Friday is my favorite day!

I love Fridays!! Gotta love it when the weekend is here! So today I had a full day of class...all 6 periods in a row at the elementary school. I guess it was a pretty long day...at the end of the day I was literally falling asleep in the teacher's room! I was mentally and physically tired!

But it was a pretty good day...filled with BINGO! Haha. For the 4th grade classes I did a "How are you?" BINGO game. They all liked it and got into it. It's amazing how much stamps amuse and satisfy kids. I guess it was also the joy of getting BINGO that really brought the excitement. Well that went well. I also had the 5th grade class where we played a game and then continued on in the textbook.

The 6th grade classes were not as good...I guess the students are more rowdy and don't care as much...or so it seems. They are a little more troublesome and like to be more obnoxious. One of the teachers actually grabbed one of the kids by his collar and dragged him out of the classroom to scold him! Wow...but I guess he needed it or he wouldn't have stopped misbehaving. I didn't exactly see what the kid did because during that time we were doing an activity where everyone was moving around, and I was on the opposite side of the room. I just saw the part where the teacher had him by the collar and was dragging him out. Interesting day...

Well, the day ended and I was sitting in the teacher's room, thankful that the day was over! While I was teaching the classes, I didn't have a tired feeling. I guess the adrenaline running through helped. But it was when I actually sat down and took a deep breath that I suddenly got tired and was exhausted! Haha. I could feel my eyes getting heavy and droopy...and I almost really did fall asleeep. But I managed to stay awake and make it through until I had to leave.

Tonight I was planning on going up to Chiba with my buddy just to go hang out and get out of the inaka for the night. So we hopped on the train. But while I was at my station, I saw a man who looked familiar...very familiar...

Then I realized that it was one of the guys from my BOE! It was the head man! Haha! Go figure! We saw each other and were dually surprised and started talking! He was headed up to Mobara for a reunion with old friends for a high school or college get together...something to that effect! So he saw me and my buddy on the train and we were all talking. Then we also saw another JET who is in a city about 20 minutes away from us! Haha, so we were all on the train talking with each other. I guess it was the night to be on the Sotobo Line! Haha.

Well my buddy and I finally made it up to Chiba and we went to dinner. Then we headed to the Hub which is a pub. A lot of foreigners usually go there. And they were there tonight! My buddy and I started playing darts, and we met a guy who was with his friend. The guy was from England and his friend was from Scotland. They were nice guys and we played a few rounds of darts with them. They were really funny and amusing, so we had a good time. We played one round for shots. The losers had to buy shots and either drink themselves or buy for the winners. Well, I could only have the feeling that they were trying to hussle us at first...I felt like they were pretending to not be as good during the first round on purpose...but I guess they just wanted a friendly game of darts! They were really nice and we had a really good time. My buddy and I lost by a little bit, so we got a round of shots. But the Englishman and Scottish man offered to pay for half and wouldn't take no for an answer. So we were sitting with a few shots of a drink that was extremely strong! I myself didn't have one....as I don't have the best alcohol tolerance. I was just sitting back with my own drink enjoying watching the others take down this drink!

Well, apparently the Scottish man had lived in North Dakota for around 10 months while he was in high school. Haha...pretty random, but he was funny and had some good stories of his times in North Dakota. It was really amusing and as I said before, we all had a good time. Well, it came time for my buddy and I to leave...our last train to get back home was 11:30ish so we headed out for the night. The nice thing about my location is that it's really not too far from a decent sized city like Chiba. About an hour or so. We finally made it back and I'm ready for bed!

Good night and a good weekend to all!

Moku moku youbi! (Thursday)

Today was not a bad day at all...I mean really not bad! I just got back from a 2 day mid-week holiday and had work today...but only 2 classes! Nice surprise! I had only 1st graders (for middle school, so equivalent to 7th grade in America). I was originally supposed to have 3 classes today because I was going to have one 2nd grade class in the afternoon, but that got switched to math because the math teacher had just come back after he had been gone since his brother passed away last week.

So I had a lot of free time which was nice! I planned out some lessons for next week so I feel pretty good and prepared. I'm usually the type to procrastinate, so I felt overjoyed when I actually had printouts and other things ready for next week!

