I had a full journal entry almost posted and my computer wigged out and I lost my post. DUMB! Oh well. I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, so let's see what's happened.

The pigeon problem has been solved. The Friday after the various pigeon incidents, the landlady sent some people to come fix our net. They took down the old net and put up a new one on the correct side of the railing so the pigeons couldn't land and sit on the railing. Since they came, we really haven't had much of a problem anymore. It's MUCH better. Every once in awhile, a pigeon tries to land on the porch, but they end up giving up. So that's great. The people who came to fix the net were really old though. I kinda felt bad because it was so cold and it took them all day. I did fix them tea though. I think it pleased them that I gave them tea and chocolates for a break. Nice people. No more pigeons. Saa..

Let's see what else. I finished up at Enya. Woo hoo! That means no more Super English classes at elementary schools. Huzzah! I had really come to hate those classes. There was absolutely no curriculum and they just expected us to come up with our own lesson plans with absolutely no guidance from anyone. Also, the students were becoming real brats because it was the end of the school year and they were about to graduate into Junior High. But still, I just couldn't take it anymore. Too stressful. On Thursday, the kids were absolute hellions. I ended the class by yelling at them in Japanese, which is very very rare. I told them that they were rude and loud and if they behaved that way on Friday, I was going to leave without saying goodbye. They got in a lot of trouble with the homeroom teacher, too. Boo.

On Friday, they were much better. They gave me an apology. I did surprise them by bringing Chris to class. WE played Paper, Rock, Scissors and Flip a Coin. I handed out pencils to the winners. It was ok. Not super interesting, but the kids were much politer than they were the day before.

My high school is almost done. Thursday is my last day and I plan on doing a party-ish class. Shhh. I'm not asking permission but it should be ok. However, sometimes the schools gets fussy about what I can and can't do. Better to ask forgiveness than permission! That's from a TV show, but I can't remember which one.

My English School in Kisuki is still limping along. I get a break this week from my classes since James wants to take over. Hooray. I still have my adult class on Thursday, but it shouldn't be too rough. Personally, I'm not sure how much longer this school is going to be running since we haven't really gotten any new or interested people in the last month. I don't know how the owner can keep surviving much longer at such a loss (Susie is expensive!). I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Turns out, I don't much care for these classes, but I only have 3 more months of them before I stop working so I can get things packed up here. I'm sure it will be fine.

I found out that my Saturday English program has been cut do to budget problems. That's sad. I really liked that class and was looking forward to doing it again. Miymi was sad too. We had a party on the last day of class and had some ALTs come. We made keychains and a good time was had by all. All my keychains got screwed up, but Miymi gave me one of hers. It's sweet. I'm sure I will have it for a very long time.

Last Saturday was interesting. Chris got a guitar. He's been taking lessons, but since he didn't have any way to practice, he wasn't really getting any better. So we decided he should get a guitar. I think he's been having fun playing around with it. Also, we went to a Sakura viewing party at Imaoka's (our tutor, formerly Mishima-san but she got married so is now Imaoka...do keep up!). Unfortunately for her, the cherry blossoms decided not to bloom yet. But, a cherry blossom viewing party is never really about seeing flowering trees, but more a time to relax and have a nice time with friends. Meagan, Ang, Titia and I all wore pretty yukatas that Imaoka-san helped us put on. She also taught us how to make tea for the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. It was very interesting. Chris drank my tea because he's super sweet like that.


On Friday (ok, I know I am jumbling up the timeline, but it doesn't REALLY matter does it?) I went to a work party for Izumo West High. Two of the Engish teachers are leaving, so it was a goodbye dinner for them. Moriyama-sensei and Otani-sensei are leaving. It's very sad. Especially because they are the people I talk to at school and the people who are best at speaking English. Moriyama is leaving to research wildflowers and take pictures. It's his hobby and he wants to devote more time to it. As he says, "I want to stop teaching because I only have 10 years left before dying. I want to spend time researching wildflowers in those years." Heh. It sounds morbid, but apparently he just hit the age where he's 10 years away from Japan's average lifespan and it's got him spooked. Otani is leaving because her son got into a Junior high in Matsue and since her daughter already goes there, they thought it would be easier for them to not have to commute.

Annddd...I think that's about it. I spent today cleaning for Will's arrival. It's still 6 days off, but that 2nd bedroom had gotten quite full of junk. It was time to clean it! Ew! I hope you guys have a wonderful week. I'm sure I will!