SpinelStar's Journal

Ack! I meant to read all those things people posted in response to yesterday's DE, but unexpected stuff kept getting in the way. I'll try to get to them at work tomorrow, maybe... Anyone is welcome to poke me as a reminder whenever. And anyone is still welcome to post on it. :3

So, considering how much I didn't feel like going into work this morning, and how annoyed I was that I had to do a class I wasn't expecting and had to help the third-years write compositions after school, I had a really good day today. The class was all the second-years together, and the teacher's nice and speaks really good English, even if I feel like her lesson plans are a bit haphazard sometimes. Today the students seemed more eager to talk to me (they're slowly getting used to me, and I'm slowly feeling less shy >.<), and when I assaulted them at random with the questions we were working on, they were able to answer me without any trouble. I love it when they get creative with the answers.

It was fun working with the third-years, too, after school. My teacher doesn't have me assist in their class much (I have no idea why), so it was nice to actually get to work with them. They're not very good at speaking, so I was pleasantly surprised by their writing capabilities. And I feel like I got a bit of a chance to show them that it's not so hard to talk to me.

Also, I couldn't help feeling a little proud of myself that I was successfully able to translate the six sets of instructions they were given for said compositions. XD It was like being back in translation classes in college!

So, yeah. That was my day. Tonight I went shopping for supplies for my elementary school class.

OMIGOSH less than a week before I leave for Tokyo, and then a week from tomorrow I'll be on a plane home! O.O

Anyone else seen the new Katy Perry video? I think it's amazing. It made me cry, actually, but that's probably because it's late and I'm in that sort of mood. Still inspiring, though.

It's 11:30 right now. I took a nap earlier, because I only slept for 3 hours last night. It was storming. Lightning never scared me before, but I'm not used to hits of thunder that last for 10 seconds or more like that. I think more than scared I might have just been feeling lonely. I had to call my mom-- the one thing I appreciate about weird timezones is they're really convenient for when I'm up at odd hours and can't sleep. Given that, getting through today was easier than it should have been. To be honest, the only explanation I can point to is the fact that I prayed really hard about it this morning. Thank God for small graces that seem huge in the present.

If my sleep schedule is a little messed up right now, though, it's okay. Apparently Wednesday is another national holiday. I forgot about it because I hadn't looked at the November calendar since they gave it to me, and since there weren't any holidays in October, it was in my head that I wouldn't be getting a day off anytime soon. So that was another nice thing that happened today. Also, it seems I'm already almost completely over my cold. I've never gotten over a cold that fast... Maybe the vitamin C soda I'm drinking is actually working.

Won't be around for RP within the next 15 hours, since I don't bring my computer to my elementary schools.

Love everybody! ♥

With the food thing, that is.

The other teachers at my jr. high often bring in different types of food to share with everyone, especially if they've gone somewhere interesting recently. This morning I was offered some sort of dango. I don't know what type of dango it was, but they'd given it to me once before, and I already knew I didn't like it. I don't know why I let her give me one anyway; I guess it just seemed easier than saying no. But I literally gagged while I was trying to swallow it down. I'm sorry, those things are effing disgusting. Japanese people claim they're sweet, but they're not, hardly at all anyway, but they're not really anything else either. They're just gooey and disgusting and they're dipped in something that reminds me of molasses, except again it's hardly sweet at all. I hate them and I'm never eating them again.

And then today I couldn't finish my lunch. I couldn't even get close. I didn't finish a single plate of the three that they gave me. The food wasn't even that bad; it certainly wasn't the worst stuff they'd given me. But I felt my gag reflex trying to kick in again while I was sipping at the miso soup, and I gave up. I just couldn't do it. But I continued to try to pick at my food a little, feeling kind of helpless.

