Watching last night's Naruto episode tonight, the comment in the opening credits led me to this site. It's interesting -- though not as interesting as this blog. I just wish my blog looked a whole lot flashier than it does. Perhaps in time I will tweak it and edit the overall style.
Wednesday was more or less a day off. I spent the day in the office, of course, but I didn't have any school. I passed the day without too much boredom. At least my "boss" on Mob Wars is getting stronger (and wealthier). I also met a Korean lady who is here -- teaching Korean, I assume. Her Japanese is really good. I was able to exchange a few words in Korean; she was pleasantly surprised to hear her native tongue being spoken (albeit somewhat poorly).
Yesterday was the usual Showa Chuugakkou (junior high school). I had three classes for the first time since starting to teach there. For the ichinensei and ninensei (first and second graders) I did my obligatory introduction, complete with shitsumon (questions).
All of my classes went well; it was a good day at school. With the sannensei (third graders), I had made up a Word-find and some Fill-in-the-blanks sheets. We also played a game called Keep Asking Questions because there was time to spare at the end of the lesson.
Today, I went to Showa Shougakkou (elementary school). I did my introduction in two classes. The younger kids had a lot of questions that took up the remainder of the lesson time. The older kids weren't quite so responsive -- until I played hang-man with them, then they all got into it; especially when each person that guessed the last letter was allowed to do a word of their choosing. All in all, it was a good time.
This weekend, I have no big plans. Michael and I were contemplating heading into Kochi city, but neither of us really feels up to it; especially considering all the travelling we did last weekend.
So I will probably sit at home and play WoW all day -- after cleaning my apartment. At least I can stay up indefinitely tonight and sleep in tomorrow. :p
I eventually want to get a large desk and a comfortable chair for my apartment; an MP3 player for listening to music more conveniently as I travel between here and each school; and will need to somehow pre-order the WotLK expansion. :/
It would be nice to have a bit more to do around here, or at least have ideas about what else I could do with my free time. I'm sure that in time -- especially when I have my own car and can travel to either city at my own leisure -- I will meet new people, make new friends and go out and do stuff.
The language is still a huge barrier for me, but I don't really _need_ to be able to speak Japanese -- at least not to stay alive, or anything equally as important. It can get frustrating when I am unable to express myself -- or if I do express myself to be met with blank looks (since I usually resort to an outburst of English -- 'tis the writer in me; I cannot help it at times!).
Well, one day I will look back and wonder what it was like not being able to communicate in Japanese. For now, I am not a Japanese speaker and I even struggle with the simple things. There is so much to learn and so much to remember, that at times it seems to be quite overwhelming. I guess the key is not to think about how much you don't know, but to strengthen what you do know.
In time, I will improve. And in time, I'm sure my memory will develop more so that I won't have to hear something a hundred times and still not know what it is.
Peace.
Timotheos
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