So here I was thinking my culture shock weekend was in the past... when the issue of Jeff's parking comes up. To try to keep the saga brief, here is the bullet-pointed story:
* I have to pay to park at my apartment.
* Jeff was parking there too on the two or three nights he came down.
* We received a notice that ONLY those who had paid were allowed to park there.
* Jeff parked at the supermarket and got a notice on his windscreen.
* I told my school that they needed to sort somewhere for Jeff to park.
* They came back to me with a carpark. For 3000 yen ($50) a month. That he will be using two nights a week :S
* Today I was told I also need to pay a one-off fee of 3000 yen to the real estate agent.
* Today I was also told I need to pay the full 6000 in the next two days.
* Today I was also told I need to pay a fee to transfer the money.
* Today I was also told that I can't set up an automatic payment to a private company and therefore must go to the bank to pay every month.
* Today I was also told that I must take an hour's leave to go down to the bank with my supervisor to pay.
I'm picking I don't have to go into the details of why this is very very frustrating.
Oh, ok, the one bit of backstory you need to know (if you're not already Japan-savvy) is that if you need to go on holiday, you take holiday leave. If you need to go to the bank, you take holiday leave. If you get sick, you take holiday leave.
Between our Christmas holiday trip and our upcoming trip to NZ, I have only two days of leave left. Hence I got rather panicky at being told I needed to take some of that to go to the bank ("it's only an hour", "but then, if I get sick and need to take the day off, I have to come to school and throw up for an hour!"). Finally I just said no and went online to get detailed instructions on how to do payments from the ATM. Now I just have to race to the ATM from work to make sure I have plenty of time to work this out!
I should be doing some Japanese study now but I'm just feeling kinda stressed and jittery. It's not like the sky will fall if I don't accomplish this payment tonight, but it does mean a long day tomorrow coming back to Myoodai after teaching at Tode to get my supervisor to help me do the transfer. I'm determined not to need him though!!
It's just super frustrating that my school wants me to take time off for this when they had to do almost NOTHING to set me up when I first got here. Really, they took me to my apartment, that was it. And now they are saying I need to take leave to do this because it's 'personal'. Umm, actually they took me on as an employee knowing I had a husband and knowing that my family is part of their responsibility!! Pain in the freaking ass!!!
Ok, calm down Charly. Not making anything better by getting frustrated at Japanese beauracracy! Hope you're all having a less frustrating day than I am!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Culture shock
I gave Jeff a bit of a fright on Saturday night. We went out for ramen (noodles in broth) for dinner. As we started approaching the restaurant I started feeling a bit unwell, something related to overly tight shoulder muscles from my new workout routine and a car seat made for narrow Japanese shoulders. Inside, I couldn't remember the name of the ramen I usually order (one loaded with sprouts and other veg) but we thought the 'Stamina ramen' looked right (and a healthy high veg diet gives you stamina, right?). We were wrong. Very very wrong. It came out with the noodles wrapped round a fatty piece of bone, with a raw egg cracked on top. I looked at the globules of fat floating on the surface and watched small bits of fattiness break off the bone in the centre and my stomach turned.
I had already spent the previous evening at a work function where I pondered the philosophical question: why is it that the more I spend on a meal, the less I like it? My hugely expensive work dinners are always full of 'delicacies' that I struggle to swallow. At this particular dinner things kicked off with sliced sea slug. Other particularly memorable foods included the obligatory sashimi platter, with several different types of fish, octopus, a whole raw fish and a shell with stuff that even the Japanese didn't know what it was; and a fried chicken dish. What part of the chicken I can't tell you. I have learnt not to eat chicken in Japan, but I took the smallest piece to be polite and immediately regreted my decision. It was very thick fat with maybe a bit of cartilage going on. My chewing didn't penetrate and I realised there was only one thing for it - it was going down whole with my oolong tea. I was thankful I had been 'training' by swallowing four big supplement pills at once, but even so it took me several attempts (and possibly some odd noises, crossed eyes and a purplish facial colour) before I succeeded in swallowing the offending piece of meat. After that I ate a big piece of salmon sashimi because, relative to that, a big piece of raw, but fat free, meat seemed refreshing.