So since I had free time, I decided that I would use that time to study Japanese....

I enrolled in CLAIR's free Japanese language class offered for JETs. There are 3 levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. I signed up for the intermediate and got the coursebooks a couple weeks ago. So I cracked them open today to see what they're all about. It's actually not too bad. I think I'm in just the right level, because the beginner would have been way too easy. And the advanced probably way too hard! Haha, go figure. I also like that the kanji in the intermediate book has the furigana written so that I can follow along with what's going on. The great thing is, I know enough vocabulary and Japanese to understand it all even though I can't necessarily write it all or read it if I had only the kanji.

But I was going through the book and doing pretty well. I don't think that it will be too bad! But then I got to the kanji handbook where it gives 10 kanji per lesson. There's an area to write the kanji and practice it. Well, that was fine. I was getting the hang of writing it and actually could write it legibly!!! Wooo!

But then I got to the 10th kanji...and could NOT remember how to write the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th...you get the picture....kanji! It's so frustrating! At the moment that I'm studying one kanji, I know it and I feel confident. But then when I go back 5-10 minutes later, I realize that I have instantly forgotten the readings for that and how to write it! I could maybe recognize it, but even that is difficult!!


Ahhhhhhhh!!! Looks like I have a long road ahead of me....to learning the 1000+ kanji that I would need to know to get around very comfortably in everyday life in Japan. I want to learn the kanji not only for myself, but because I don't know how long I will live in Japan. But if I do stick around in Japan, I'll want to be a "literate" Japanese person. For now, I'm Japanese on the outside but still American on the inside. I feel that to be able to live in Japan and be able to get around anywhere smoothly and without weird stares or people judging me is if I can learn the kanji and be able to speak more fluently.

I figure that I have a couple options ahead of me in life after JET.

1. I could work in Japan at a Japanese company.
2. Go back to America and work at a company again.
3. Go to graduate school in America or Japan (Then I'd have to figure out what I want to do after that)
4. Bum around....

Haha, I know that my parents wouldn't be happy with option number 4 and I wouldn't be happy with myself either if I did that!

But really, all the options are inclusive of me having to learn kanji at some point. So I think it will be beneficial, plus it's a good skill to have...be bilingual!

I'm pretty good at Japanese sometimes...but there are many words/vocabulary and phrases that just go right over my head and in one ear and out the other! I just have noooo idea what's going on sometimes. And there's other times where I can hold a conversation for hours on end in Japanese. I think it also depends on who I talk to. There are some people who just know how to talk to another person simply and with easier Japanese. Some people are so used to using difficult/advanced vocabulary and original Japanese forms that it makes it harder for me and probably other foreigners who have just learned the language to understand. It's the most frustrating to talk to these people because even though they're usually very nice, it's just hard to understand what they are saying and I really can't follow the conversation. I usually end up nodding and smiling and make an excuse to go talk with someone else or to have to go do something.

But I guess living and being integrated with all these different people is the most effective way to learn Japanese!

Well, I rambled on for awhile to get to the point that I started learning Japanese and kanji today at school!

Wish me luck!

To Grandmother's House we go! And my aunt's

So this week I had a weekend in the middle of the week....very nice! I had Tuesday and Wednesday (today) off because it was a national holiday. Bunkasai no hi (Culture Fest day). So yesterday I went to my grandmother's place with my mother and stayed overnight. Then today we went to my aunt's place and had a very good lunch and hung out with my aunt and uncle.

And for my random topic of the day: As some of you may or may not know, Japan has a lot of bakeries and takes pride in making lots of really good bread. Especially, ones with intricate designs or shapes. They are all very good and I think they enjoy some French influence as well. But I got some melon pan that was shaped as a turtle. I thought it was cute and it looked delicious, so I decided to pick it up to enjoy. Take a look!

Well, back to my grandma. She seems to be doing very well. She was happy to see both myself and my mother. We hung out with her and she was happy to be looking at pictures and her journal with us. We also have been writing in her journal since I can remember her being at a nursing home so that she can have a log of entries to remember what we did or who came to visit. She really enjoys reading the entries and keeping up with what's going on. I have recently been trying to study kanji...haha...I could be studying more but I guess I am learning it slowly but surely. So I've also been trying to write in my grandma's journal in Japanese....in kanji...as much as I'm able. I think she enjoys it and appreciates it!!

