my script.  I read the first paragraph slowly, and write a few things on the board; a map, comparative sizes of Dayton and Okayama, and map of the USA. I posted the whole script here back in the blog report for December 9th, so I’m not going to repeat all of that here again. After finishing the paragraphs, the teacher would translate the whole thing into Japanese. I must actually begetting better at Japanese, cause much of what he said was clear to me. It was probably because he was using the same simple sentences that I had used in English. Simple in English makes it simple in Japanese too. He was very thorough and took a long time in his explanations. Then he signaled me to read the next paragraph and we alternated for the next half hour.

Short Simple Script: Sensational Success Story

Five short paragraphs in a half hour didn’t seem like enough to me, but it actually took the whole time. The last fifteen minutes, we went over the multiple choice questions that I had prepared, and I guess most of the students got most of them right, because the teacher looked pleased. About the time I finished asking and answering the last question, the 45 minutes were up. The students didn’t have any questions for me, but I expected that.  I was told this group was especially shy and not to press. Then I thanked them and left. Everything went exactly as planned, according to the structure, and even ended down to the minute on time.  I wish they all could go like that!

Dreaded Diminutive Dryer Disorder

Then it was back down the hill to take the clothes out of the dryer.  Yes, I do actually have a dryer, but it’s so small and takes so long that it really is far easier to use the clothesline.  This load had two shirts in it, and took about two and a half hours. I knew I’d be gone just about the right length of time, so today I did it that way. It’s just as well that I did, since it rained while I was up at school.

Extra Excellent Egg-citement

I’m out of Pepsi Nex and Iced Tea bottles, as well as bread, crackers and cheese, so it was grocery day. Naturally, I stopped in to visit Ronald and make sure he was still in business after missing me yesterday. He was, and he even had a new sandwich for me today. This one is smaller than the “tomato/tomago” thing I described a while back, but it is similar. This is a double-burger with very good spicy sauce and a “McMuffin-style” egg on top. I never tried the “Tomago” burger last month, as it was just too big. Today, I gave the newer burger a shot. MMMMMMMMMMM!  I doubt they have them in America, but go look on your way home tonight.  If they have some kind of “egg burger” buy it and try it to show your support. They need more egg burgers.  And the sauce on it is great too.

Then it was back home to unpack.  Now what? Tomorrow is a holiday, so the library is closed. I’ll probably go to Megalo, since there was some stuff that I started there last week that I can’t finish in the library. I cannot do ftp file transfers at the library, just web-surfing. Most of the time, that’s enough, but not always.

Plans, Preparations, Printouts, and Poetry

What else?  I have a final exam to write for N-Sensei’s class on the 21st.  He didn’t tell me to do it, but I know it’s coming. If I can get it done now and hand it in on the 21st, maybe I won’t have to go on the 28th.  That’s a long way off no matter which way it goes. I also have to get K-Sensei’s final article setup for class. I downloaded a few more science articles yesterday, and I’ll look through them tonight. Hopefully one of them will be good. If not, I still have that poetry stuff from last week that I didn’t use. I’m not going to prepare anything new for Tuesdays classes since those are going to be more first-time introductions like last Friday. I do need to come up with something for Friday. No ideas yet, but I want to get the other stuff done and out of the way first. Then I can focus all my time on the new classes.

Nihongo’s New Nastiness Nixed

I have decided that I really am going to make the minimal effort for Japanese Class’s final exam on Thursday. I suspect she’s going to make it ridiculously easy for us, and if I am wrong, studying won’t help that much either. I figure I can beat Marc on the test even he studies from now till Thursday non-stop. And they aren’t going to fail us both.  Yes, I have a serious attitude problem with this class.  Its so tempting to just walk in there on Thursday, declare that I studied and feel healthy, then tear the paper in half and walk out. At least then somebody important would ask me WHY I did it. Then I could tell them. I am really at the position right now where I don’t HAVE to play the game in the usual way.  But I won’t do all that, even though it’s fun to think about it.  I’ll go and take the test, but I am not going to stress over it anymore than I already have.

Finally this evening I spent several hours captioning photos. I have all of Miyajima done, and about ¾ of the photos from Kyoto. This is a good thing, because there were so many places in Kyoto that I visited in a single day that they were starting to run together in my memory.  As I sat down with my tourist map, I was able to put names on places that I didn’t even know at the time I was there.

