Long time, no update (LONG update + pictures!)

So I've been busy! No complaining about no updates. Busy = less time to update. Heh, but now I have a LONG update to do. But I shall date it so you can keep up...hopefully.

Sunday, December 3rd:
On Sunday, Chris and I met up with Jason, Ewan, and Etushi (Ewan's friend) and we drove to Yonago to watch Casino Royale. The movie was awesome. Daniel Craig is a very very good James Bond. He fits my image of James bond way more than the last few pansies who played him! Barrel chested, more physical and less gadgets, and what not. I am not a big James Bond fan though, but this movie was awesome. I would be pleased if they remade a lot of the older films in this style.

After the movie, we had a nice dinner and then headed home. Thats about that.

Tuesday, December 5th:
Tuesday was a busy day for me. I had to monitor some finals at Nishi. So I got up and got to school around 9:05. I was all proud because I got there 15 minutes and I had time to relax and get some stuff together before I had to monitor finals. So I put my coat and bag down to mark that I was here when some lady runs up to me, grabs my arm and hurries me to class. Apparently, they started classes at 9:00 to make time for all the finals but FORGOT to tell me! Grrr! It was really cold, too. I put my jacket down and thats when I was snagged. Also, I didn't have my bag with my book in it. So observing was B-O-R-I-N-G. I had to stand and watch students take a test for 50 minutes. And thats all I could do. I guess I could have wandered around but I just stood there. 50 minutes! The second class was better because I was able to grab my bag and have a book.

After that, I had class at Enya. It was a presentation class for the parents though. I was really nervous! People are curious about me and how I teach because I am a foreigner so people watched me. My class did extremely well, though. I was very proud of them. We had been practicing and learned things previously, but they did so well.

That evening was tutoring. Tutoring is going well. Mishima-san is really keen and very good at explaining Japanese. My improvement is becoming more and more noticable. So yay!

Wednesday, December 6th:
Wednesday went well as well. It didn't really start until about 5:30 when I had my new class! I now have two classes at Kisuki (and maybe more will start up after the new year)! This class has 3 students in it. There are two girls who are both 7 and one boy who is 10. This class is challenging in a new way. These kids are completely a blank slate with regards to English. Well, the boy knows more that the girls, but still. It's an interesting challenge. We are starting with numbers and feelings and will move on to some other things like colors and animals soon. I hope they enjoy it. It will be cool to see them improve and know that I helped them get better.

With my older class, the two 11/12 year olds, things are going well. In fact! I had a wonderful experience. My student who has been struggling a little bit...she read a book! By herself! How exciting! :) The other student is more advanced that her and she read a harder book. Hooray. I taught someone how to read! How fun. It's very rewarding to see the results of your tutelage. :)

Thursday, December 7th:

Thursday was a pretty normal day. I had my Nishiko first graders and had them color a Christmas tree and we had a simple Christmas chat. It was pretty fun but uninteresting. For Enya, we just went over some adjectives. The kids seemed to enjoy though. I taught them the all important word "because". You would be surprised to realize how much you use 'because....'. So that was neat.

After school though, thats when the magic happened! I got my hair cut. The length was driving me crazy! But this time, I decided to get it cut short and layered a bit, plus...bangs! Heh. Here is before and after photos:



Go ahead, tell me how pretty it looks! It actually looks really good there. I haven't been able to recreate this look (though I did it myself) but usually its because I am less patient in the morning. Today I have it pulled up into a tight ponytail and I put 'wax' in it to make it stay. And bobby pins. My hair matches bobby pins perfectly so thats good. So yay! Haircut!

Saturday, December 9th:
This day was my Saturday English party. It was pretty tame but nice. Chris and I met up with Angelo and Mark and headed to Sanpino to have a Christmas party. I brought some decorations and the students helped us decorate. There were some tasty snacks and I brought some Christmas music that I burned to a CD. That was pretty nice. Mark organized a Jeopardy type game for my students and then the students got to ask everyone questions. We also talked about Japanese traditions during New Years and what-not.

That was pretty much it for Saturday. Afterwards, we came home and took a nap. Are't we the most exciting people ever?


Monday, December 11th:
On Monday, I met with my tea ladies and we went and had lunch at a nearby Italian restuarant. We spent a lovely time chatting and eating Italian food. We also had a small gift exchange. I got a cute little pig figurine. Next year is the year of the pig, so that's why I was given one. I think it's lucky. It's also my birth zodiac/year/thing so I figure it is bound to give me lots of luck. Or something.

After tea, I went to the library and got a library card! Then, I checked out books! My library card is way cooler than yours. They stick it in a little card slot and it prints out what I checked out and when I need to return it on the card. And then, when I turn my books in, they will put it back in the card thing and it will erase it and put my new information on it! How cool! I have no idea how it works, but they use this for a lot of things (like point cards and whatnot). After that, I walked home...

Oh wait! Asked me why I walked. Ok, I'm pretending you asked. MY BIKE WAS STOLEN! :( That is very sad for me. I loved my bike and don't care much for Chris's. But...c'est la vie. It's still poopy that someone would take it. :( Anyways...

After the library, I walked home. It was so pretty on monday! It was about 50 degrees out and sunshiney. So pleasant. It was a long walk from the library, but I didn't really have anything else better to do. Good times.

That night, we did it. We finished the last of the X-files. We have officially watched all 9 seasons of it. What an undertaking. It's a little depressing that we are done. But now! We can watch other things. Plus, I really enjoyed X-Files. It was a very good show. I didn't watch it when it came on the air, because I saw the scariest episode ever (its been voted that time and time again) and it put me off the show. But woo...9 seasons...plus the movie. That's a lot of tv watching. Huh.

Tuesday, December 12th:
This was the day!

It started off normally. I went to class at Nishisko. I only had my 3rd graders so it wasn't that hard. I handed them back their finals and then proceeded to teach them some Christmas songs. I poisoned them with "Feliz Navidad!" Mwuahahaha! They never knew what hit them! I left the class hearing them humming the sum. Heh. Earworms! They are very amusing to teach. It was also interesting to teach because it was Spanish instead of English. I think my students enjoyed it more than the other songs I tried to teach.


After that...it was the time. My big, big presentation class. I had to do my class (the same class I did for parent's day the prior tuesday) in front of a bunch of people. About 50 people came to watch. I mean, it wasn't just MY class, but mine and the other Super English teachers at Enya. We were all nervous and have spent the last month and a half preparing for this. Fortunately, my class went very well. The students responded well and were very cheerful. Look! Here's a picture!

You can't see much, but this is how I talk to kids. I do funny things with my hand. Heh. I didn't realize this until I looked at the picture. Good class. I'm just so glad it's over.

After my class, though, I had to go to this absolutely ridiculous meeting. It was entirely in formal Japanese we I don't understand very well. Everyone was also speaking really fast. PLUS, the meeting was really long. I was annoyed that I had to go. I really only had to go so I could be the token foreigner. It kinda looks good for Enya that I foreigner teaches Super English there. And that's it!

So thats my update! Very long and kinda boring. I hope you enjoy it though!

Merry Christmas!