Well, we headed over to my aunt's house this morning to hang out. When we got there, my mom was pretty sure of where to go, but not 100% sure. Haha...I was like, "Mom, this road doesn't look familiar...I think we have to go the other way."

And she replied with, "Yeah...I think so, too..." Haha. Well she was navigating us to my aunt's place and at first I was skeptical. But we eventually made it and so I guess my mom was a good navigator after all!! When we arrived, my aunt brought out a large array of different food to eat and choose from. There are many different Japanese foods that I really like, but one that I especially like is called "Hijiki" or something to that effect. It essentially has a mix of seaweed, carrots, beans, and other stuff in it that you eat with rice. And lucky for me, my aunt had made a HUGE bowl of it!! Yay! She also made oden, sukemono, and salmon. My uncle made spare ribs with Japanese flavor and chicken. It was delicious! By the end of the meal, I could practically feel my stomach exploding and I was sooo full. Then my mom mentioned that I like matcha ice cream and my aunt busted out a container of that...so I had to eat that, too! It was too good to pass up! I was glad that I was able to go and meet up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. I hadn't seen them for nearly a year and a half or two, so it was good to see them again. Hopefully I'll be able to go visit them more often and keep in closer contact...considering that I'm now in Japan and not overseas! I don't have to make the long trek from America every time I want to see them! Overall, it was a nice relaxing two day break...which is a good thing because that meant that I didn't have work either during these two days!!! Woohoo! My dad wasn't able to join us because...well...he's not in the same country right now! He went to Taiwan on Sunday morning, so he's been gone for a couple of days. Busy guy! Haha. Well, my parents will be going back to America this weekend, so this was the last day that I would see my mom for awhile. I'm glad that I was able to spend the day with my family. Originally, I was supposed to go on a school teacher's trip to Tokyo and spend yesterday and today doing that, but it got canceled. It will probably happen next spring sometime...who knows. But I'm glad that I had these 2 days free to be able to spend with family and catch up a little bit!

Well, back at it tomorrow with school!

Kashiwa

So I am here in Kashiwa with my mom to visit my grandma. We got here around lunchtime. My mom and I picked up something to eat and then headed over to my g-ma's nursing home to join her for lunch. She is doing well, considering she is 96 years old! We had a nice lunch and then hung out with her in the lobby area and in her room.

Normally she gets pretty tired after a little bit, but today she was pretty playful and in a good mood. We looked at a lot of pictures of us and the family and such and talked. However, now my mom and I are out just running a few errands and then stopping by the internet cafe (where I am right now) to check e-mail and other stuff. I also went to the bank to pay for some bills...:(

I hate paying for bills. There was a bill from the BOE because there was a delivery charge from my 2 suitcases when I first got to Japan. The BOE and JET had them sent from Narita to my town. I wish they would have given us the option to have them shipped, or let us carry the luggage ourselves. I could have managed lugging my own suitcases around for a day down to my city...oh well....that's another 4,000Yen down the drain.

Oh well. I went to the bank to pay the bills, and there were a whole array of complicated steps to get through to pay it at the ATM. Well, I finally got through it with the help of one of the women working at the bank. Since there was some affiliation with the bill and a bank called Mitsubishi something, there was a handling fee. I was at Chiba Bank, so I didn't think much of it. After finishing, my mom and I started walking toward the station where we were going to have a look around. And what do you know...we see the Mitsubishi Bank whatever right next to the station! So I probably wouldn't have had to pay a handling fee if I did the transaction there!! What the &*$%#!!!?!?! Oh well...I'm over it...haha.

But anyway, we'll spend the rest of the day relaxing and hanging out with my grandma and then be on our way tomorrow to my aunt's house.

Later!

Case of the Mondays...round 2!

