... it's july?

i can't believe it's july already. O_o what have i been doing for the last two months?! other than working and playing taiko and joining bands and practicing kanji and working and planning visits to the states and sorting out my apartment and working.

not much, really.

the semester's almost over for my students- just two weeks and then they're all gloriously free for a month and a half! i feel bad for the junior high kids though- they're forced to join a sports team (well, a club, really- but the only clubs available at my schools are sports) and then have to spend all their weekends, evenings, and vacations practicing. it makes me really happy i never had to deal with all that nonsense... i have a feeling i wouldn't have shown up. >_>
my band's first show is a week from sunday- this week and next it's going to be a little insane around here. i have practice twice this week, an open class where my boss is coming to watch (at my weakest school. whyyyy) taiko practice, a friend's band's show, and hopefully i'll get to sleep at some point. then the weekend hits, i play my OWN show, i have an event in nagoya the next day, two days of work and then i catch a plane at an obnoxiously early hour and fly back to the states for ten days.
it's gonna be nice to see everyone for a little bit before i head back to japan.
also, it's gonna be nice to buy jeans and shirts that aren't glittery.
in some ways, this feels like the world's most expensive shopping trip O_o.
let me know if you wanna meet up while i'm in philly! i don't know when i'll be back next. it's too expensive to come back very often.

Hurray!

I finally did it- after several trips back and forth, I have my brand-new Japanese license. Yayyyyyy

now i don't have to take the bus anymore! exciting!

in other exciting news, i'll be in the states for about a week at the end of july, right after the semester ends. hopefully i can see some of you then!

in other, other exciting news, i'm singing in a band. as of sunday. and as of yesterday, apparently people want me to sing in a second band. so i have two bands now...? maybe? and four of my illustrations will be in a gallery show with a lot of very beautiful paintings of the things that elderly people often like to paint, since the rest of the exhibitors are rather elderly. they favor ships and flowers, except for one delightful woman who likes to paint disney princesses.

Obviously I Forget About This All The Time

hey guys, sorry it's been so long. i'm so tired when i get home that i really don't want to do anything but crash.
the new schools are going well! i love my new students, although i miss my old ones very much. i see some of them from time to time wandering around, and reactions vary from extreme excitement (hurray andrea andrea andrea andrea) to extreme embarrassment (oh god that's a teacher this will RUIN my rep). i really wish i wasn't taking buses every day, but hopefully that'll be all over soon and i won't have to worry about it anymore. i'm taking my japanese driver's license test on monday! wish me luck!
i hope i don't forget any of the several million pieces of paper i need to bring with me. that would be a frustration and a half.
i may be teaching a demo lesson next month. i shall keep you posted. it's a 3nensei class in junior high, so the equivalent of 9th grade. 14yr olds! far too cool to be interested in english (during class, anyway.) if i get a chance to teach i'll have to think of something nice and impressive to do. maybe my students will oblige by being awesome in front of an audience.

in completely unrelated news, it hasn't stopped torrentially raining since about 6 this morning. this does not seem fair.

new school year!

today starts a new school year, with all new schools and all new teachers and all new students. it's going to be interesting, to say the least- i'll be taking buses for a little while as i get my Japanese driver's license (annoying) and i'm teaching far more elementary school than last year (potentially fun, but i love my junior high students).
without a car, my day's changed from 740-500 to 650-615 (or 550-615, depending on the school). ouch. as soon as i have this oh-so-vital piece of plastic, i'll be able to resume waking up at a reasonable hour. hurray! that day can't come quickly enough.
i'm at two schools tomorrow. i start at an elementary and then move to junior high after lunch- hopefully i can bum a ride from another teacher in between schools otherwise i might be late.
i'm exhausted tonight. i promise, when i've got a better handle on my new schools, i'll post an update.
and now, to make worksheets! and pictures of dinosaurs!

a brief rant

i get along with just about everyone. i really do. very few people annoy me to any large degree, and the number of people i hate is just about non-existent. however, occasionally some other teachers drive me absolutely nuts.


*this post has been edited. heavily. there is no reason to be nasty just 'cause it's on the internet.*

First Things First

i'm not dead. i'm not even slightly injured. i'm just sleep-deprived and busy. hurray!

because i currently have no desire to talk about the earthquake, or the reactors, just know that i am waaaaaay south and west of them in a town up a mountain out of reach of all possible tsunamis.

instead of depressing current events, which i'm sure you all see lots of, here's some riddles for you posed by my 1st yr middle school students (they're all about 13 years old).

1) I am an alien. I can fly. I eat a lot. I am a character. I am prince of Saiyan. What am I?

2) I am doy. I am 1-A cloess mote. I can play tennis very much. I have big face. Whot am I?

3) I am a girl. But I can't fly.

4) I am a person. I am funny. I am crazy. I am dangerous. I can tennis. I like woman. What am I?

5) I am a character. I am yellow. I don't have pants. I like honey. What am I?

6) I am a character. I am person. I teaorow (throw) knife. I can operation. I had pet. I am woman. I am doctor.

7) I am monster. I can swim very good. I am from Japan. I like kyuri (cucumber). I live nere the riba. (if you know what she's talking about, you get bonus points. i was super excited when she wrote this one.)

and now, some that are SO PUZZLING that they make your head hurt:

8) I am character. I can stand up little. I am populer little. I am person, woman. What am I?


9) I am blue I am big What am I?

if you can figure out those last two, i am remarkably impressed.

graduation day

the temptation to sit around and listen to the world's most overplayed green day song is strong. but i will resist! i have better taste in music than that.
my 3nensei all graduated from middle school today. they've got about a month and then they're off to highschool. some of them still have to retake their entrance exams... the exams are notoriously difficult, and it's usual for only 50% of students to make it the first time. my 'cool' boys were imitating water faucets for about half the ceremony, but quickly recovered their composure once the speeches were done. a few of my boys enjoyed walking down to massive applause so much that they walked back up and did it again. and again.
i'm gonna really miss these kids- they're awesome and i'll be sad that they're not around. it's a third less people yelling HEY ANDORIA! when i get to work and a third less people smiling when they see me in the hall.

they'll do really well in highschool, i'm sure. they're all good kids, and pretty clever (mostly). but damn, i'm sad to see them go. it's gonna be way too quiet at school from now on.