Anyway, when I sat in front of this big steaming bowl of fattiness, the previous evening's efforts came back to me in all their horror. I managed to eat out the noodles - just - and made it out to the car before I had a meltdown. Jeff paid up and came out to find me super upset in the car. After several bottles of iced tea to take away the taste and soothing talk about how everyone suffers culture shock sometimes failed to assuage the tears, Jeff started rustling around in the back seat. "I know what you need!" He put something small and white in my hand. "It's moment's like these you need Minties!" I couldn't help but laugh. He had bought them at the Singapore airport when we found a wonderful wonderful store that stocked Whitakers, licorice allsorts and Minties. And who knew advertising could be so right? A little Minty piece of home was exactly what I needed!
I had already spent the previous evening at a work function where I pondered the philosophical question: why is it that the more I spend on a meal, the less I like it? My hugely expensive work dinners are always full of 'delicacies' that I struggle to swallow. At this particular dinner things kicked off with sliced sea slug. Other particularly memorable foods included the obligatory sashimi platter, with several different types of fish, octopus, a whole raw fish and a shell with stuff that even the Japanese didn't know what it was; and a fried chicken dish. What part of the chicken I can't tell you. I have learnt not to eat chicken in Japan, but I took the smallest piece to be polite and immediately regreted my decision. It was very thick fat with maybe a bit of cartilage going on. My chewing didn't penetrate and I realised there was only one thing for it - it was going down whole with my oolong tea. I was thankful I had been 'training' by swallowing four big supplement pills at once, but even so it took me several attempts (and possibly some odd noises, crossed eyes and a purplish facial colour) before I succeeded in swallowing the offending piece of meat. After that I ate a big piece of salmon sashimi because, relative to that, a big piece of raw, but fat free, meat seemed refreshing.
Anyway, when I sat in front of this big steaming bowl of fattiness, the previous evening's efforts came back to me in all their horror. I managed to eat out the noodles - just - and made it out to the car before I had a meltdown. Jeff paid up and came out to find me super upset in the car. After several bottles of iced tea to take away the taste and soothing talk about how everyone suffers culture shock sometimes failed to assuage the tears, Jeff started rustling around in the back seat. "I know what you need!" He put something small and white in my hand. "It's moment's like these you need Minties!" I couldn't help but laugh. He had bought them at the Singapore airport when we found a wonderful wonderful store that stocked Whitakers, licorice allsorts and Minties. And who knew advertising could be so right? A little Minty piece of home was exactly what I needed!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I'm going to miss my 3rd years!!
Jeff and I have discussed many times how perfect it is that I was placed in a high school. Although I maintain I was getting better at playing with little kids (not without work - playing with small children does not come naturally to me!), there is no doubt that Senior High School is the best place for me. In that vein, my third year (last year before Uni) class was my favourite because I could really have a conversation with them and I didn't have to behave like a teacher. So I was really really sad when my teacher told me on a Friday, a couple of weeks ago, that the next class would be our last lesson with them! From here on, they just have special study sessions preparing for the entrance exams for the university(s) of their choice. I had no idea and I was so gutted! I put together a class revolving around music (Harry and Laura's Cabaret performances and a Brooke Fraser music video) and photos (pictures from our Singapore and Malaysia trip). I think they really enjoyed it, but it was only half the class because some were already busy cramming. Also, being caught unawares, I didn't think to prepare any goodbye message or anything, or hand out my email address which I intended to do in the hopes they would be encouraged to keep up the communication and travel.
However, just now I had a student come in with a green polkadot envelope. Inside was a really cute card with a message for me:
Dear Charly
Hi! I'm Mina Sato.
Thank you very much for a year. I enjoyed playing Charly's class very much.
I am sad to graduate from high school.
But I am looking forward to going to university.
I will study English harder in university and I want to be an English teacher.
Good luck to Charly! I love you <3
Mina Sato
Aww!!! No wonder I miss that group!
Also... can I just point out to all those who suggest I am a mean teacher and am always hard on my students (Jeff and parents!), she likes 'playing' Charly's class! See, I knew I was a fun teacher. Sometimes. If you're not 16 and talking when I'm talking. lol.
In other news... tonight I'm meeting my potential 'new friend'. It feels about as lame as it sounds, but it's a woman we met at a restuarant who happens to live close to my apartment. She teaches English at a community centre and was trying really really hard to talk to us when we were at dinner, so when she gave me her business card (standard practice when you're introduced to someone here), I felt bad for not having anything to return and gave her my email address. Later she contacted me and although the organisation has been super awkward (when I said I was free all week I forgot to explain that I'm in Jinseki at the weekends, she understood 'not busy except for next week' to mean I was free next week, she wanted to meet at 2:30 when I am very very at work, etc), we finally settled on this afternoon, 4:30pm, at the McDonalds by my apartment. From our previous conversation I have reason to believe I will be inundated with vegetables from her parent's vege patch - whoop whoop!
I felt a little like I was just going to be helping a stranger practice their English when their are plenty of other people I would like to spend time with, both ALT friends and teachers at school I would like to be friends with outside of school. But as Jeff pointed out, I should make the effort because it would be great for me to have a local friend. Which sounds stupid, but in winter we are spending about three nights a week apart, so he's right, it would be good to have someone local in case I'm bored, lonely or have a problem. Plus, if I can muster up the energy and courage, she might be willing to let me practise my Japanese on her, too.
Jeff and I had a big talk last night about how hard it is to actually get the spoken practise because it's really nerve-wracking trying out new language when you have no idea if you're saying the right thing or not, and most of the time we work with English teachers so we can get away with only using English. If anyone had told me I would almost never practise my Japanese while living in Japan, I would never had believed them!!
Hope you're all doing well and that you are getting some nice weather.
Two months till NZ, yay!
However, just now I had a student come in with a green polkadot envelope. Inside was a really cute card with a message for me:
Dear Charly
Hi! I'm Mina Sato.
Thank you very much for a year. I enjoyed playing Charly's class very much.
I am sad to graduate from high school.
But I am looking forward to going to university.
I will study English harder in university and I want to be an English teacher.
Good luck to Charly! I love you <3
Mina Sato
Aww!!! No wonder I miss that group!
Also... can I just point out to all those who suggest I am a mean teacher and am always hard on my students (Jeff and parents!), she likes 'playing' Charly's class! See, I knew I was a fun teacher. Sometimes. If you're not 16 and talking when I'm talking. lol.
In other news... tonight I'm meeting my potential 'new friend'. It feels about as lame as it sounds, but it's a woman we met at a restuarant who happens to live close to my apartment. She teaches English at a community centre and was trying really really hard to talk to us when we were at dinner, so when she gave me her business card (standard practice when you're introduced to someone here), I felt bad for not having anything to return and gave her my email address. Later she contacted me and although the organisation has been super awkward (when I said I was free all week I forgot to explain that I'm in Jinseki at the weekends, she understood 'not busy except for next week' to mean I was free next week, she wanted to meet at 2:30 when I am very very at work, etc), we finally settled on this afternoon, 4:30pm, at the McDonalds by my apartment. From our previous conversation I have reason to believe I will be inundated with vegetables from her parent's vege patch - whoop whoop!
I felt a little like I was just going to be helping a stranger practice their English when their are plenty of other people I would like to spend time with, both ALT friends and teachers at school I would like to be friends with outside of school. But as Jeff pointed out, I should make the effort because it would be great for me to have a local friend. Which sounds stupid, but in winter we are spending about three nights a week apart, so he's right, it would be good to have someone local in case I'm bored, lonely or have a problem. Plus, if I can muster up the energy and courage, she might be willing to let me practise my Japanese on her, too.
Jeff and I had a big talk last night about how hard it is to actually get the spoken practise because it's really nerve-wracking trying out new language when you have no idea if you're saying the right thing or not, and most of the time we work with English teachers so we can get away with only using English. If anyone had told me I would almost never practise my Japanese while living in Japan, I would never had believed them!!
Hope you're all doing well and that you are getting some nice weather.
