Highlights of the week
Wednesday, Tanoura JHS - I finally got to talk with Mayuko today. You see, Tanoura JHS gets its students from three elementary schools: Tanoura Elem, Moriyama Elem, and Youra Elem. I only teach at the former, so this is my first time meeting the Youra graduate (there's only one). Since teaching English in elementary school has no official standardization, schools do different things. At Youra, they focus on English more than any other elementary school I've been to. They even have fifteen minutes of English conversation every day. So, I spoke with her in English, and I can say that she'll be a really good student.
Thursday, Izumi JHS - The rowdy, rambunctious rascals were at it again. Of course, I mean the second years.
I walked in to their classroom during one break to find an interesting sight. Ruri, one of the girls, was on her back and was using her arms to shield herself from Saki, who was standing above her and dual-wielding thoroughly used fly swatters. So, Ruri managed to make a break for it, and Saki chased her around the schoolgrounds for a while before tackling her on the grass. Of course, they were laughing like crazy the whole time. Yes, these are 8th graders.
After lunch in the second years' classroom, Saki starts headbutting Ayumi, who was sitting in a chair. Then, Miyuki jumps on Saki's back. So, there's this totem pole pushing Ayumi's chair slowly backwards, and all three of them are laughing like it's the funniest thing they've ever seen. Again, yes, these are 8th graders.
They're also probably the most fun class I teach :)
After school, I swam another new best: 84 laps. I think I'm really improving in this, since I swam the last 20 laps (500m) in one go.
Friday, Tanoura Elementary - Since the last schoolyear, this school's student population dropped from 29 to 24. There are only two first graders here, and today was their first time meeting me. I went up to their classroom, and when they noticed me in the hallway, they were like deer in headlights. I waved and said, "Hello!" and they waved and said "Hello" back, but with the same, stunned expressions on their faces. I walked away as their teacher whispered something to them, and when I had turned a corner in the hallway, I could hear them shout, "アンディ先生だ！" (It's Andy-sensei!)
One of the first graders, Emi, is really fast, and she even caught a teacher when we played tag today. I thought it was funny how, whenever she became "it," she would say, "まぁ、まぁ、まぁ、まぁ" ("Maa, maa, maa, maa," which means something like, "Well, well, well, well..."). Kind of like she was choosing who to chase.
Just now, I went for a run, and thanks to my swimming, I can now run as well as I could the week I destroyed my knee. Back then, I would run the usual run (I calculate it at around 5.2km) every day. Because of that, I can't sit cross-legged (or "Indian-style," whatever it's called) for long without my knee hurting. Now, I plan to only run occasionally, but go swimming more often.
This weekend, I plan to buy a new digital camera (my old one is kind of broken)...and not really do anything else. There's only one more week before a long vacation comes up.
Yay!
Thursday, Izumi JHS - The rowdy, rambunctious rascals were at it again. Of course, I mean the second years.
I walked in to their classroom during one break to find an interesting sight. Ruri, one of the girls, was on her back and was using her arms to shield herself from Saki, who was standing above her and dual-wielding thoroughly used fly swatters. So, Ruri managed to make a break for it, and Saki chased her around the schoolgrounds for a while before tackling her on the grass. Of course, they were laughing like crazy the whole time. Yes, these are 8th graders.
After lunch in the second years' classroom, Saki starts headbutting Ayumi, who was sitting in a chair. Then, Miyuki jumps on Saki's back. So, there's this totem pole pushing Ayumi's chair slowly backwards, and all three of them are laughing like it's the funniest thing they've ever seen. Again, yes, these are 8th graders.
They're also probably the most fun class I teach :)
After school, I swam another new best: 84 laps. I think I'm really improving in this, since I swam the last 20 laps (500m) in one go.
Friday, Tanoura Elementary - Since the last schoolyear, this school's student population dropped from 29 to 24. There are only two first graders here, and today was their first time meeting me. I went up to their classroom, and when they noticed me in the hallway, they were like deer in headlights. I waved and said, "Hello!" and they waved and said "Hello" back, but with the same, stunned expressions on their faces. I walked away as their teacher whispered something to them, and when I had turned a corner in the hallway, I could hear them shout, "アンディ先生だ！" (It's Andy-sensei!)
One of the first graders, Emi, is really fast, and she even caught a teacher when we played tag today. I thought it was funny how, whenever she became "it," she would say, "まぁ、まぁ、まぁ、まぁ" ("Maa, maa, maa, maa," which means something like, "Well, well, well, well..."). Kind of like she was choosing who to chase.
Just now, I went for a run, and thanks to my swimming, I can now run as well as I could the week I destroyed my knee. Back then, I would run the usual run (I calculate it at around 5.2km) every day. Because of that, I can't sit cross-legged (or "Indian-style," whatever it's called) for long without my knee hurting. Now, I plan to only run occasionally, but go swimming more often.
This weekend, I plan to buy a new digital camera (my old one is kind of broken)...and not really do anything else. There's only one more week before a long vacation comes up.
Yay!