i am swamped at work.

september 11th

so much of this has to do with the fact that i don't know what i'm doing yet, but i still have a hella of a lot to do. seriously, i think my pred's complaints did get somewhere, cause i'm so busy i have no time to study 日本語 or even write this blog. so my days consist of (for the moment) getting to school by eight--technically classes don't start till nine and i don't have to be here to 8:30 or 8:15, but with that little extra time i can get a stack of papers graded or an e-mail written. then most days i have a class first period. at my main school, yasufuruishi, the periods are 65 min and my self-intros are supposed to take up half the period. so with the first year classes i have 20 kids, or so, and each kid asks me a question and then i ask them the same. they learn, for example, my family's names, what kind of food do i like, that only the old star wars is good, and who both bert and kitty are. every time i teach a first year class i go to two classrooms a period, so basically i will never know these kids' names. my second year classes have 40 kids, but i only have one at a time so i therefore get more 'free' time as the lessons are still only 30 min. then i have a 'break' and i grade papers. actually, i struggle with choosing what to correct on papers that were written by kids who have had little to no english grammar lessons. and mind you, these kids, if they don't know how to say it, will just translate it online or with their electric dictionaries; so, half of what they're writing i have no chance of actually understanding. (example: “it was shouted, and female college students became quiet, and, as for the break I was good because the insid of a train became quiet though it was noisy.”) then i either have another class, or i try to make it to the cafeteria before the kids. the food in the cafeteria is actually really good, and really not that expensive. besides, right now it's the only hot meal i get every day. on thursdays, before lunch i have the only meeting i'm required to attend: the english teachers' meeting. they all talk in 日本語 and then look to me, i say something about my lesson plan or 'yes, i do like my new apartment' and then i'm once again ignored. the latter half of the day is reading more papers or attending more classes. i'm supposed to leave by 4:15 everyday, but on tuesdays there's ESS (english as a second something?) club, so i hope to participate in that. on wednesdays i visit my second high school, koyo high. the fact that i have a second high school was a surprise to everyone, including me, and i have to fill out paperwork every week so i can leave my base school and go to my second school. so far i've only had one day there, but it's similar in that i will be team-teaching and grading papers. koyo high school is a mid-level school (meaning most of the kids will not go to college) so they are less concerned about grammar and intense teaching. i think that means when i grade papers i'm responding to their ideas rather than correcting how they wrote their thoughts down. also, on wednesdays there will be a dinner downtown with some of the hiroshima city JETs, so i'll have that to look forward to every week.

but my absolute favorite part of the day is heading out from yasufuruichi high. i walk down my four flights of stairs, while the girls' long distance (i assume) team is circling the school singing their dreamy chants. i go to the front of the school and trade my uncomfortable shoes for my heavenly birkies, stroll over to the bike parking, and grab MY bike. after getting organized--fitting everything into my handy basket--i hop on, peddle up the slope to exit school grounds and start the 10 min coast down my large ass hill. perfect every time.