About time for an update
I reckoned enough time has passed that I should probably make an update post. I can't honestly say that anything overtly awesome has taken place, but I'll do my best to recall things that I thought were worth remembering.
Let's see... My first week of school was kind of uneventful. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I was at my main school (Higashi Elementary) but I didn't have any classes because they were busy preparing for Sports Day which took place that Saturday. They cancelled English class, but still had me come. It was kind of annoying, because I sat around for 8 hours each day in the teacher's room, doing nothing. Well, I found stuff to do... I translated some lesson plans and got to know the office manager who is named Nagaii. She is really nice.
My birthday was my first day at my smallest school: Nishi. I enjoy this school a lot because the kids are so smart, and the classes are so small. For my birthday, Rachael and I went to Genki Sushi for dinner. She tried to pay for me but I didn't let her do it.
That Friday was my first day at Anzawa Elementary School. This is a medium sized school, I suppose. After I finished at this school, I decided that I like the 3rd graders the best at all my schools. They are the most fun to play, and they still love to have English class.
Saturday (September 8th) I went to Higashi's Sport's Day. It was a really fun event and I am glad I went. I sat with the vice principal and she explained things to me, since they do a lot of events that we do not have in the US. After that, my friend from karate at Sophia came up here with one of his friends and we went exploring in Otawara (north of Yaita.) We went to a temple, and then we went to okonomiyaki! Omura insisted on paying for mine -_-; He said that it was my welcome back to Japan gift.
Sunday, I went with Rachael and her friend Mandy to one of the ALTs who was leaving's house. She was getting rid of a lot of stuff, so she gave us things. I got a kotatsu (yay!) along with some hangers, a basket to keep things in, a box to carry school stuff in and a vacuum. After that, we hung out with Mandy for a little bit. (She's really cool, she's been here for a while so she has a lot of experience with teaching and with living here.)
The following week, I had all of my schools! All four of them. Wednesday I had a teaching demo with a teacher that I had never worked with before, which was kind of nerve wracking. But, it went well, and we got some really good feedback, so that's nice. My kids are all so interesting, I have really interesting little tid bits every day that I post on my Facebook. Like for example, my first day at Anzawa, one of the third graders heard me talking to his teacher in Japanese, so he proceeded to run back to his class and tell the kids that I could speak Japanese. I had lunch with them after their class, and the kids I sat with talked to me a lot. One of them said to me: 先生、これはちょっと恥ずかしいし、あまり答えたくないだけど結婚しまったの？Which is like, "teacher, this may be a little embarrassing and you might not want to answer it but, are you married?" Which was followed by the other kids looking at my hands and saying adamantly that I wasn't married because I didn't have any rings on. I get asked this a lot by my kids. When they find out I'm not, then they demand to know if I have a boyfriend. When I tell them no, they ask me if I have a person that I like. They also ask me how old I am and are shocked when I tell them I am 24. They say that I'm young! Every time! But I think they are comparing me to their parents haha.
At Nishi, the groundskeeper heard me talking to the nurse and decided that my music tastes aren't to his liking and he "rented" me four of his favorite CDs. I haven't listened to all of them yet, but I listened to one of them and it's really good! It's obvious that he likes female singers, because he was okay with me saying that I liked Hamasaki Ayumi, but he said that Arashi is no good. XD
I have seen tons of my kids at the Beshia (kind of like Target, they have everything you could need there. Food, clothes, household supplies, everything!) and one night a few weeks ago, before I even had them in class, I saw some of the kids from Higashi there. They ran after me, calling to me just to say hello. It was cute.
I had lunch with the special needs class at Higashi a little while ago. There are only four of them; 1 fifth grader and 3 first graders. I am not sure what makes them need to be in this class, because quite honestly I think that they are all brilliant. One of the first graders talked my ear off during lunch. His name is Koki. He kept saying things like 日本語では「パン」は「パン。」英語では？Which means "In Japanese bread is bread. What is it in English?" And when I answered him, he would sit and think about if for a minute and then say "That's right!" in Japanese. It was the cutest thing ever.
Last week, I had lunch with one of the second grade classes at Higashi. They were adorable too- one of the little boys was determined to talk to me, even after he was scolded by his teacher. The little girls asked me the same things that the third graders at Anzawa did, but then asked me to please remember their names... when they didn't teach me their names in the first place! So cute. XD I have them for the first time this come week.
I have also been keeping up with my TV shows from back home. I watched all of "Once Upon a Time" and have been watching "Grimm" and "Bones," and I started watching "Game of Thrones" today. Last weekend, I went to the capital of Tochigi (Utsunomiya) with Gary (one of the other new ALTs who lives here too,) Rachael, and Gary's friend Tran who lives in Moka. Gary is like... my other half. For real. It's terrifying, and hilarious. We like almost all the same things- we listen to the same music, watch the same things, and are usually on the same wave length when it comes to trains of thought. It's ridiculous! We have spent too many hours in Tsutaya looking through the music selection, asking each other if we have heard of this singer or that band, and freaking out when the other hasn't heard of them.
We are all still waiting on our visas, which is totally annoying. We can't get anything done until we get our visas- can't open our bank accounts, can't get cell phones, can't get our health insurance cards... it sucks. I really, really want a cell phone, but obviously can't get one yet. I have been contemplating getting an iphone, but a friend sent me some commercials for some Androids and it made me want them too. I think that I will get an iPhone, because I know how to use one... but it's still something that has been bothering me lately.
Other than that... um... I might take up some part time work with my company as well. I was offered some, to teach night classes for business English. I am going to go check it out this week with Simon, one of the other ALT's here. He teaches the class that I would be teaching as well.
By the way, if I didn't mention it yet, there are five ALTs in my city with my company. Me, Rachael, Gary, Jenny and Simon. There is also a JET here, who works at the high school (I think his name is Joe? I haven't met him yet.) and there is another random guy here. So, there are a total of 7 gaijin in Yaita. Haha.
That's about all I can think of right now... Oh! I have a lot of time off in October- a five day weekend! And, that Saturday is Tran's birthday, so we're thinking about going to Tokyo for some of the time. We might have to make the trip short depending on some things, because we haven't gotten paid yet (obviously, we can't until we get our visas.) and we won't get paid until near the end of October (which sucks!) But, if I go to Tokyo and I don't see everyone that I can while I am there, I won't ever hear the end of it...
Edit: I forgot about this until I went to take a shower. I was talking to Katie and Kelsey yesterday morning and we talked about them coming to visit me in March. Since my contract lasts until March 31st, but I am finished with classes on March 22nd, we talked about them coming here around that time and we can adventure. Since Kelsey has started working, she has been saving up her money so that she can do just that. So, hopefully that works out! It would be awesome.
Also, I decided that if I decide that I want to stay here and do this a little longer, I cannot stay in this apartment. It's horrible, the convenience is fantastic, whatever. The road that this place is on is horrible. It's the most congested road in the city and it has traffic at all hours of the day. Trucks barreling by at all hours of the night shake the building and we (Rachael, Gary and I) can't tell if it's an earthquake or if it's just the trucks going by again. It's terrible. D: