<3 payday!
first, let`s recap the earlier part of this week shall we? this will be a long entry.
monday i taught 3 classes at Misato JHS having arrived at the school thinking i`d have only 1. you can imagine my stress and displeasure... >_>;;; especially since one of the classes i was COMPLETELY in charge of, there would be no JTE with me (the special ed class). :/ thankfully i had enough laying around that the class went well, even though i only had an hour to prepare for it. the other two classes were just self-introduction classes, so nothing needed preparing as i have my self-intro lessons down to a T by now. the first self-intro class with 2-1 went well. the students were genkier and more willing to speakup during class than the students in 2-2 were. <3 the second self-intro class was with 1-1, my first class with 1st years. they were pretty shy at first... but they eventually loosened up and talked to me a lot more than any of the other classes. :] thank god for 1st years, seriously...
tuesday i had 2 classes of self-intros at Misato JHS, this time with 3rd years for the first time. it did not go smoothly, goddamn 3rd years! >_<;; so goddamn inconsiderate and uncooperative!
to explain: there are parts of my self-intro lesson that are interactive. i NEED the students to participate. for example, while introducing myself with photos, i ask the class questions related to themselves (eg. "do you like ____?", "Do you know ____?" etc). the students wouldnt even reply to these simpleass questions. -_-; after introducing myself, i do a little oral quiz about things that were mentioned in my intro (eg. "how many cats do i have?", "do i study Japanese?" etc). easyass questions! i even had a prize to bribe them with! not a single student, especially in class 3-3, would fkin raise their hands to answer. >:[ sometimes it was even obvious that they KNEW the answer because i heard them whispering it to friends etc, but would they raise their hand and answer? no.
WHY?!?!?!
as if it would kill them to raise their hand and say "yes" or "no" or "two"! even 5 minutes of prodding and nudging from the JTE couldnt even get an answer out of them. =_=; urgh.... i hate 3rd years.... not personally of course, but urgh.
anyway... yeah. i`m done bitching, for now. i am really liking Misato JHS as a school so far-- it sure as hell kicks Kera`s ass-- but eh. every school has its frustrations. the staff has been really nice, though. :] yesterday the PE teacher, whose desk is near mine and who likes to randomly talk to me, invited me to come by the school today to have some nabe (a japanese stew/soup thingie) after i was done teaching at Misato ES. that was very nice of him. <3 i`ve gotten along fine with all the other staff so far as well, especially the office ladies. :3
went to Misato ES today and had two classes with 5th years, the topic being "jobs" (not 英語ノート, thank god). yesterday i made new color flashcards and b&w karuta cards for the lessons today and they were a hit. :3 i used a 20th Century Boys movie poster to teach "actor/actress", an エンタの神様 ("God of Entertainment", a well known standup comedy show) DVD cover to teach "comedian", a picture of Ayumi Hamasaki to teach "singer" etcetc. the class went great. :] the students were also a LOT genkier than i`ve come to expect kids their age to be, which was good (and bad at times). i`m glad that the class went so well and that the students are so genki because i`m scheduled to teach the same two classes again 3 more times this semester. ^^;
after work and after having delicious nabe at Misato JHS, i went and blew a hellava lot of money. ^^; some of it went to bills, but the majority of it went towards shopping cause i finally bought a new laptop!!! :D well, ordered and paid for it anyway. after much debate, i finally decided to custom order a Sony VAIO VGN-FW93JS direct from Sony. in doing so, i ended up spending quite a bit more money than i would have had i bought it from a store on sale, but i got a 3 year warranty (which is all too important to me now) and i got to customize the specs! 8) when shopping for my last laptop i was looking for mobility and the best specs i could get. this time while shopping for a laptop mobility was not an issue. instead, i wanted a desktop replacement with the best specs i could get and a build that could endure my level of usage.
16.4" (16:9 wide) display with XBRITE-FullHD Technology
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64bit (with a free upgrade to Windows 7 once it`s out :3)
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9600 2.8GHz
500GB SATA ATA hard drive
4GB RAM (upgradable to 8GB)
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 with 1GB dedicated video RAM
HDMI/VGA out
Intel High Definition Audio with Dolby Digital Live
Digital TV Turner x2
Bluray Disc burner/player with DVD+RW/CD-RW
IEEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (MIMO 3x3) wifi
with a 16.4" screen and weighing in at 3.2kg/7lbs, this baby wont be leaving my apartment unless i really need it elsewhere. D; needless to say, it was expensive... i wont even say the price unless someone really wants to know, but yeah. i am willing to dish out money for what i want in a laptop as long as i know that i wont have to replace it again in 2 years damnit! Sony will fix my vaio for 'free' if something happens again damnit. also, hopefully with such specs the laptop wont be outdated too quickly... ^^;;
i also bought (well, ordered and paid for) new glasses, finally! thanks to my eyes being utterly and totally shit, they ended up costing me more than what i originally thought/was told, but eh... still ended up being cheaper than what it would have been in America without insurance. the guy that helped me, who has also helped me on 2 previous visits, even gave me a personal discount. D; i ended up getting TWO discounts and paying about 24,000yen, yay! <3 if i ever decide i want another pair of classes before i leave Japan, i`m definitely going back to that guy. :]
ah, randomly i shall also add that yesterday, due to my normal Japanese tutor being sick, i got taught by another lady who i didn`t even knew existed (ie. i had no idea that there was another professional Japanese tutor avaiable). she was pretty cool, i liked how she explained confusing grammar, of which there is tons in 1級. we exchanged contact info and might meet up again for tutoring or otherwise. :]
monday i taught 3 classes at Misato JHS having arrived at the school thinking i`d have only 1. you can imagine my stress and displeasure... >_>;;; especially since one of the classes i was COMPLETELY in charge of, there would be no JTE with me (the special ed class). :/ thankfully i had enough laying around that the class went well, even though i only had an hour to prepare for it. the other two classes were just self-introduction classes, so nothing needed preparing as i have my self-intro lessons down to a T by now. the first self-intro class with 2-1 went well. the students were genkier and more willing to speakup during class than the students in 2-2 were. <3 the second self-intro class was with 1-1, my first class with 1st years. they were pretty shy at first... but they eventually loosened up and talked to me a lot more than any of the other classes. :] thank god for 1st years, seriously...
