September 9, 2005

Hey! My finger is feeling much better and I don't have to go to the hospital for daily bandage changes anymore. Yay! The last few days have cast a long and focused spotlight on me and my finger - from the teachers, to the students, to the shopkeepers and the other patients at the hospital, people want to know "daijoubou?" (Are you alright?), then inevitably, how did it happen? Inquiring minds in such a small town really want to know...

Besides from that traumatic personal episode, life has been good in Neo-mura. Here's a quick recap of my week:

Monday: I had 2 classes and tried to coax the JHS kids out of their nervous shells. But the big story that day is what happened to Kaki-sensei's finger...I was bummed because I couldn't play indiaka and probably spent too many hours on the computer.

Tuesday: I had my first lessons with the elementary school kids and it was awesome!!! They were so cute and I totally fell in love with the first graders. They were hanging off each incomprehensible word, and were speaking to me in super fast Japanese, but they loved it, especially when I broke out musical chairs!! Whoever was left standing had to stand up and introduce themselves. Kawaii des ne!! I fell in love over and over again. And they were so well behaved...And all of the teachers were so involved and the classes were a snap. Here is me with the 5th graders:

They were initially too cool for school, but soon got over that once we played musical chairs! By the way, the soundtrack for the day was Karma Chameleon and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Tons-o-fun.

Tuesday was also the beginning of typhoon #14. The sky turned gray and became thick with clouds:
The teachers told me that the typhoon was coming and was expected to be raging. It was already deadly in Kyshu, and though it was losing some of its strength, it was still a serious threat.

Wednesday: I was awoken several times by the furious winds and heavy rain beating down on my village. The trees bent at their middle and the rain was sideways. It was so bad that classes were cancelled and I didn't have to go in. I went to the hospital for a check up and came home and lounged and MSN'ed for a few hours. I got an invite for lunch and hung out with a Japanese dude for a few hours. We ate and went to the liquor store where I bought some booze in anticipation of Christina's upcoming visit. I returned home in time for my eigo conversation class and ny neighbor joined in the fun.

Thursday: This was a difficult day. I was so lethargic and down that I was afraid that my anemia is returning. To make matters worse, my first class was SO DIFFICULT. The teacher could have been wax figure and the kids (4th graders) had low comprehension and trying to get them to participate was like trying to slowly pull off a bandaid. But good ole musical chairs got them excited. And they were absolutely mesmerized by my skin. I was seriously pawed down. It was a nice change to be touched by curious kids rather than skanky dudes.

I also met my 2nd graders. Great kids and sweet as pie. Here are a few of them (I love, love, love the girl in the middle...

I got pretty sad when I missed a phone call from my gurl Cheryl, who had a layover at Narita. She was en route to MTL from Korea and I wished I could have spoken to her. I was near tears. But the kids found me and dragged me all over the place getting me to play with them and really lifted my spirits the way only kids can...

The kids practiced for sports day which I found out will be held on Sept 23, which is a holiday, which is the weekend that I wanted to go to Tokyo and pamper myself...That probably won't be happening anymore, and I was bummed. I guess I'm going to have to burn some money closer to home...The good thing about sports day is that the teachers can pig out and drink after.

Today: I had 3 really good classes and let it be known that the JTE was not doing any favours by feeding the kids their words. We had classes where it was like: "I - I" "like - like" "to - to" "play - play"...I wanted to rip open my wound!!! But overall, a good, but mildly tiring day. Lunch was especially good today. We had dumplings, rice, veggies, a delish pasta soup and a Japanese pear. The shitty thing though, was there was a collision between students and a whole pot of soup fell on the floor. Kuso!

The JHS kids were also planning for sports day which will be held on Sept. 17, which is a Saturday! Kuso again! The good thing is that there will be a delicious bento, and Monday is a national holiday. I must escape and get my hair permed. It's breaking and I haven't washed it this week because of the finger...

So that was my week in a very big nutshell! Christina will be coming tomorrow and we are going to celebrate her bday Neo style: with a trip to the onsen, a nice meal, alcohol and videos. Whoop whoop!

Ok, this post is pretty long and I almost lost it, so I'm going to end on this note:

I received a reply email from an ex-coworker and he told me to enjoy my quiet life here. You know what? I AM enjoying my quiet life here - immensely! I am having the time of my life and I don't wear a watch anymore. I enjoy hearing the 12:00 and 5:00 songs broadcast on the loud speakers. I like having to be forced to walk or bike everywhere. I like that everyone says hi to me on the street. I like that my mind isn't overloaded with to do lists and stupid problems. Don't get me wrong - I miss my friends and fam, but I am content and settled here. I don't think too much in the future and I don't waste as much time thinking about the past. I love the easy going pace of my new life. I know that winter will be tough, but I am just focusing on the today, everyday.

Ok, that's it. Visit this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21985393@N00/ I've posted as it is my online photo album. A big shout out to all you non-spammers who have posted on my blog. Kisses and ja ne!