Well today was officially my first day teaching! It went fantastically! :) I taught straight through from 8:30-12:30. I did my self-introduction 4 times, 50 minutes each. I did a power point presentation, followed by my sisters awesome new music video, and then a short quiz with prizes to follow. Kat - you were such a hit!!! The kids were sooo excited to see you on the screen! I had to show you off :) The kids were great! I feel so lucky to be teaching in junior high school. All my friends are having issues already teaching senior high schools. They are having difficulty keeping control of their students. I have heard such stories as the girls painting their nails, chatting on cell phones, kids walking around, etc. WHAT A NIGHTMARE?! I really feel so lucky to have such great kids! They are always wanting to talk to me and are always saying "Hello Loren/Roren/Raulen/"or some odd combination of my name. I always smile and say hello or how are you. It is really fun! I am so glad to be here doing this job. My life really could not be any better at this point in time. I am getting paid to plan games, laugh, and have fun with kids. What better job can you think of? Well I suppose if you do not like kids you would hate this job but I LOVE KIDS!
This weekend should be really fun! I am going to KOGA in southwest Ibaraki. I am going to visit Annelyse :) We will spend Friday/Saturday in Koga and then Sunday/Monday in Tokyo. I need to purchase an English book for my outside class. That class begins Oct.1st I believe. It is a Wednesday. They are throwing me a welcome party on the 24th! The day before my birthday!! Yay!
Back to school, the kids are currently in their "cleaning" period. It is the last period of the day. They have all been assigned a specific task in which they fulfill everyday. I have not quite figured out the routine but I am getting there. I keep seeing the same kids cleaning the teachers room (where I am currently sitting). The kids are currently playing with water outside. Ha Ha.
I am contemplating a nice little nap when I get home. I really need to crack down and start learning Japanese. I am sure this is a battle I will fight the entire time I am here. It is hard to balance work, fun, and study. I need all 3! Perhaps this evening I will begin to crack the code of Hiragana and Katakana. These are the 2 main Japanese alphabets. I use alphabet lightly considering they use CHARACTERS not LETTERS!
Today at lunch was fun. I used the Japanese that I was able to use at the table. My 2 English teachers were eating with the students elsewhere. I ate in the teacher room. Can I say, school lunch isn't bad! Plus it is only 4300 yen a month. That is roughly $40 to eat at school!
The weather has been great. I know just as I type this it will go bad. We are still technically in typhoon season but it has been beautiful. I feel fall creeping in slowly. We are having beautiful sunsets and there is a crispness to the air. It is wonderful. I am falling more and more in love with Japan every day.
Here are a few photos from the beach the other day:
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