Just a little something to help Katie keep up with all those who matter to her.
|
|
| We're Not in Japan Anymore... Just a little something to help Katie keep up with all those who matter to her. |
|
|
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 Hi again. I'm still lazy, and I'm still sorry. Just no motivation, and no time, to get new pictures up. Saturday after Japanese class, Fusako and her husband Toshi took me to a really nice hotel in Shimoda for a mini-vacation. It was really nice--got to try the hot springs again. We went to a hydrangea park the next day and saw some very beautiful flowers. It was kinda amazing how many there were. Then we went to two old temples (Jimmy Carter had visited one of them!) and stopped to see a waterfall on the way back. (: When I got home, there we some messages from a friend of mine, about when he'd pick me up for dinner at his home. I'd kind of forgotten. ): He invited me through e-mail... and I'm not the best emailer... So I called him and we agreed on 6pm. So he picked me up, and we had dinner with his wife (who made some really great food). After that, he helped me with some more translation work I've been doing. I had a really nice time--but perhaps stayed a little too late. ): It was about 10 when I got home. So... that's where my weekend went. Saturday morning, the only free time I had, was used for sleeping in, cleaning a little, and generally being lazy... Sorry for no updates. Monday and Tuesday I went to another elementary school. The kids were fun, but VERY energetic. They had a lot of questions, and weren't afraid to ask them, which was nice. Even the first graders had a ton of questions. In some classes, that's all we did; a short introduction from me (from 10-15 minutes, depending on the grade) and then questions. In other classes we played games or sang songs. It was a nice visit. (: But... I'm kinda glad the elementary ones are over. They are really cute, but it's so hard to communicate with them... Well, at least I can understand about 25% of what they say. I felt really bad for Becca, when she was here. ): She loves kids so much, and was so excited to meet them, but couldn't talk to them at all. ): But... I hope she enjoyed herself nonetheless. So now, back to Ashitaka Junior High. And it's raining today... Actually, THUNDER woke me up. This is only the third time I've heard thunder since I came to Numazu. I kinda miss our good ol' 'Michigan thunder storms'--being able to see the lighting streak down from the sky, over the broad fields out of my window. Ah well... My comic magazine comes out today, so that kinda makes up for it. And in about a month now I'll be home. Hard to believe. Take care. PS: Sarah, I saw HP on June 17th! So let's discuss! posted by Katie Suttles | 4:09 PM Comments-[ comments.] Wednesday, June 16, 2004 Hi again. Sorry it's been awhile. ): I thought I was gonna get better at this again--honest! I'll keep trying. ^_^ Anyways, let's see... Things are going well at Ashitaka. Today the students have midterm-ish kind of tests, so it's been sooooo quiet--it's weird! The week of the tests, students are not allowed to come into the teachers' room, so it's been a little lonely since no one can come talk to me. ): Today I have to help give two listening tests--broadcasting again.... eep. We did one already and, after a small technical difficulty, it went fine. (: I have a few hours/periods til the next one. Guess what? I got my new washer Tuesday night! It was supposed to arrive at 5, so I asked if I would be allowed to leave school after my classes were done to clean up a bit. ^_^; So I got home around 2:30~3 and tidied up... But they didn't show til after 8pm... ugh. Oh well, I was happy to get it! Because all of my classes Wednesday were cancelled, I used a holiday and spent most of the morning figuring out how to work the stupid thing. :P I think I've got it now, but... I brought the instruction book to school to ask for some help.... heh. My weekend was alright. Didn't do much on Saturday--cleaning, being lazy, stuff like that. Sunday morning I had brunch with Fusako and her friends, and then went to a villa building/park for my Thursday English class. This is the second time I've taught the class, so the second time I'd been to this park (for this reason). It was a pretty nice day, and things went nicely. Except it was really crowded, so it was really hard to talk to everyone... And there was this drunk old man that asked me three different times (once, walking right into the middle of my circle of students, as I was explaining something) where I was from. I told him, "America," and he said (each time): "Really? I thought you were from Korea." Whatever. I could smell the alcohol on his breath so I just shrugged it off. It'd be nice if people were a little more polite, though, wouldn't it? ^_^ Last week was much like any other--mostly just went to a few classes. Thursday night was the English class, and it went well--like any other night. Friday night I met with the English teachers for our 'lesson' and had a nice time. It was the last meeting like that though... but only about 7 teachers came, of 15. The same faces that always come, too. Oh well... It would have been nice to share with all of them, but I have a lot of respect for the teachers who tried to come often. (: First we discussed one teacher's problem: she has a deaf boy in her class this year. We talked about different ways to help her teach English to the boy... Whatta task! Good luck to her. Then another teacher shared a speech about the influence of Japanese art on Western painters like van Gogh. After that, I shared a few 'essays' I had written. One teacher gave me a few questions to answer a while back, and I've been working on them. They are questions about English education here, my opinions about stuff in Japan, advice for language learners, and the like. As I was writing, I wondered if maybe OTHER teachers (besides just her) would be interested, so I made copies for everyone. Though... as I read a few of my answers, I felt like I sounded a little preachy but... they are my opinions, so I guess it's okay. (: I thought it would be a good example of written work for the teachers to examine, too. After all, I know *I* would be interested in an essay written in Japanese. After that, we listened to Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. We started about 7... and finished about 10. ): I'm so sorry! I hope the teachers had as good a time as me, though. We discussed a lot, and they asked a lot of questions, so I *think* they didn't mind it was so late.... (: The weekend before, Kazuyo and I went to the movies and saw "Troy." Wait for the video, if you haven't seen it, cuz it really wasn't that good. Ah well. It was fun hanging out with her. (: (: This weekend.... we'll see "HARRY POTTER"! I can't wait! I've been hearing about how good it is (though it leaves some stuff out...) and have been so anxious to see it! Book 3 was my favorite, after all. It's been a long time since I've seen or read anything Potter, so this will be soooo nice. (: That last weekend, and this past weekend, Kazuyo invited me to her home on those Sunday nights for dinner. Every Sunday her immediate family goes to her mother and father's house for dinner, and they were so kind to ask me to join them. ^_^ They mostly speak Japanese with me, too, which I really appreciate. (Though sometimes I have to use English, to say what I want to say! And they practice a little too--but that's totally fine by me!) The food has been GREAT, too. (: Kazuyo's mom is a wonderful cook! Well, that's all the big, interesting stuff. The weekend is coming again, so maybe I'll get off my lazy butt and do something to my site.... ): Don't hate me! I edited a few pictures from Becca's visit, so that's ONE step closer to getting them on my site. (: Heh... Also, a boys' 'cheering' team came to the school last week and I got a few pictures of that to share, so I'll work hard this weekend, okay? See you! Take care! posted by Katie Suttles | 8:03 PM Comments-[ comments.] |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||