So today was another work day. I think most schools around my area had today off, but I did not. I had work today and in exchange get tomorrow off. Why you ask?! Well, because of the Bunkasai festival on Saturday, we get a day off the next week. Since it's a national holiday on Wednesday, our school decided that it would probably be better to have Tuesday off rather than today. As well, we were originally supposed to have a school teacher's trip to Tokyo filled with sightseeing and touring.

Unfortunately and sadly, one of the teacher's younger brother at my school passed away last week. So we canceled the trip which was supposed to be on Tuesday and Wednesday. There was a funeral for his brother last week and we all contributed for a gift to put with the coffin. It's always sad when someone passes away, but it's even sadder because my teacher is only around 40-45 years old, which means his younger brother was VERY young when he died. I don't know the details surrounding his death, but we all feel very sorry for him.

Well, on a lighter note, school was interesting today. Since I have Tuesday off, I had to switch some days so that the Elementary school wouldn't go this week without class. So this morning I taught elementary school and went to my middle school in the afternoon. I taught 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. It was a BINGO filled day! Haha, in fact, I think I played some sort of BINGO in every single class.

It's amazing how much I've used BINGO, and it works sooo well!! Haha, all the kids love it, and they get so happy whenever I stamp their paper for getting BINGO. Good thing I have a big assortment of stamps! Well, the morning went by pretty quickly and I headed over to the middle school. I taught only one class in the afternoon so it wasn't too bad.

In the afternoon, I was actually kind of bored because on Mondays, my middle school ends early and I only had to teach the one class. So I decided to stop by the table tennis club after school to take a look and try it out. I've only played table tennis casually with my friends back at home in their basements or at school. It was always fun to play casually. But my students are all very good at ping pong (the ones in the club) because they play it as a sport. And everybody knows that ping pong is a big sport in Asia! Well, we hit the ball back and forth for fun at first. He is a 3rd grader (middle school - equivalent to a freshman in high school in America) so he has had quite some experience. He started doing some spin serves and hitting the ball with some crazy spin! Haha, I had no idea what to do or how to return those! I've never played anyone who was that good at ping pong!! Haha, well I tried playing and returning, but it was tough....but fun!

I challenged him to a couple sets to 11. The most points that I scored was up to 5....only because he was nice. When it was my turn to serve, he was nice and said that I could have as many re-serves as I needed because he knew that I wasn't that good....or he just felt really confident against me!!! :)

Well, we played 4 sets and I lost all 4. Haha.....but I definitely had fun! And I was sweating by the end of it! I didn't realize how much of a "workout" you get when you play ping pong. I was breathing a little heavier than normal and was burning up. Well, after playing for awhile and learning some new hits, I let them be and went back home. It was fun and I'll probably go back again sometime to practice and hopefully get a little better!

But for now, my priority is still Judo. I want to continue to get better and keep working towards that black belt! One year! I hope! Haha. We'll see. But anyway, more posts to come. Tonight I'll be going out to dinner with my mother and the local dentist around here, so that should be fun!

Sayonara!

文化際!!

So today was the school Bunkasai festival. Last night I received a phone call from one of my teachers at the school because there was a chance that with the typhoon coming in, it might be canceled. So this morning I was up at 7am, waiting to hear about the status for today. However, it ended up that it was raining pretty steadily, but nothing threatening enough to cancel. So the show continues on!

The event started at around 9am this morning. My parents and I all went together because we wanted to go check out the schedule and see when I would be performing. I hadn't told many of the teachers that my parents were in town, so they were all very surprised and very pleased to get to meet the "Amanos"! Haha. The Principal was especially pleased and surprised. He had met my father during the late summer when my dad came into town. And so he was instantly pleased when he saw my father's face, and was dually surprised to know that my mother was also there!

He was so happy, he made a special announcement in the opening ceremony in front of everybody and had my parents stand up so everyone could have a good look at "Kento Sensei's parents." I think all the students were very surprised and curious. They were asking me, "Can they speak Japanese?" or "Are they really your parents?"

Haha, the kids are funny. But today was an enjoyable day. The whole Bunkasai event went really well and I thought that the performances were all good. I was listed as number 7 on the program, so I was kind of nervous, but not too bad in the morning. As the morning progressed, I got more and more nervous, because it meant that I would be going on stage at any time now...

Haha, well I was sitting there enjoying the performances with my parents and finally it came down for me to go up on stage and play. The whole school had heard that their English teacher was going to be performing the piano at the event, so all the students had been eagerly awaiting for their sensei to get on stage and perform in front of everyone. Well, it came time for me to make my way toward the stage. I snuck out of the main room to go to the backstage. There, I ran into the group on stage behind the curtain getting the piano all set up and ready to go!

Well, they introduced me and my performance, and I walked on stage. I bowed before everybody and there were a lot of faces out there! Then I started playing. While I was on stage, it was nerveracking. But when I hit the first note, it became different and I got in the zone. I guess that's how things usually work when you're focused and the adrenaline is rushing. I was just thinking about the notes that I had to hit and it kind of flowed naturally through my fingers. Well, I got through the song pretty successfully, I think! I hit/miss a few notes here or there, but overall I was pleased with my performance. I think that it went really well and everyone really seemed to like it. In the end, I even got flowers! Haha, I was not expecting that! But, it was fun and I'm glad that everyone enjoyed it!

Check out the performance here.

Throughout the whole day, there were a whole array of other performances as well ranging from traditional Japanese music/dances to modern J-Pop songs like AKB48 and Arashi. There was even a group of boys that dressed up as AKB48 (high school girl uniforms) and did a dance. It was a little scary at first, but the boys made "cute girls" haha. I guess some guys don't really care and enjoy having fun no matter what! To each his own!!

I'm just glad that today's event was indoors...it would have been miserable outside and it most definitely would have been canceled! But, the typhoon passed over for the most part and I don't think it affected us as badly as it could have. It was really rainy and windy, but not bad enough to cause damage, thankfully. It had been pretty windy the past couple hours here, but hopefully it will die down. I checked the forecast and it's supposed to be fairly nice outside tomorrow as well...sunny!!

Well, we'll see, I guess. Hopefully the weather forecast is pretty accurate and will be decent tomorrow. My dad is supposed to fly out to Taiwan tomorrow morning, so hopefully the weather will cooperate as well so he can make it out of Japan and up to Narita Airport!

My mother will be in Isumi until Tuesday morning, then her and I will go up toward Tokyo together to meet up with family and have fun. I'm going to go to my aunt's house on Wednesday who I haven't seen since a couple winters ago, so it will be nice to catch up with her and my uncle. I'll also see my grandma who I haven't seen since I visited her in August. I have a pretty sweet schedule next week....Tuesday and Wednesday off. Tuesday is a day off because we had the bunkasai today and Wednesday is a national holiday. So pretty much a 3 day work week, and then another weekend! Woohoo!

Well, I'll keep you posted as always....

Later!

The Rents

So I got back from picking up my parents and going out to dinner with my parents. It was a good dinner. We went to an izakaya in Mobara where I went with my dad when he came back in August. I usually would have said to try a different place, but there's a JUSCO right next to the restaurant and the station and we had to do some food shopping after anyway, so we just hung out around there.

It was good. We had different assortments of sashimi, salad, meat, and other good stuff. It was good to see my parents again who I haven't seen since I left for Japan (with the exception of my dad who I saw back in August).

But we finished up dinner and then headed over to JUSCO to do some shopping where I picked up a couple more pillows as well! :) I looovee pillows. Haha, that's the one thing that I've really been missing. If you knew me back in the states, you would know that I really really........

really...realllly loooove pillows! I mean really love pillows! Just ask my friends or family. I usually had a minimum of about 6-8 different pillows on my bed. An assortment of down feather, body, and normal pillows. Yes, completely necessary if I might say so myself.

So if you think about it, I've actually been depriving myself of my pillow joy while in Japan. I've been trying to live more "frugally" and being less "materialistic", haha. Pillow are a materialistic item for me. But tonight I added 2 more pillows to my collection.....yes! Anyway, I'm glad to have gotten to catch up with my parents and I'll be able to show them around the area and where I live. It's nice that there's skype so that I can talk with them and tell them how everything's going, but it's better to be able to actually show them around and have them see for themselves what it's really like here in Isumi and for me to live in Japan!

Well, it's late, and hopefully the bunkasai won't be canceled for tomorrow. I received a phone call from one of the English teachers at my school warning me that there's a possibility that the bunkasai could be canceled tomorrow...:( There's supposedly a pretty big typhoon making its way toward Tokyo and if it comes in tomorrow, then it will not be good news!

So we'll cross our fingers and see!

TGIF!

So....it's Friday!

Yay!!!! I love Fridays! Today was a full day of work. I had elementary school today and taught for all 6 periods...in a row...no break....except for lunch break and whatever recess the kids have....

But, it wasn't as bad today. It was actually pretty fun. The students were into the lessons, which always helps. I did part Halloween stuff for a lot of the classes since Halloween is coming up this Sunday!

The younger kids in the elementary school are so cute. They're funny and really energetic! This gives me hope while I'm teaching, otherwise I think that I would be dead! Haha, it gets tiring if the class isn't into it, either, so they help energize me!

Well, this weekend, my parents are actually coming into town! They've been in Japan since Sunday, but were up in Kashiwa/Tokyo area and probably Nagano. Now, they're on their way to come check out my town and my place. My dad has been here before so he has an idea of what it's like, but this will be the first time for my mom. So I'm excited for them to come and check out the place and the town to see what it's all about. Not exactly sure what we'll be doing the whole weekend but tomorrow I have my school's Bunkasai, so we'll be pretty busy with that. And then I think just checking out the city on Sunday. I think my dad will be going to Taiwan on Sunday, so he actually doesn't have too much time that he'll be spending here in Isumi. Busy guy!

I also heard from the other teachers that there's a typhoon that's coming in to town....bad news. It's not supposed to get here til about Sunday, but hopefully it will hold out and not become too crazy!!

Well, more to come!

Another Hump Day goes by

So it was hump day again today. Another school day. Today was a pretty full day of classes. Out of the 6 class periods, I had 5 classes to teach today. So I was pretty busy! However, the day went by pretty quickly! The classes have been shortened to 45 minute periods the last couple weeks because they're allocating more time toward practice for the Bunkasai which is coming up this Saturday!

So that also means that it's getting closer until I perform the piano as well! Ahhhh! I've been going in and practicing pretty regularly, including today. I also went to Judo right after school, so I was pretty tired by the time I sat down at the piano...and I also had my eikaiwa class tonight!

Haha, so this is the first time I'm kind of resting today...at 9:30pm....

But, it was a full day which kept me busy. However, I'm actually exhausted right now because of Judo. It was fun because we did a training exercise with Tug-of-war. We split up into 2 teams, so there were 4 of us on each team. Then, each team would choose an order from 1-4. Depending on what the other team chose, each person would face the other in a face off Tug-of-war! Haha, so it was actually really fun! I almost felt like I was on a reality TV show like the "Gauntlet" or something, facing someone in an elimination round. Well, let's just say that I didn't do too well....haha. I lost the first match to a guy that was a similar size to me.

Of the 4 members, you had a to win a majority of the single faceoffs in order for your team to win. So our team lost the 1st and 2nd time. The 2nd match I had was against a guy who is nearly 180-200 pounds...so let's just say that he pretty much dragged me across the floor and to his side, haha. But the losing team had to do 10 squat things per person that's on the team (so 40 total). But these are squats that I had never done or seen before. It's pretty much continuous up and down jumping from a squatting position up to standing 40 times in a row. It doesn't sound too hard, but once you get to around 25, your thighs just start burning. And by the time you get to 31, your thighs are numb. And then there's still 32-40 to complete....so my thighs were on FIRE and I could barely feel them after the 1st loss! Haha. My thigh muscles were sooo shot! So I thought we were going to be done after the first round, but then came the 2nd round, and a 3rd round!

So our team ended up losing the 2nd round as well, so guess what.....we had to do another 40 of those damn squat press things!!!

After this set, I could barely stand up! I just fell to the ground and was stretching out my legs and yelling out in pain, haha! Finally after a minute of being on the ground, I got up to get a drink of water and sports drink. I tried kind of jogging, but that failed! Haha, my thighs were so shot that I could barely jog!! Man....and we still had a 3rd round of the tug-of-war!

