>_>;
it`s been a really long day... i suck.
this morning i decided to try going a different way to Kamoda ES; a way that i`d never gone before in general. i look at a detailed map, plan my way there and leave my apartment on bike at 8:30am. my first class starts at 9:35am.
things were going just fine except i was a bit confused as eventually when i got to some rather small side streets i noticed some things that weren`t on the map... but i had to be in the right place! i stayed north near the river just like i was suppose to...! but then the street that i was suppose to stay on turned south a bit more than i remembered on the map... but no, it`s ok! this has to be it! look! there`s the tunnel that i`m suppose to go through! D: there`s no WAY it`d be that other tunnel that`s also nearby cause i took the northern street...!! i check my phone before going into the tunnel: it`s 9am-- i should be ok on time. i try to check my location on Google Maps via GPS but it takes longer than i`d like to find me, so i put the phone away and start off through the tunnel.
DAMN it`s hard to bike... am i going uphill or something...? i can`t even tell... oh well, keep going. get to a little break in the tunnel to see that i`m smack-dab in the middle of mountains. were there suppose to be this many mountains around here...?? i pull out my phone: 9:05am, ok... where the hell am i? damnit, GPS cant find me here/it`s taking to long to! D; the sign up ahead on the tunnel says "Yokohama Tunnel".... no waaayyy, this tunnel CANT be going to Yokohama... can it...? i`m suppose to be further north...? eh... i`ll just go through it and see where it comes out, i should be ok on time.
i push on.
.....goddamn, i must be going uphill-- that guy on a bike just flew right past me...! damn this is hard... i`m going to die... this tunnel is longer than i thought it`d be, gahhhhhh.... it`s kinda too late to turn back now, huh...? ohhh, it looks like the tunnel starts going downhill up ahead-- thank gooooddddd....
come flying outta the tunnel downhill to see a toll gate; any hope i had was still in the tunnel. throw the demanded 10yen into the bike toll box and keep on going to see WAY more inaka than i had hoped and no landmarks or business insight with which to guess where i was. i cross the road and bike a bit more and stumble upon a Circle K-- my relief cannnot be described. time check before rushing inside: 9:18.
excuse me, JHSers standing inline behind me making me feel all the more embarrassed. i`m kinda lost... where the am i??
errm..., the clerk responds at first, caught off guard. this is Makiedai-cho.
thanks, i say before rushing back out the door, phone in hand. Makiedai-cho?? where the fuck is that?? a quick glance at Google Maps, GPS having finally found me, said Yokohama/Nagahama. shit.
i flip through my contacts and call the first taxi number i come across. 15mins before you could get here??? yes, i know it`s the middle of no where and taxis dont come here often. ok, send a guy and i`ll call you back if another taxi comes by before you get here. UURRGGHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh i am so fked, is what i think before calling the BOE to ask them to notify the school that i suck and will probably be late.
PACE PACE, GAH GAH is what i do on the sidewalk infront of the Circle K for a few mintues when suddenly... is that a taxi-- OMG WAVE WAVE WA-- shit, it`s occupied... the driver steering-car-cant-really-bow-but-yes-i-see-you-sorry bows as he goes past. DISPAIR-- PACE PACE, GAH GAH-- wait... is that the same taxi coming back this way... empty?? %&'&"$%$&THANKYOUOMG<3333333333333333 is basically what i said as i hopped in and told him my destination, briefly telling him how i fucked up as i call the other taxi company back to cancel, apologizing a million times.
how long do you think it`ll take to get to Kamoda? i ask the driver. ahhh, about 15 minutes maybe? he replies. 15mins.... D; ahhh, atleast i`m on my way... ;-; winding through the mountains, finally we see Kochi below... ah, i know where we are now! i check the fare meter and start getting out my wall-- SHIT, i thought before even getting it out. i almost used the last of my cash on the highway bus ticket i bought yesterday evening.... SHIT SHIT SHIT do i even have enough on me???? >_<;;;; i have 1,396yen... i eye the meter at 1,120yen. it goes up to 1,380yen.
errrmm.... is there a bank near the school..............? i kinda... am a bit short............
ehhhh.....?? welllll....... it`s not much.... so it`s ok this time.............