Two months till NZ, yay!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Training, Snowboarding, etc
Last week we had our ALT training in Hiroshima, from Tuesday to Thursday. I fear I gave the Wednesday rather harsh marks in my assesment - mainly because my supervisor turned up and TOTALLY cramped my style! In all fairness, I think every high school supervisor came, but I was unprepared for the shock. The first I had heard of his possibly coming was Jeff pointing out in an email that our supervisors were invited. When the weeks passed silently and my supervisor never said anything to me, I assumed he had declined the invitation. So I did a huge double-take on Wednesday when I walked down into the stairs into the auditorium and two steps after passing Tanto, my brain registered what I had just seen. Jeff had expressed a desire to meet this amazingly surly and sour man I worked with, so I called Jeff back to introduce him. As Jeff has promised he would, he shook Tanto's hand and thanked him effusively for being so helpful to me. Smartarse.
I was moaning about him and trying to hide (apart from anything else, I was letting my wrist tattoo get a few day's fresh air, wearing my thin loose watch instead of my huge rubber one cranked up tight so it covers everything). Jeff pointed out that for the workshops we were split into several rooms and then into several groups, so there were minimal chances I would be in his group. So Jeff had to work hard not to fall about laughing when he saw Tanto was in our room and - you guessed it - in my group.
For the first two workshops we were in a group of four - Tanto, myself and two other ALTs. I noticed that after Tuesday, speaking only to native speakers, our speed of speech had really picked up and the JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) were really struggling to follow. So I purposefully busted my ass asking Tanto questions, slowly with simple English, during the ALT discussion, to try to make sure he felt he was adding to the conversation. It was super awkward because often you could see he had prepared an answer to the original question or discussion point, so his answer didn't even fit my question, but the other two ALTs were really good about taking his comment and making a big deal of it. It felt a little like babysitting, to be honest. Trying to find the balance between patronising and ignoring!
For the last workshop, we were with two other high school ALTs and their JTE supervisors. This time one of the other ALTs was sitting between Tanto and I, so I felt relieved of the pressure to spoonfeed him bits of conversation and try to make him interact like a NORMAL person. Luckily for Sophie, sitting between us, he must have showered that day because his body odour was under control. During that conversation, Katie, Sophie and I talked quickly and didn't make any extra effort to include the JTEs. Having said that, both the other JTEs did add things to the conversation, particularly explaining the Japanese holidays that were our 'lesson planning topic.' The woman was trying to be really helpful while the older bloke cracked a few jokes with a big grin. Tanto? He sat in stony silence the whole time. Not a word. Due to the seating arrangements, I couldn't see him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had his eyes closed. Yup, he's that special.
Before that last workshop, in the toilet queue, Katie had laughed at me about my antisocial supervisor being here - he's getting famous! She commented on 'wanting to meet him'. When I came back into the workshop room to realise she was sitting with the delightful Tanto and I, I couldn't help but laugh. I was feeling too tired from the last two workshops to do a 'Oh Tanto, please meet my friends Katie and Sophie', so I just did super obvious rolling eyes to my right to indicate 'that's the one!' Katie gave me a grin and her supervisor, sitting opposite me, gave me a puzzled look.
Other than that, the training was good fun. It was a good chance to hang out with the ALTs we have been meaning to but haven't got around to catching up with since August, find out who is staying another year and catch up over drinks and ugly sweaters. Apologies if I already mentioned the sweaters, but the drinks and dinner evening was themed 'Cosby sweaters'. Jeff went for a subtle black, purple and green (very authentic, I'm pretty sure Dad used to teach in one like it...) while I went for a brown and aqua one that had been knitted by someone with commitment issues - every row seemed a new pattern. Jeff and I were big fans of the theme - obviously cheap and weather appropriate, it also provided bundles of fun both shopping (picture Jeff and I laughing our heads off trying on the ten ugliest sweaters we could find in front of an op-shop mirror, while other shoppers avoid us in case our clothing taste is infectious), then wearing them at the bar. Everyone had made a real effort and there were some truly amazing sweaters. Lots of 80's cool - and some 'wasn't even cool then'. It was a good night.
