Life, oh life....

The life of an ALT is one of interest and intrigue, inclusion and exclusion, hopefulness and humility. It’s also a life of pure joy (and I mean that in both an honest way and a sarcastic way).

I walked into school yesterday morning to a greeting from the 2^nd floor (3^rd floor if you’re American or Japanese) window. ‘Layween sensei, gudo mooooningu’. One of the Junior High 3^rd Grade (aka 15 year old) boys has taken to waiting at the window and greeting me from the window every day. It’s really fun and makes my day because at least he is trying to speak to me, even if it is only a couple of words and it makes me feel loved.

Since I took off to Tokyo that weekend I’ve done very little but work and read. I even woke up in the middle of the night the other night randomly, turned on my light, read the last 50 pages of ‘A Wild Sheep Chase’ by Haruki Murakami, then tried to go back to sleep for whatever hour was left of my night. My life has consisted of preparing for Christmas lessons and trying not to think about next year because that’s why I plan to do for the next week while I sit at my desk waiting for the day that Japan will effectively shut down for New Year so that I don’t have to use my precious annual leave.

Even though, that sounds boring, it’s actually been really fun! Haruki Murakami is a really random author but he writes well and by all accounts is just a little on the crazy side. School has been remarkably fun too. My students have been teasing me lots about stuff that only kids would dwell on for ages (I have been linked to at least 3 men lately by my own students and the students of a couple of friends of mine, haha) and one of the 6^th graders at elementary school told me that the inside my handbag looks like a fridge yesterday. Haha, that kid is always funny. But what was he doing looking inside my ‘picnic basket’ (as I call it)?

Another student said to me in the corridor yesterday at elementary ‘Rae sensei, terebi o mitta, kazoku wa “oooo sugugoi Rae sensei!” ’ (Rae sensei, I saw you on TV, my family said ‘wow, it’s Rae sensei’). I love it when they say things like that, it makes me feel like somehow somewhere I am making an impression on them. My junior high kids have been mentioning it too but not directly to me. One of them asked my colleague why I’m always on the TV or in the paper. She of course relayed this to me and I told her to tell them that it’s because I’m so beautiful, hehehehehe.

FYI, recently, us ALTs have been on TV and in the newspaper lots. First there was the International BBQ in Namerikawa, then there was carol singing outside Takaoka Daiwa department store and it appears as though there is a replay occurring of the Manyo Shuu reading in the park on Cable because one girl mentioned it to the aforementioned English teacher.

I feel like the days slip by like a leaf on a river sometimes. Maybe it’s because I am actually really enjoying myself, or maybe it’s because I really appreciate where I am, or maybe it’s because time doesn’t stop for anyone, not even those who wish it would stand still for a second. Whatever the reason, I don’t like the idea that time seems to disappear before my eyes, there’s so much I want to achieve in Japan and I feel like in the last 4 months I’ve barely made a dent.

But I have worked out how to put photos into the blog and I know you appreciate that. ;)