tuesday i had 2 classes of self-intros at Misato JHS, this time with 3rd years for the first time. it did not go smoothly, goddamn 3rd years! >_<;; so goddamn inconsiderate and uncooperative!
to explain: there are parts of my self-intro lesson that are interactive. i NEED the students to participate. for example, while introducing myself with photos, i ask the class questions related to themselves (eg. "do you like ____?", "Do you know ____?" etc). the students wouldnt even reply to these simpleass questions. -_-; after introducing myself, i do a little oral quiz about things that were mentioned in my intro (eg. "how many cats do i have?", "do i study Japanese?" etc). easyass questions! i even had a prize to bribe them with! not a single student, especially in class 3-3, would fkin raise their hands to answer. >:[ sometimes it was even obvious that they KNEW the answer because i heard them whispering it to friends etc, but would they raise their hand and answer? no.
WHY?!?!?!
as if it would kill them to raise their hand and say "yes" or "no" or "two"! even 5 minutes of prodding and nudging from the JTE couldnt even get an answer out of them. =_=; urgh.... i hate 3rd years.... not personally of course, but urgh.
anyway... yeah. i`m done bitching, for now. i am really liking Misato JHS as a school so far-- it sure as hell kicks Kera`s ass-- but eh. every school has its frustrations. the staff has been really nice, though. :] yesterday the PE teacher, whose desk is near mine and who likes to randomly talk to me, invited me to come by the school today to have some nabe (a japanese stew/soup thingie) after i was done teaching at Misato ES. that was very nice of him. <3 i`ve gotten along fine with all the other staff so far as well, especially the office ladies. :3
went to Misato ES today and had two classes with 5th years, the topic being "jobs" (not 英語ノート, thank god). yesterday i made new color flashcards and b&w karuta cards for the lessons today and they were a hit. :3 i used a 20th Century Boys movie poster to teach "actor/actress", an エンタの神様 ("God of Entertainment", a well known standup comedy show) DVD cover to teach "comedian", a picture of Ayumi Hamasaki to teach "singer" etcetc. the class went great. :] the students were also a LOT genkier than i`ve come to expect kids their age to be, which was good (and bad at times). i`m glad that the class went so well and that the students are so genki because i`m scheduled to teach the same two classes again 3 more times this semester. ^^;
after work and after having delicious nabe at Misato JHS, i went and blew a hellava lot of money. ^^; some of it went to bills, but the majority of it went towards shopping cause i finally bought a new laptop!!! :D well, ordered and paid for it anyway. after much debate, i finally decided to custom order a Sony VAIO VGN-FW93JS direct from Sony. in doing so, i ended up spending quite a bit more money than i would have had i bought it from a store on sale, but i got a 3 year warranty (which is all too important to me now) and i got to customize the specs! 8) when shopping for my last laptop i was looking for mobility and the best specs i could get. this time while shopping for a laptop mobility was not an issue. instead, i wanted a desktop replacement with the best specs i could get and a build that could endure my level of usage.
16.4" (16:9 wide) display with XBRITE-FullHD Technology
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64bit (with a free upgrade to Windows 7 once it`s out :3)
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9600 2.8GHz
500GB SATA ATA hard drive
4GB RAM (upgradable to 8GB)
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 with 1GB dedicated video RAM
HDMI/VGA out
Intel High Definition Audio with Dolby Digital Live
Digital TV Turner x2
Bluray Disc burner/player with DVD+RW/CD-RW
IEEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (MIMO 3x3) wifi
with a 16.4" screen and weighing in at 3.2kg/7lbs, this baby wont be leaving my apartment unless i really need it elsewhere. D; needless to say, it was expensive... i wont even say the price unless someone really wants to know, but yeah. i am willing to dish out money for what i want in a laptop as long as i know that i wont have to replace it again in 2 years damnit! Sony will fix my vaio for 'free' if something happens again damnit. also, hopefully with such specs the laptop wont be outdated too quickly... ^^;;
i also bought (well, ordered and paid for) new glasses, finally! thanks to my eyes being utterly and totally shit, they ended up costing me more than what i originally thought/was told, but eh... still ended up being cheaper than what it would have been in America without insurance. the guy that helped me, who has also helped me on 2 previous visits, even gave me a personal discount. D; i ended up getting TWO discounts and paying about 24,000yen, yay! <3 if i ever decide i want another pair of classes before i leave Japan, i`m definitely going back to that guy. :]
ah, randomly i shall also add that yesterday, due to my normal Japanese tutor being sick, i got taught by another lady who i didn`t even knew existed (ie. i had no idea that there was another professional Japanese tutor avaiable). she was pretty cool, i liked how she explained confusing grammar, of which there is tons in 1級. we exchanged contact info and might meet up again for tutoring or otherwise. :]