Of course, anyone who has anything to do with funding might be wondering if I actually did anything but socialise during the training. However, I did get some good ideas - particularly one JET's suggestion of having students keep a journal where they add an entry each week and they get more stamps for more entries. I think it is BRILLIANT because my school is so worried about my students grades that they are changing me Oral Communication textbook for a Grammar one (ugh!), so I think regular composition will be EXCELLENT practise. Of course, more importantly, I'm excited because I think my students will LOVE writing these entries because I'm going to be heavy-handed with stickers, stamps and coloured pens in my marking and replies. Considering my students will do anything for a stamp on their sheet (a full sheet and they get a paper certificate... nope, still don't get the attraction!), I think I'll get some great compositions for shiny stickers!! I have high hopes for this - particularly because the teachers will be really behind me in an effort to get their students grades up.
Having mentioned snowboarding in the title I should refer to it here... On Saturday Jeff and I made it to the mountain for our first boarding this winter. I was blown away how well Jeff did - I think he even managed to not bail on his first run! That's terribly worded, but you know what I mean. He is such a little sports freak that I don't think he's gone backwards at all over the year - I think he has picked up exactly where he left off. He cemented his incredible first day by going over a jump with a dip between the takeoff and landing, so you have no choice but to get considerable air. He didn't land it every time, but he had about a 50% rate. As for me, I had a play around trying some other things I remember from my Ruapehu lesson years and years ago (hmm... was when Jeff and I had been together a short time, so actually about five years ago!), doing a little turny thing up the mountain and leading away on the other foot (feels like trying to use your knife in your left hand!) and jumping random lumps of snow. I am slowly acknowledging a fear of jumping despite all my protective gear and snowboarding is starting to feel horribly like horseriding, where I knew that my own nerves were making me mess up and the more nervous I got, the more I messed up. Vicious circle. But when you are nervous of jumping your horse any higher, you turn to other pursuits - games, trekking, dressage, etc. So I want to figure our some other things I can do on my board that will help me improve without riding off mini cliffs. Besides, Jeff's getting good at that and... err... I wouldn't want to steal his thunder.
Actually the other thing I want to do this winter is try skiing again. I haven't done it since I was 17 - when I went to Ruapehu with Emilie (Anderson) and her mum - but I skiied a fair amount when I was a kid, so I'm curious how much the muscles still remember. I just hope it's not like riding a bike, because I suck at that...
Charly
I was moaning about him and trying to hide (apart from anything else, I was letting my wrist tattoo get a few day's fresh air, wearing my thin loose watch instead of my huge rubber one cranked up tight so it covers everything). Jeff pointed out that for the workshops we were split into several rooms and then into several groups, so there were minimal chances I would be in his group. So Jeff had to work hard not to fall about laughing when he saw Tanto was in our room and - you guessed it - in my group.
For the first two workshops we were in a group of four - Tanto, myself and two other ALTs. I noticed that after Tuesday, speaking only to native speakers, our speed of speech had really picked up and the JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) were really struggling to follow. So I purposefully busted my ass asking Tanto questions, slowly with simple English, during the ALT discussion, to try to make sure he felt he was adding to the conversation. It was super awkward because often you could see he had prepared an answer to the original question or discussion point, so his answer didn't even fit my question, but the other two ALTs were really good about taking his comment and making a big deal of it. It felt a little like babysitting, to be honest. Trying to find the balance between patronising and ignoring!
For the last workshop, we were with two other high school ALTs and their JTE supervisors. This time one of the other ALTs was sitting between Tanto and I, so I felt relieved of the pressure to spoonfeed him bits of conversation and try to make him interact like a NORMAL person. Luckily for Sophie, sitting between us, he must have showered that day because his body odour was under control. During that conversation, Katie, Sophie and I talked quickly and didn't make any extra effort to include the JTEs. Having said that, both the other JTEs did add things to the conversation, particularly explaining the Japanese holidays that were our 'lesson planning topic.' The woman was trying to be really helpful while the older bloke cracked a few jokes with a big grin. Tanto? He sat in stony silence the whole time. Not a word. Due to the seating arrangements, I couldn't see him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had his eyes closed. Yup, he's that special.
