October 26th

So... a lot has happened since I last posted. Where shall I begin...

I didn't teach a single class on Thursday. I didn't set foot into a classroom the entire day. A silly person would have sat at her desk and complained about not having anything to do. I took the opportunity to reorganize the 8 or so full binders of papers left behind by my predecessors. As a result, I had a lovely 1.5 hour long conversation/English lesson with some first year students.

As I was about to leave, my co-teacher came to me and asked if i wanted to take the class by myself the next day since he would be absent. Or, if I preferred, I could supervise while they did a worksheet. Guess what I chose...

Friday, October 26th: crazy super eventful day...

I taught the class by myself. It went swimmingly. The kids were great, and we ended up playing Halloween pictionary and charades. Just imagine a 7th grade Japanese kid trying to act out "zombie" or "Frankenstein." Since it went so well, my other co-teacher asked me to do the same activity with the other classes. As a result, I taught 5 classes (one alone, four with my co-teacher).

After work, I called Jen, my friend in Hawaii. Long story short, a close friend of mine from high school passed away two weeks ago.

As class correspondent, I facebook messaged everyone in the 2003 class group. A few people wrote back with thoughts and memories of their own. I later realized I should also write something in the bulletin, so here's a preview of the '03 notes for the spring bulletin.

Classmate Todd Okubo passed away this August after a long illness. Todd is an indelible part of my Punahou experience, and I’m ashamed to say that I took it for granted that he would always be around. Todd attended UH, and a trip home always meant hanging out with him. He embodies so much of what home in Hawaii is about; laid-back, caring, and reliable. Todd had a huge appreciation for having a good time, but was never irresponsible. I remember senior year Halloween when he dressed up as a Rainbow Warrior, then got scolded for breaking the (newly enforced) dress code.

At Punahou, Todd inspired others through his role as Peer Helper. I’m sure many of you who attended camp (or worked it with him) remember his dedication to the program. He performed in the style of Riverdance at Variety Show, helped with food at Carnival, sang in choir, and danced (kinda) in Pops Assembly.

During high school, I often drove Todd around (since we both lived on the windward side). It worked out well because I had a car and Todd knew where we were going. He always had more faith in me then I did (which one time resulted in us going to Pearl Harbor instead of Aiea). Todd’s guidance showed me where to go numerous times, and now I only get lost in Aiea half the time. It’s weird knowing I’ll never again hear his voice yelling at me to turn right.

He inspired so many around him during his years at Punahou and after with his friendly smile, fun-loving attitude, and reliability. Although I will never be able to hear his voice, mess up his hair, or give him another hug, I won’t forget him and everything he taught me.

I'll probably cut it down before submission, but this is where I am now.


On Saturday, I met up with an ex and a group of our friends from TIU/TIUA. Unfortunately, I was in a terrible mood, so I ended up going home early.

This week consists of elementary school, Halloween, two days of conference, and other such things. I'll keep you posted.