I've decided that Japanese food is like English food. (At least the plain sort of food they give you at a school lunch... Not the nice gourmet kind of Japanese food.) It's soggy and heavy and bland, except it's even worse because it's stuff you wouldn't recognize and they don't ever have salt at the table. I would kill to be able to pour some soy sauce on all that damn white rice they give me, without them looking at me funny. That's how my dad eats rice, that's how I grew up eating rice, and plain white rice tastes like absolutely nothing; why even bother putting it in your mouth?

Anyway, it was at this point (while I was still picking at it) that my English teacher sat down, and he ate for a while before telling me (in English), "If you're not hungry, you don't have to finish." Needless to say, I was really embarrassed, but I couldn't really do anything about it. I mentioned I didn't know why I wasn't hungry today. He politely pointed out that we were eating a little earlier than usual, because of a change in the schedule this week. After I put my tray away, I went into the bathroom and cried. I was just embarrassed, and kind of touched in a way because Niwa-sensei noticed and was being so nice about it.

I'm okay now, but I still have a bit of a lump in my throat. I'm not quite feeling well. Nothing's really wrong, but for some reason I have no appetite. I'm at that place where I can't even imagine eating anything, not even food I like. And it's just embarrassing, because my food is still sitting outside just barely picked at, and the students are all walking by and can probably guess that it was mine...

Oh, well. I tried.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling better, and can finish my food. But at least I know they'll feel sorry for me, instead of thinking I'm rude, if I can't.

I don't want to spam the backroom with another post, but I have to apologize again for not coming back full-force when I said I was going to. So pass this along if anyone's asking after me, okay? (Not sure why they would, but if they are...) I'm really sorry. T.T

Fridays are difficult because I don't have access to my computer at my elementary school, and I tend to be worn out from the liveliness of the kids and the accumulation of fatigue from the whole week by the time I get home.

And then this Saturday, we went to celebrate someone's birthday and were out all night at this stupid bar. Of course I was driving for the other JET in my town (because I don't drink and he wanted to), and of course he got totally wasted, and of course he threw up on the way back after 45+ minutes of winding mountain roads. He got most of it out the window but there was still some cleaning up to do... He felt really, really horrible about it, though, so I tried not to give him too hard a time. He basically spent all of today trying to make it up to me by going with me to get cleaning supplies so he could clean it up for me a third time, to try to make sure it was all completely gone. I'm not positive that it is, but he offered to pay if I decide I need to get it cleaned professionally.

Anyway. So it's been a rough, busy weekend for me.

This week I have to put together a presentation on Martin Luther King, Jr. for my third-years at my junior high. So I imagine I'll be pretty busy with that between classes for the next two days, and probably after school as well. But hopefully things will have calmed down by the end of the week. Hopefully. *crosses fingers*

I love you guys. ♥ *flops*

Omigosh you guys, something really exciting is happening today and I just HAD to tell you all about it!

Are you ready for this? ARE you?

This morning I walked outside...

...


And there was an ALMOST chill in the air! :DDDDDD

Isn't that amazing???????

I know. I was excited.

Now maybe I can get dressed in the morning without worrying about how best to mitigate the fact that sweat's going to be dripping down my back everytime I spend five minutes in one of the classrooms. Maybe I can wear makeup again, because I won't be sweating it off after an hour. And maybe I can actually TAKE WALKS around my neighborhood without having to take a shower immediately afterwards because I live on a small hill.

There's a breeze coming in through the windows... I am so happy right now. XD

I was a little late in starting laundry this afternoon, which meant that I was going out after dark to take it to the laundromat dryer. When I picked it up, I went to take out the trash, too, as is becoming my habit. The trash place is right by the water, and there are hardly any lights there. It was really clear out tonight. I can see the Milky Way out here, when there's no moon like tonight.

Once I put my trash in the cage (the dumpster, basically), I climbed the steps to stand on top of the wall and just looked out over the ocean inlet. There was one light where the road curved that shined really prettily on the water. So I just stood there for a while and looked at the stars and the ocean.