Before that last workshop, in the toilet queue, Katie had laughed at me about my antisocial supervisor being here - he's getting famous! She commented on 'wanting to meet him'. When I came back into the workshop room to realise she was sitting with the delightful Tanto and I, I couldn't help but laugh. I was feeling too tired from the last two workshops to do a 'Oh Tanto, please meet my friends Katie and Sophie', so I just did super obvious rolling eyes to my right to indicate 'that's the one!' Katie gave me a grin and her supervisor, sitting opposite me, gave me a puzzled look.
Other than that, the training was good fun. It was a good chance to hang out with the ALTs we have been meaning to but haven't got around to catching up with since August, find out who is staying another year and catch up over drinks and ugly sweaters. Apologies if I already mentioned the sweaters, but the drinks and dinner evening was themed 'Cosby sweaters'. Jeff went for a subtle black, purple and green (very authentic, I'm pretty sure Dad used to teach in one like it...) while I went for a brown and aqua one that had been knitted by someone with commitment issues - every row seemed a new pattern. Jeff and I were big fans of the theme - obviously cheap and weather appropriate, it also provided bundles of fun both shopping (picture Jeff and I laughing our heads off trying on the ten ugliest sweaters we could find in front of an op-shop mirror, while other shoppers avoid us in case our clothing taste is infectious), then wearing them at the bar. Everyone had made a real effort and there were some truly amazing sweaters. Lots of 80's cool - and some 'wasn't even cool then'. It was a good night.
Of course, anyone who has anything to do with funding might be wondering if I actually did anything but socialise during the training. However, I did get some good ideas - particularly one JET's suggestion of having students keep a journal where they add an entry each week and they get more stamps for more entries. I think it is BRILLIANT because my school is so worried about my students grades that they are changing me Oral Communication textbook for a Grammar one (ugh!), so I think regular composition will be EXCELLENT practise. Of course, more importantly, I'm excited because I think my students will LOVE writing these entries because I'm going to be heavy-handed with stickers, stamps and coloured pens in my marking and replies. Considering my students will do anything for a stamp on their sheet (a full sheet and they get a paper certificate... nope, still don't get the attraction!), I think I'll get some great compositions for shiny stickers!! I have high hopes for this - particularly because the teachers will be really behind me in an effort to get their students grades up.
Having mentioned snowboarding in the title I should refer to it here... On Saturday Jeff and I made it to the mountain for our first boarding this winter. I was blown away how well Jeff did - I think he even managed to not bail on his first run! That's terribly worded, but you know what I mean. He is such a little sports freak that I don't think he's gone backwards at all over the year - I think he has picked up exactly where he left off. He cemented his incredible first day by going over a jump with a dip between the takeoff and landing, so you have no choice but to get considerable air. He didn't land it every time, but he had about a 50% rate. As for me, I had a play around trying some other things I remember from my Ruapehu lesson years and years ago (hmm... was when Jeff and I had been together a short time, so actually about five years ago!), doing a little turny thing up the mountain and leading away on the other foot (feels like trying to use your knife in your left hand!) and jumping random lumps of snow. I am slowly acknowledging a fear of jumping despite all my protective gear and snowboarding is starting to feel horribly like horseriding, where I knew that my own nerves were making me mess up and the more nervous I got, the more I messed up. Vicious circle. But when you are nervous of jumping your horse any higher, you turn to other pursuits - games, trekking, dressage, etc. So I want to figure our some other things I can do on my board that will help me improve without riding off mini cliffs. Besides, Jeff's getting good at that and... err... I wouldn't want to steal his thunder.
Actually the other thing I want to do this winter is try skiing again. I haven't done it since I was 17 - when I went to Ruapehu with Emilie (Anderson) and her mum - but I skiied a fair amount when I was a kid, so I'm curious how much the muscles still remember. I just hope it's not like riding a bike, because I suck at that...