Wow....so I was just exhausted at this point. But I had to give it my all for the 3rd match. Well, I faced the guy who I went up against in the 1st round...however, I was determined to win this one match because I did NOT want to do those squat things! So the 1st guy on my team went and he won! I was next. I was up and got ready to go....while my legs were trembling from fatigue and anxiousness waiting for the starting shot. As we started, I felt the force of the other guy starting to pull me back. We were struggling for a little bit because we were both tired and neither wanted to lose. Well, I was getting pulled further and further back until we were nearly 1 foot away from where my opponent had to touch in order to win. Then out of nowhere, I felt a burst of energy and determination so I wouldn't have to do those squats!!

I used all the force and energy I had and slowly started to pull my opponent back toward my end....and kept going, and going, and going...I was about 4-5 feet away from my end where I had to touch in order to win. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Well, with a few last tugs and pulls, I finally made a sprint to the edge, pulling my opponent with me and claimed victory!!!!! Wooohoooo!! Haha, it felt good...and I was dead tired at this point!

All we needed was one more guy on our team to win and we wouldn't have to face the cruel squats. So the 3rd guy went and lost.

Wow, what a downer. But we still had our 4th guy to go and make things right. So he went up, and with ease, he won!!!!!

So we did NOT have to do those squats for a 3rd time in a row. I think I would have died and wouldn't have been able to make it home if I had to do those again! Seriously, my legs were burning, and they still are! Haha, it was hard to make it down the stairs from the Judo room to my car.

Well, that's my story for the day...I know that I'll have sore thighs tomorrow! Hopefully, I'll be able to stand while I'm teaching classes tomorrow!

Elementary Tuesday

Today I was at 2 elementary schools. Typically, Tuesdays and Fridays are my elementary school days, so today was no different.

In the morning, the school that I taught at only has classes for the 5th and 6th graders so that meant only 2 classes this morning at that school. Yes! It's nice, because at the other elementary schools, I usually teach the full 4 classes in the morning.

The classes went smoothly today and was a lot of fun. I split the lesson up so that we did the regular textbook material the first half, and then a Halloween themed lesson and activity the 2nd half. Booooooo!!!!! haha...

So the Halloween activity is basically learning Halloween characters, then making BINGO out of it. Also, I had the kids do a trick or treat activity and they all loved it!

At my elementary school in the afternoon, I had 2 classes. Typically on Tuesdays and Fridays, I teach at one elementary school in the morning, then a different one in the afternoon. So I headed over to my 2nd elementary school in the afternoon and taught the other 2 classes. I did the same thing, where I split the lesson up in half. Part textbook, part Halloween.

Everyone in Japan loves BINGO (as they should :)...hahaa) It's a fun game and easy to set up. As well, pretty much everyone knows the rules. And if they don't, it's not too difficult to explain or show. So the afternoon was a pretty smooth time as well.

But today's most interesting adventure was at my first elementary school. While we were doing the greetings and saying "Good Morning, Class!!", one kid screamed. Then it was followed by another kid screaming, then another, and soon all the kids were running towards the door and ran out of the room! By the time they were nearly all out, I saw what they were running from....

It was a hornet. Now, in Japan, they don't have just "Hornets." This is a hornet that is literally the size of my thumb. I've seen them before and heard teachers at other schools talk about these hornets in Japan. It's big enough and dangerous enough to kill a person. That's right....the poison from the sting is enough to kill a human being. Sooooo, I guess I can understand the freakout by the kids and the mad rush...including myself...haha.

Here's a link to the hornet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornet

We were all huddled outside the door looking into the classroom through the windows in the doors. Everybody was freaking out and just waiting for the hornet to get out of the classroom. We stood out there for a few minutes. Then when the wasp finally went to the outside window and flew out for a second, the main teacher rushed inside and closed the windows. Once it was all clear, we finally all went back inside the classroom and resumed. But that was seriously one of the biggest hornets that I had ever seen! This wasn't the first time that I'd seen a huge hornet like that!

At one of my other elementary schools, I once saw a similar sized horent outside the school and it was scary! Well, it was an interesting day today and I'm glad that no one got stung!