OMGIMSORRYTHANKYOUIMSORRY!"#%#&"$"#$&$%#$""%$T
9:36: the taxi stops in front of the school and i give him all that i have, bowing and apologizing a million times before running through the front gate and to the school entrance... OH, you`re the ALT! says a lady who just happened to be walking past the entrance... i`m the teacher of your first class. IMSORRY#$&$#"$! $#$&&'!"$!"$"$&#DFSFSDFSDFSDFSF-- no no, it`s ok. come with me.
this teacher.... i remember her.... it`s HER. SHE`S the do-i-have-a-stick-up-my-ass teacher i`ve taught with in the past! it must have been HER that wrote the English Only request on the lesson plan! ohgod..., is what i think as i step into her classroom, still slightly out of breath and mouth dry as all hell. before i can even take my backpack off, she has gotten the students` attention and has handed the class over to me. i immediately go into my self-introduction crap while fumbling about for my materials.
damn, i thought to myself. it`s finally paying off to have said this same crap a mindnumbing amount of times! my mouth may be moving but i am SO not here yet...[/descriptiverant]
in the end the class went....... relatively well, considering. i had absolutely no time to stress over how hard it would be to speak only English-- which may have been the only thing to my benefit. i tried using only English + gestures etc and the teacher EVER SO ANNOYINGLY threw out translations (which were not always accurate) before the students even had time to figure out things for themselves. WHY DID SHE REQUEST I SPEAK ONLY ENGLISH IF SHE WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT TO TRANSLATE EVERY LITTLE FKING THING I SAID $%'&('!#"$!"#!!"!!#$%?"?!?!?!?!?!? to flaunt her own English comprehension abilities?!"?"$!"$ ...........honestly, as pissed as i am about it (especially since thinking back on this teacher, i remember her doing THE SAME THING last time), i just couldn`t get pissed at the time... i was too exhausted and i felt so in the wrong for being late.... *sigh*
i had planned 2 activities and both of the activities used worksheets that obviously didn`t get copied before class... a major roadbump in my lesson plan. while the teacher went off to make copies i already needed them and couldn`t go on without them, so i did what i could do.... pulled crap out of my ass and hoped it worked. one of my planned activities was to have the students draw their favorite toppings onto a pre-drawn pizza base. to use up time, i drew the pizza base on the board and did basically the same thing as a class. this turned out to be very good because by the time the teacher got back with the copies the students had already gotten ideas for what they`d want to put on their paper pizzas and so the pizza-drawing activity went smoothly once it started. having taken note of this, i decided to do the same thing in the next class. the students had fun with the next activity as well; a janken game using a quasi-bingo and japanese food.
once the first class was over (which wasn`t soon enough, urgh) the kids proceeded to bumrush me, which i take to mean that they enjoyed the class. the teacher didn`t seem at all mad that i had been late either, but who knows with her... >_>;; the second class went about the same without the roadbump and the teacher didn`t seem to give a damn if i spoke Japanese btw. some of the kids were very vocal about their thoughts on American food lulz...
random hopefully-remembered-accurately responses:
"do Americans eat ALL THAT in a day???" (long story)
"OMG LOOK HOW THICK THAT STEAK IS."
"woooooww, i`d like to try that atleast once..." @ banana split
"i really wanna go to America atleast once... ;-;"
" 'soda'??? ROTFL" @ being corrected. NOT "COLA"!
"REALLY???" @ chocolate chip cookies being American
"gah, why wasn`t i born in America?!"
"furaido potet-- WHAT??!" @ being corrected. "fried potato" is Japanese English! (FRENCH) FRIES!!!
etc
it was interesting trying out this lesson plan for the first time... i would have enjoyed it more had i arrived at the school as planned.
