Yay stealing Laura's internets! ::filch::
I LOVE:
* Beirhall and Hatsumi, the owner (yes, indeed, I love a bar. It's a really CUTE bar with awesomely interesting people in it. I met a Japanese physics professor there)
* karaoke!!!!!! sooooo much fun!
* my coworkers! Andrea (Laura's predecessor) and Eri (one of our managers) and Bruce (the guy in charge of making new teachers not die) have been so very very helpful to me as I spaz and froth about teaching.
* 岐阜 = Gifu, my new home! It has very pretty mountains and some tall buildings and any extra space is full of gardens (no lawns) and lovely Japanese houses.
* my apartment! Okay, so the kitchen is VERY small. I still have a perfectly acceptably-sized living area (table, computer, tv, stereo, random books and CDs the previous owners left) and a LOFT! I love sleeping in high places, and my loft is like a half-height second floor that looks out over my living room. If anyone comes to visit, I could keep like four people comfortably in my apartment - no stapling to the ceiling! SO VISIT MEEEE!
* my keitai = cell phone. It can take (and edit) pictures and video, connects to the internet, has an external display, plays music, has a memory card and is just generally awesome (mind you, the only thing I asked for at the store was a phone that makes calls and is cheap. This is the LOW-END phone).
* JAPAN!!!!! ::hugs Japan:: EVERYONE COME SEE!!
Teaching is, well, teaching. My students, for the most part, are wonderfully nice and even the kids are pretty well-behaved (helping sensei clean up after lessons is a popular activity). I like them, but, well. Teaching is SO STRESSFUL! It's like being a performer, without the applause and stage crew and massive salaries. I've been spending approximately 12 hours a day in Kawabo (the office building half of our school is in - the other half is across the street in Masa 21, a shopping mall. I think Masa 21's owned by Aeon, which I find endlessly amusing). All the other teachers keep assuring me that it will get easier, so I guess it probably will. But I'm still going in at 10 AM tomorrow even though I don't teach until 4. I'll be writing lesson plans the whole time! Whee! ::sarcasm:: At least I get to use the paper cutter. I like paper cutters. They're fun.
A teaching- and spazzing-related anecdote: So, I've been taking over lessons from David, who is a substitute teacher (my predecessor is Stacey, who left about a week before I came). He taught all the lessons the first day, two out of six the second day, and just stared at me and gave constructive criticism the third day. The fourth day, he was gone. Coincidentally, the fourth day, I completely lost my voice. Like, no speaking at all. I had five classes to teach, three of which were kids' classes. So, I spent about an hour and a half zooming around the school spazzing at anyone who had any seniority, then eventually Bruce showed up and taught half of my classes, and Andrea taught the other half. I sat in the corner and tried not to (try to) talk too much, since it scared the kids. Between that and the incident where I forgot to eat all day my first day and then didn't know how to get home and was terrified of teaching the next day and ended up crying at Eri, I think my new nickname should be Meiwaku (bother). Mind you, both incidents are funny now. Life is good. Email my cell phone! paradigm@c.vodafone.ne.jp!
* Beirhall and Hatsumi, the owner (yes, indeed, I love a bar. It's a really CUTE bar with awesomely interesting people in it. I met a Japanese physics professor there)
* karaoke!!!!!! sooooo much fun!
* my coworkers! Andrea (Laura's predecessor) and Eri (one of our managers) and Bruce (the guy in charge of making new teachers not die) have been so very very helpful to me as I spaz and froth about teaching.
* 岐阜 = Gifu, my new home! It has very pretty mountains and some tall buildings and any extra space is full of gardens (no lawns) and lovely Japanese houses.
* my apartment! Okay, so the kitchen is VERY small. I still have a perfectly acceptably-sized living area (table, computer, tv, stereo, random books and CDs the previous owners left) and a LOFT! I love sleeping in high places, and my loft is like a half-height second floor that looks out over my living room. If anyone comes to visit, I could keep like four people comfortably in my apartment - no stapling to the ceiling! SO VISIT MEEEE!
* my keitai = cell phone. It can take (and edit) pictures and video, connects to the internet, has an external display, plays music, has a memory card and is just generally awesome (mind you, the only thing I asked for at the store was a phone that makes calls and is cheap. This is the LOW-END phone).
* JAPAN!!!!! ::hugs Japan:: EVERYONE COME SEE!!
Teaching is, well, teaching. My students, for the most part, are wonderfully nice and even the kids are pretty well-behaved (helping sensei clean up after lessons is a popular activity). I like them, but, well. Teaching is SO STRESSFUL! It's like being a performer, without the applause and stage crew and massive salaries. I've been spending approximately 12 hours a day in Kawabo (the office building half of our school is in - the other half is across the street in Masa 21, a shopping mall. I think Masa 21's owned by Aeon, which I find endlessly amusing). All the other teachers keep assuring me that it will get easier, so I guess it probably will. But I'm still going in at 10 AM tomorrow even though I don't teach until 4. I'll be writing lesson plans the whole time! Whee! ::sarcasm:: At least I get to use the paper cutter. I like paper cutters. They're fun.
A teaching- and spazzing-related anecdote: So, I've been taking over lessons from David, who is a substitute teacher (my predecessor is Stacey, who left about a week before I came). He taught all the lessons the first day, two out of six the second day, and just stared at me and gave constructive criticism the third day. The fourth day, he was gone. Coincidentally, the fourth day, I completely lost my voice. Like, no speaking at all. I had five classes to teach, three of which were kids' classes. So, I spent about an hour and a half zooming around the school spazzing at anyone who had any seniority, then eventually Bruce showed up and taught half of my classes, and Andrea taught the other half. I sat in the corner and tried not to (try to) talk too much, since it scared the kids. Between that and the incident where I forgot to eat all day my first day and then didn't know how to get home and was terrified of teaching the next day and ended up crying at Eri, I think my new nickname should be Meiwaku (bother). Mind you, both incidents are funny now. Life is good. Email my cell phone! paradigm@c.vodafone.ne.jp!