January 12th, 2008

School Days Gone By

It was library/Internet day, so I did the usual routine as far as that is concerned. Just as I was finishing up there, I got my weekly call from home. It seems my diploma has arrived. Yay!  One thing I have always found fascinating is that you get no official confirmation of your graduation, even if you participate in the ceremony, until you get the diploma in your hand. People told me I would graduate, but there was never any official notice on either the registration website or in the mail. Up until today, they could have changed their minds for whatever reason.  It’s no big deal, I wasn’t in a hurry for the diploma, and they did the same thing with my Bachelor’s Degree a year and a half ago. It’s just slow.

An Oversight or a Hostage Situation?

I didn’t really expect that diploma till right about now, but one thing that I had expected earlier was my TEFL Certificate.  I still don’t have it.  Marc doesn’t have his either, but in his case I had just assumed he left something unfinished at home; some paper or project not yet turned in. I know for a fact that I am done with all of that. I have to think they are holding them until we return. If that is the case, then it seems inappropriate; many of the people I took the TEFL classes with had no specific plans to ever go anywhere, and I know they must have gotten their certificates long, long ago.  Perhaps they simply forgot ours since we didn’t get them at the end of summer. I guess this calls for an email to Dr. M back at the Home University.

Speaking of Dr. M back at the university, I wonder what they think of all this stuff in the blog? I know both of my TEFL teachers (Drs. M and C for the very longtime readers) knew about the blog.  I know Dr. M has read it, at least in the beginning. There were at least two other teachers at the school who knew of the blog as well, “C.” Who was my co-teacher with the Japanese Exchange Students last summer, and “K” who was the teacher for that very last memoir writing class. They’re all busy teachers, and probably aren’t keeping up with my rantings here, but if they are, I wonder what they think about all the stuff that goes on here.

What Are They Thinking?

If it comes right down to it, I doubt there is much that I write in this blog that doesn’t happen or go through the mind of everyone who participates in this program. Where do I differ from the “typical” student who comes over here and does this? I am older than most, no doubt. I don’t drink, which leads to a very different kind of social life than Marc. I just finished school, while most of the others are somewhere in the middle; this lets me be a little more critical of things since they can’t fail me now. And I am writing all my experiences and thoughts in a very public blog.  Overall, I don’t see where any of these would make that much difference in my perspective, and most other intern teachers would be doing the mostly the same things, although I suspect Marc’s lifestyle is more typical than my own for students over here.

Someone could read my blog reports and think that this program is a total fiasco or sham operation.  That’s not the case at all, although I do tend to complain a lot; that’s just me. Overall, from a professional standpoint, everything over here seems to be going well. I see no reason the folks at the Home University would need to be concerned about anything at this point in the trip. I’ve moaned and whined quite a lot about these new classes, but that’s more because they came out of the blue as a surprise to me than anything else; I don’t like surprises.

As far as I know, all the Japanese teachers (as well as Y-San) are happy with both Marc and myself. Neither of us has ever turned down a request or assignment from the company.  Marc has called in sick a few days, but so far I haven’t, so our attendance is overall good. We both hate Japanese Language class, but for different reasons. I think I work at it all harder than Marc, but we’re just different. Marc can impress people with his personality and humor, while I have to impress with brains and hard work. I think the people in charge are happy with both of us, probably for different reasons, but they are happy, and that’s what counts.

We’re both getting to the point where we are talking about going home a lot.  As much fun as it has been here, it is starting to get old. Marc too, is counting the days; he only has six weeks left, while I have eight. Drat!  On the lighter side, on the train yesterday, he mentioned that he wants to go home because he misses American bar food, and he’s getting tired of Japanese bar food.  It was all I could do to keep from laughing. I guess Marc and his bar food isn’t really any worse than me wanting to go home for Taco bell and Wendy’s because I am sick of Japanese McDonalds.

Basically, no one asked for a status report, but there it is anyway. Getting the diploma reminded me that we are sort of still working for the Home University over here.  And also because when I email Dr. M. to pester her about that certificate, she’s bound to ask, “so how is everything going over there?”

Well, you read it here first!

Tomorrow the bitching and whining will resume as usual.