*sigh* TGIF. seriously. 100000000%
the only thing good about today, the fact that the classes didn`t fail aside, is that i got an email this afternnoon from Sony saying my laptop has been shipped. if it gets here on sunday while i am at Sports Day, i will scream.
this morning i decided to try going a different way to Kamoda ES; a way that i`d never gone before in general. i look at a detailed map, plan my way there and leave my apartment on bike at 8:30am. my first class starts at 9:35am.
things were going just fine except i was a bit confused as eventually when i got to some rather small side streets i noticed some things that weren`t on the map... but i had to be in the right place! i stayed north near the river just like i was suppose to...! but then the street that i was suppose to stay on turned south a bit more than i remembered on the map... but no, it`s ok! this has to be it! look! there`s the tunnel that i`m suppose to go through! D: there`s no WAY it`d be that other tunnel that`s also nearby cause i took the northern street...!! i check my phone before going into the tunnel: it`s 9am-- i should be ok on time. i try to check my location on Google Maps via GPS but it takes longer than i`d like to find me, so i put the phone away and start off through the tunnel.
DAMN it`s hard to bike... am i going uphill or something...? i can`t even tell... oh well, keep going. get to a little break in the tunnel to see that i`m smack-dab in the middle of mountains. were there suppose to be this many mountains around here...?? i pull out my phone: 9:05am, ok... where the hell am i? damnit, GPS cant find me here/it`s taking to long to! D; the sign up ahead on the tunnel says "Yokohama Tunnel".... no waaayyy, this tunnel CANT be going to Yokohama... can it...? i`m suppose to be further north...? eh... i`ll just go through it and see where it comes out, i should be ok on time.
i push on.
.....goddamn, i must be going uphill-- that guy on a bike just flew right past me...! damn this is hard... i`m going to die... this tunnel is longer than i thought it`d be, gahhhhhh.... it`s kinda too late to turn back now, huh...? ohhh, it looks like the tunnel starts going downhill up ahead-- thank gooooddddd....
come flying outta the tunnel downhill to see a toll gate; any hope i had was still in the tunnel. throw the demanded 10yen into the bike toll box and keep on going to see WAY more inaka than i had hoped and no landmarks or business insight with which to guess where i was. i cross the road and bike a bit more and stumble upon a Circle K-- my relief cannnot be described. time check before rushing inside: 9:18.
excuse me, JHSers standing inline behind me making me feel all the more embarrassed. i`m kinda lost... where the am i??
errm..., the clerk responds at first, caught off guard. this is Makiedai-cho.
thanks, i say before rushing back out the door, phone in hand. Makiedai-cho?? where the fuck is that?? a quick glance at Google Maps, GPS having finally found me, said Yokohama/Nagahama. shit.
i flip through my contacts and call the first taxi number i come across. 15mins before you could get here??? yes, i know it`s the middle of no where and taxis dont come here often. ok, send a guy and i`ll call you back if another taxi comes by before you get here. UURRGGHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh i am so fked, is what i think before calling the BOE to ask them to notify the school that i suck and will probably be late.
PACE PACE, GAH GAH is what i do on the sidewalk infront of the Circle K for a few mintues when suddenly... is that a taxi-- OMG WAVE WAVE WA-- shit, it`s occupied... the driver steering-car-cant-really-bow-but-yes-i-see-you-sorry bows as he goes past. DISPAIR-- PACE PACE, GAH GAH-- wait... is that the same taxi coming back this way... empty?? %&'&"$%$&THANKYOUOMG<3333333333333333 is basically what i said as i hopped in and told him my destination, briefly telling him how i fucked up as i call the other taxi company back to cancel, apologizing a million times.
how long do you think it`ll take to get to Kamoda? i ask the driver. ahhh, about 15 minutes maybe? he replies. 15mins.... D; ahhh, atleast i`m on my way... ;-; winding through the mountains, finally we see Kochi below... ah, i know where we are now! i check the fare meter and start getting out my wall-- SHIT, i thought before even getting it out. i almost used the last of my cash on the highway bus ticket i bought yesterday evening.... SHIT SHIT SHIT do i even have enough on me???? >_<;;;; i have 1,396yen... i eye the meter at 1,120yen. it goes up to 1,380yen.
errrmm.... is there a bank near the school..............? i kinda... am a bit short............
ehhhh.....?? welllll....... it`s not much.... so it`s ok this time.............