Charly
Friday, January 13, 2012
Editing Speeches
I'm supposed to be (am?) working late editing speeches. But it's driving me crazy trying to figure out what the kids are trying to say!! So I've decided that the particularly odd ones, I will type here in the hopes that a) sharing them will help me to stop focusing on the bizareness and move on and b) that retyping them will help me understand them (the way reading something aloud often works). So here we go...
Topic - My Ideal Holiday
- "And I slowly come in a bath"
- "And I sleep soundly harmonizing with others in the bed."
??! I'm picking this 16 yr old has no idea what he's saying...
Topic - My Worst Wednesday
- "Furthermore, I became hollow during movement and had the leg treated in the nurse's office."
With this 16 yr old, I have no idea what he's saying. Unless he goes to Hogwarts??
Topic - ?? Involves a description of her basketball team
- "Finally Tomi is small and am pretty. Paste is good, and a strange face is pride."
Is she calling her friend pasty? Or am I just paranoid? (remind me to put some more fake tan on tonight...)
Phew, finished. Nothing else particularly odd. Relatively speaking. Just normal sentences like "I think one year two set is fine to years" and "Sometimes we are a quarrel." Bog standard, really. Ok, I'll confess the first one there is from a speech I'm returning to the teacher with a sticky note reading "I don't understand. Sorry!" Three of her twenty are being returned like that... oops! Haha, just noticed the topic of the one I don't understand: "I think year". Wtf?
Ok, time for me to supermarket and get some dinner. Poor Jeff had an instant rice thing for dinner because I told him I wanted to stay late and finish this instead of coming home via the supermarket.
Night all.
Topic - My Ideal Holiday
- "And I slowly come in a bath"
- "And I sleep soundly harmonizing with others in the bed."
??! I'm picking this 16 yr old has no idea what he's saying...
Topic - My Worst Wednesday
- "Furthermore, I became hollow during movement and had the leg treated in the nurse's office."
With this 16 yr old, I have no idea what he's saying. Unless he goes to Hogwarts??
Topic - ?? Involves a description of her basketball team
- "Finally Tomi is small and am pretty. Paste is good, and a strange face is pride."
Is she calling her friend pasty? Or am I just paranoid? (remind me to put some more fake tan on tonight...)
Phew, finished. Nothing else particularly odd. Relatively speaking. Just normal sentences like "I think one year two set is fine to years" and "Sometimes we are a quarrel." Bog standard, really. Ok, I'll confess the first one there is from a speech I'm returning to the teacher with a sticky note reading "I don't understand. Sorry!" Three of her twenty are being returned like that... oops! Haha, just noticed the topic of the one I don't understand: "I think year". Wtf?
Ok, time for me to supermarket and get some dinner. Poor Jeff had an instant rice thing for dinner because I told him I wanted to stay late and finish this instead of coming home via the supermarket.
Night all.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
A small post with big news
This is only a quick note - which is shocking, I know, when you consider how much of an update I need to do on our Singapore and Malaysia trip - but right now I just wanted to let you all know...
It's official: Jeff and I are signed on for another year, so we will be in Japan for at least another year and half. So if you couldn't make it last year, start saving because you get another chance!
Btw, do I get bonus points for refraining from making any jokes? I got to 'It's official: Jeff...' and realised it sounded like I was going to say we are having a baby or something (because although re-signing is huge to us, I guess it's not that big to any of you...). So then I was pondering other ways to finish that sentence... 'Jeff is pregnant', Jeff is going to be an astronaut', 'Jeff and I are getting a puppy', 'Jeff is actually a woman'... Most of them sounded a bit mean to Jeff, so luckily I didn't write any of them! :P
It's official: Jeff and I are signed on for another year, so we will be in Japan for at least another year and half. So if you couldn't make it last year, start saving because you get another chance!
Btw, do I get bonus points for refraining from making any jokes? I got to 'It's official: Jeff...' and realised it sounded like I was going to say we are having a baby or something (because although re-signing is huge to us, I guess it's not that big to any of you...). So then I was pondering other ways to finish that sentence... 'Jeff is pregnant', Jeff is going to be an astronaut', 'Jeff and I are getting a puppy', 'Jeff is actually a woman'... Most of them sounded a bit mean to Jeff, so luckily I didn't write any of them! :P
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