The Internets arrived!

I finally have the internet in my apartment, and I am a happy happy panda. I posted an extensively detailed photo album on my facebook page, so if you have access to it, I strongly suggest that you check it out. If you read this and you do not have access to facebook, send me an email, and I'll send you a link.

The past two weeks or so have been fairly busy. Here's a quick recap:


On Saturday, the 22nd, my junior high school had their 体育祭(sports festival). For you Japanese scholars out there, I recently learned that the difference between 体育祭 and 運動会
is that the latter is for elementary school while the former is for everyone older than elementary school. Essentially, the students compete in relays and races by classroom against the other students in their grade. Some schools form teams that combine one class from every grade (my elementary school had three teams, since there are three classes per grade). My fellow 1styear student's teachers decided to participate in the 100m relay and coerced me to join them. After the race (we lost so the students wouldn't feel bad about themselves), my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) came up to me and said, "Wow, I was surprised! You were so fast I couldn't see you!" I responded to this by hitting him with my towel and calling him "baka!" which means idiot. He laughed and walked away, then said the exact samething to another teacher, to which she responded in the exact same way I did.

After the festival (think 7:30-4 of standing outside in the hot sun), we had an "enkai." An enkai is essentially a work party that involves speeches, food, and all you can drink beer. I thought my speech was terrible, but I was assured that I did fine. I stumbled out some phrases about how the sports day was fun and we didn't have it in America, about how much I like Japan, and how my school is the best school in Hidaka (which they loved). Conversation during the night was amusing, as most Japanese people are restricted to talking about places they've been/want to go, food/drink, and the phrase "you have boyfriend?" when they speak in English. As a result, I talked a lot about Hawaii and places in Japan I want to go/have been to, whether I like sushi, wasabi, natto, and umeboshi, and if I had a boyfriend. I was also asked numerous times, "beer OK?" and my opinion of every alcoholic beverage known to Japanese people. Although it may sound contrary to my description of the night, I had a great time.

On Sunday night, we met up with Shane and his significant other for drinks in Kawagoe. We all had a great time (again, photos are on facebook). However, it seemed to be a bittersweet night, as Shane's bf and Kaz's gf (both of whom are awesome people) returned to their respective homes far far away a few days later.

I celebrated my holiday on Monday (Autumnal Equinox Day was on Sunday, so we got a substitute holiday on Monday) by sleeping in. Can't remember what else I did.

Tuesday was my substitute holiday for working on Saturday at sports day, so I decided to wander around Kawagoe. I lost BookOff, so if you're reading this and you remember how to get there, let me know! I bought myself some fabric to decorate my bathroom (which has been described as Martha Stewart-esque and oddly prompted someone to call me "Krystle Stewart"). I also got myself an icepack (which, if you know me, is no surprise).

Wednesday was speech contest day. My students' speeches were good, but not spectacular. Overall I had a good time. It was interesting to meet the Hanno AETs and the students and teachers that my friends worked with.

Wednesday night was drama-filled. I won't go into detail, but I will say that there was a point in which I was scared for the safety of my friend and that I haven't been so thoroughly insulted in a very long time (email me if you want more details).

Also, the internets arrived on Wednesday. Woohoo!

On Thursday, I met up with Chikako, a floating JTE who rotates around the Elementary schools in Hidaka. We taught 1st graders body parts and "head, shoulders, knees, and toes." The kids were super 元気 (genki, meaning lively and excited). It was a great change from the emo-ness of the junior high kids. However, I didn't properly stretch before teaching, and 18 verses of "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" later, I find myself feeling old. Luckily, I have my brand-new icepack. Chikako is super awesome, and she invited me to join a yoga class with her for a few weeks.

Speaking of new Japanese friends, next week Sunday, I'm meeting up with a lady who teaches English to kids. She's looking for native English speakers to practice with so she doesn't lose her skills. I'll keep you posted about how that goes.

Which brings us to today. I believe the plan is shopping in Omiya during the day, and hitting a huge club party tonight. We'll see how it goes.