OMGIMSORRYTHANKYOUIMSORRY!"#%#&"$"#$&$%#$""%$T
9:36: the taxi stops in front of the school and i give him all that i have, bowing and apologizing a million times before running through the front gate and to the school entrance... OH, you`re the ALT! says a lady who just happened to be walking past the entrance... i`m the teacher of your first class. IMSORRY#$&$#"$! $#$&&'!"$!"$"$&#DFSFSDFSDFSDFSF-- no no, it`s ok. come with me.
this teacher.... i remember her.... it`s HER. SHE`S the do-i-have-a-stick-up-my-ass teacher i`ve taught with in the past! it must have been HER that wrote the English Only request on the lesson plan! ohgod..., is what i think as i step into her classroom, still slightly out of breath and mouth dry as all hell. before i can even take my backpack off, she has gotten the students` attention and has handed the class over to me. i immediately go into my self-introduction crap while fumbling about for my materials.
damn, i thought to myself. it`s finally paying off to have said this same crap a mindnumbing amount of times! my mouth may be moving but i am SO not here yet...[/descriptiverant]
in the end the class went....... relatively well, considering. i had absolutely no time to stress over how hard it would be to speak only English-- which may have been the only thing to my benefit. i tried using only English + gestures etc and the teacher EVER SO ANNOYINGLY threw out translations (which were not always accurate) before the students even had time to figure out things for themselves. WHY DID SHE REQUEST I SPEAK ONLY ENGLISH IF SHE WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT TO TRANSLATE EVERY LITTLE FKING THING I SAID $%'&('!#"$!"#!!"!!#$%?"?!?!?!?!?!? to flaunt her own English comprehension abilities?!"?"$!"$ ...........honestly, as pissed as i am about it (especially since thinking back on this teacher, i remember her doing THE SAME THING last time), i just couldn`t get pissed at the time... i was too exhausted and i felt so in the wrong for being late.... *sigh*
i had planned 2 activities and both of the activities used worksheets that obviously didn`t get copied before class... a major roadbump in my lesson plan. while the teacher went off to make copies i already needed them and couldn`t go on without them, so i did what i could do.... pulled crap out of my ass and hoped it worked. one of my planned activities was to have the students draw their favorite toppings onto a pre-drawn pizza base. to use up time, i drew the pizza base on the board and did basically the same thing as a class. this turned out to be very good because by the time the teacher got back with the copies the students had already gotten ideas for what they`d want to put on their paper pizzas and so the pizza-drawing activity went smoothly once it started. having taken note of this, i decided to do the same thing in the next class. the students had fun with the next activity as well; a janken game using a quasi-bingo and japanese food.
once the first class was over (which wasn`t soon enough, urgh) the kids proceeded to bumrush me, which i take to mean that they enjoyed the class. the teacher didn`t seem at all mad that i had been late either, but who knows with her... >_>;; the second class went about the same without the roadbump and the teacher didn`t seem to give a damn if i spoke Japanese btw. some of the kids were very vocal about their thoughts on American food lulz...
random hopefully-remembered-accurately responses:
"do Americans eat ALL THAT in a day???" (long story)
"OMG LOOK HOW THICK THAT STEAK IS."
"woooooww, i`d like to try that atleast once..." @ banana split
"i really wanna go to America atleast once... ;-;"
" 'soda'??? ROTFL" @ being corrected. NOT "COLA"!
"REALLY???" @ chocolate chip cookies being American
"gah, why wasn`t i born in America?!"
"furaido potet-- WHAT??!" @ being corrected. "fried potato" is Japanese English! (FRENCH) FRIES!!!
etc
it was interesting trying out this lesson plan for the first time... i would have enjoyed it more had i arrived at the school as planned.
*sigh* TGIF. seriously. 100000000%
the only thing good about today, the fact that the classes didn`t fail aside, is that i got an email this afternnoon from Sony saying my laptop has been shipped. if it gets here on sunday while i am at Sports Day, i will scream.