tiring day today

I was a bit refreshed after getting up today. I was taking my time and going pretty slow since I didn’t have class till the afternoon. I was checking my email and deciding what to wear today since it was starting to get pretty hot. We will change into summer clothes starting tomorrow, so I was thinking that I should just wear one of my winter suits, since I have so many of them. I will need to get a new suit soon, but I’m also thinking if it is worth it since I won’t need to have one on after I leave Japan. So I might not end up getting a new one after all.

I was really tired getting to the station and going to school, but at least I got to sit down for the whole trip there. There really aren’t that many people on the trains in the afternoon time. I decided to have lunch at Yoshinoya, but they changed the menu from what I’m normally used to and they added a spiciness change that I wasn’t aware of till today and after I had ordered. I must have sounded pretty stupid in front of them, but I really didn’t understand what they were talking about till I looked at the menu and read it. I guess my Japanese really hasn’t improved. That was a pretty rocky start for me today.

I got to school during lunch time and it was pretty hot when I arrived. I was just trying to relax a little bit before I got started with getting things organized for class. The first class 5th period for me was 10th grade yuri and they were working on their composition paper for their speeches next week. I was surprised that CP used my idea about the composition and pretty much copied what I did. I was really flattered by it and it didn’t bother me at all that she did it. I really felt validated by it actually. The students did have trouble connecting things together from last week, or rather two weeks ago to this week. They don’t know how to use a paper from the previous class to help them with the class that they are currently in. They have a problem with linking things together, and I’m really having trouble trying to figure out a way to get them to link things together so that they can retain all the information that I’ve taught them. I need to work on making things more cumulative and to get them working on things. The students spent most of the class working on the composition part of the papers.

The last class I had today was with 8th grade fuji and we were working on a new chapter today. It was about suggestions. We did the dialogue, but showed them the new way that they should practice and they are actually going with it and I think it will help them with their fluency. So that’s a good thing. They did some listening comprehension and listening practice before they got stuck on the communication goal. It was a bit tricky and I’m not sure what the authors of the book had in mind for that kind of activity.

After school, I went over to the part-time teacher’s office and talked with some of my friends there. I had a California travel guide to show them and it came with a good map of California and I thought that would really help them out for their trip to California this winter break. I will have time since I will be living in LA and going to UCLA and it will be my winter break too. So it works out perfectly. We were talking about various things too and the plan that the organizer has is a very ambitious one. I don’t think she has the grasp of how large the United States is. I gave her an example of the size by driving distance. And I think it helped her a bit. But I think she will still plan a very vigorous trip for a week.

Then I helped with the English Performance girls. They were having trouble pausing after the breaks in the sentences like periods, and commas. They would just read the whole thing over and just know when to go next, but really it seems like they don’t know what they are talking about. It just sounds like they are nervous and it sometimes doesn’t seem to be clear. It’s a bit hard to understand and these are supposed to be the best girls for the performance since it will be for the prospective students and their parents. So they will have to do it a lot and perform it well too.

After that, I joined the tennis club for the first time this semester. It felt good, even though it was very tiring since I was still sick with whatever I caught from Europe. But I was able to do it. I realized why I was asked to join since there weren’t any other teachers on the ground to watch over the students. I was the only teacher on the field to make sure that everything was ok and no one got hurt. It was a good thing that nothing happened to anyone, and it was nice to be out there. During the practice, many students were asking me if I was leaving the school or not. I finally caved and told four of the girls in the tennis club and who are in the 11th grade that I teach why I was leaving and about when I will be leaving too. It was a good practice though, even though I think that the girls have much to improve on and I think that I will go to their Tennis Camp thing this summer to help them out a bit.

After I finished, I went to the computer room and helped with the folding of the textbook for the next section for 11th graders. We got them all printed out and folded and stapled so everything is set for tomorrow. I was happy about that, even though it will be the last time I will do that. We were talking a lot about the Da Vinci code since all of the teachers have finished the book. But thing was they read the Japanese version and I read the English version, so I was wondering if anything got lost in translation. It was pretty interesting the conversation we were having. From that point, I left the school to get some dinner at MOS burger. I wanted something quick because I left school at 7:30pm and I will have an extra class tomorrow too. And I will actually have to start school earlier than usual. So I’m bummed about that. I would have liked to get some rest, but I don’t think that will happen since it’s now midnight and I have to get up in 6 hours to get ready and go. I also have a meeting with the head master tomorrow too. I should take the opportunity to give him some of the gifts that I got for him too.