Tonight, I'm happy to be in Minamiise. None of the city JETs got the kind of moment tonight that I had. ♥

Today's been good so far... Tomorrow's going to be my busy day, apparently. Six classes, probably. But today I just had two classes of second-years.

I'm provided with the school lunch every day, which I eat with the other teachers in the staff room. I feel obliged to eat the whole thing every day, because the other teachers always do and I don't want to seem ungrateful. But the amount of food they give me combined with the fact that I'm a picky eater has made that kind of difficult. Seriously, I don't know how they all eat the whole thing every day... And they're always so fast, too. I must have a small stomach and a really slow metabolism. After the first school lunch I wasn't hungry again until 9:00pm that evening!

I've been proud of myself, though, because there's only been one time so far that I haven't eaten all of it. And I think that I'll actually grow to like plain milk before the month is out, because that's always what comes with it.

So anyways, today there was a salad-looking-thing and rice, and then there was this bowl of burnt-orange liquid stacked high with minced vegetables and I think some meat scraps, but mostly tofu. I sighed a little bit on the inside and went for the salad.

It wasn't so good. I think it was spinach, and there were just some other vegetables in it that weren't very good (I have no idea what they were) that just made it seem heavy and soggy somehow. So I gave up on that for a little while and went for the orange stuff.

It was surprisingly amazingly good.

It had a creamy, almost tomato-/vegetable-soupy taste, and the tofu absorbed that really nicely. I found myself shoving it into my mouth without stopping to think about it, much like I would with spaghetti or a cheeseburger back home. It was easily the best thing I've had at the school lunch so far.

But I still had to eat the salad. :(

Word Phrase of the Day: Sei, na. (presumably the first word is written with the kanji 正) It basically means, "That's correct."

Today was my first day with the second-year students! I already did my self-introduction for the first-years on Friday, and I have to say, there's a huge difference between the two classes. We'll see how the third-years are on Wednesday. My first day at an elementary school is tomorrow.

I think the first-years are going to be my favorite class on my bad days. They're pretty much sweet and angelic, and really enthusiastic. (Very "genki," as the English teacher put it.) The girls are more outgoing than the guys, and they all asked me a lot of questions.

But I think overall I'm going to have more fun with my second-years, at least on the days when I'm in a good mood. Which is to say, they amuse me. I walked into the classroom (which really is hot, by the way) and several of the students were slumped over their desks. They didn't seem afraid to complain about how hot it was and how tired they were, and some of them seemed distracted a couple of times during the lesson. Right now, I find it adorable and charming. I'm sure it might get frustrating to me later.

But they (understandably) know more English than the first-years, and they don't seem as afraid of trying to say things. They were told to introduce themselves to me, and it seemed pretty easy for them. One kid got up and said, "Hello. My name is Roberto. I'm from Mexico." You know kids are at least mildly interested in a language when they make jokes in it, right?

Also, the teacher for the second-years is a young woman who works here part-time, who can't be much older than me. She speaks English almost fluently-- I think she spent a few years in LA? Anyway, she's really easy to talk to and really nice. I'm really glad I get to work with her.

So... that's today's report! Back to work, I guess.

HEY GUESS WHAT? I finally got 8 hours of sleep!

Except... I did it at the completely wrong time. O_o I went to bed a 6... and woke up at 2 am.

But it's okay... In a way, I was kind of hoping that would happen. That's why I didn't set an alarm for myself. Now I have a good amount of sleep under my belt for when I speak at the school assembly today. (*NERVOUS*)

Also, my sleep schedule is whack right now but it should be easier to fix this way. I'll just "stay up" until 8 tonight, and then 10 tomorrow night, and then everything should be right on track, right? In theory.

In the meantime, it's 3 am, and I'm just waking up.

I made myself a pizza! :D It's the most pathetic looking pizza EVER. But pizza is pizza is pizza, and at least it doesn't have corn and/or mayonnaise on it (WTF Japan?).

*NOM*