school daze: boring

today we were reviewing the words, "great, cool, awesome, okay, not bad, terrible, awful" and practicing saying what we thought of things.

the chart had classical music, basketball and music videos. they were supposed to add two more things. sports, food, anything. they were then supposed to fill in the chart for themselves. then they had to ask their partner, "what do you think of ____?" and fill in the boxes. simple enough.

two smart boys that sit in the front have slowly gone from active and participating to being cheeky and downright pissed at me that i would even dare ask them questions. they didn't add two more things and wrote, respectively, "boring" and "okay" for the three provided topics.

i said, "hey (boy's name), what do you think of basketball?"
"i think it's boring."

"what do you think of music videos?"
"i think it's boring."

he's on the baseball team and i know he loves baseball. so,

"what do you think of baseball?"
"i think it's boring."

sigh.

at least he's got decent pronunciation.

roll call: Mr. Oto

last march, as there is every march, there was an end of year faculty party. the party serves as a goodbye to those teachers who are not coming back in april and a welcome to those teachers who are starting in april. it was held at the fleur garden, a building shaped like a castle that has several meeting halls used for weddings and other big gatherings. everyone from the superintendent and to the cute older man and woman who clean the bathrooms to the bus drivers attends, bringing the faculty count to somewhere close to 200, i'd guess.

the fleur garden sent a charter bus to the school to pick us up. why, i don't remember, but on the way someone was holding a bunch of papers that looked like applications. i glanced at the one on top and read the person's name. i thought nothing of it at the time but later at the party, when meeting some of the incoming teachers, it came in very handy.

everyone had had a few drinks and we were joking around and a new guy said, "yeah well, then, what's my first name?" (side note: japanese people go by their last names, and rarely use their first names, even between close coworkers) and for some reason, i knew it was the guy who's name i'd read on the paper so i said, "Oto." and even explained how to write it japanese kanji. i acted like it was common knowledge. he was shocked. (heehee) he was cute and i was pleased with myself to have impressed him.

for the next several months, nothing of significance happened. he was just a new teacher. i'd see him around, but didn't chat or know much of him. sometime before summer vacation, we ran into each other at the train station and rode together until his stop. at the time, he told me he had a girlfriend and i made a mental note that he was taken.

over the last month he's been more friendly. i sometimes wondered why he seemed to be lightly flirting with me. when i stop in at the part time teachers' room (where his desk is) to chat with some of the other teachers, i say hello and sometimes we chat. but i remembered, he's unavailable.

well, his girlfriend dumped him a couple weeks ago.

and now, the ladies at the snack shop in the cafeteria think he's got his eye on me. i've been chatting with them since i started working at the school last september. they are my personal listeners, advice givers, japanese study supporters and all around wonderful ladies. they know most of my juicy gossip and can be trusted to keep it. (they'll get their own post one of these days...)

lately Oto has been coming around the snack shop too. i think he realized what a resource those two ladies are and needed someone to listen to him. so, at the snack shop, sometimes we run into each other, sometimes we don't. but the snack shop ladies told me today that he brings me up in conversation frequently. almost exactly two weeks ago, via the snack shop ladies, i found out he wanted my cell number and text address. i went straight to the part time staff room and we exchanged numbers.

needless to say, the fact that we work together complicates things a little bit. but, what's life without complications and adventures?

the snack shop ladies claim he's not bold enough to ask me out, fearing that he might be annoying me by asking or that i would just say yes because i didn't want to hurt his feelings. i told them he should just ask. i wouldn't say yes because i "should."

i'd say yes because i've kind of got my eye on him too.

bed head

it's been two months since i got my hair cut last. that indirectly means it's been two months since i've been home in ohio. i got my hair cut just before coming back to japan and...well, i hated it. i kept seeing my "old" long hair in photos and wishing it was back.

and yet, i just got my hair cut again. i had a free evening and having read this a couple weeks ago, i'd been thinking maybe i should check it out. apparently watanabe hair is one of the best places in tokyo, especially for non-japanese hair (can we say blond, fine, and a little wavy?).

i didn't really lose too much length, but i've got serious layers, including some short ones around my face that act like side-swept bangs. for some reason lots of layers always end up looking mullet-like on me. hmph. anyway, the woman blew it straight, so the jury is still out on whether or not it looks good when i let it air dry and go wavy.

or when i go to bed with it wet and let it do whatever it wants, which i plan on doing most of the time. i can't do high maintenance hair, so hopefully this time around it's bed head perfected.

school daze: school violence

yesterday at school, an eighth grade student shot a seventh grade student with an air gun.

the seventh grader was playing outside the school building, in a grassy area during lunch recess, when the shots came from the balcony of an eighth grade classroom on the second floor. he was hit three times (once nearly missing his eye) and said that several more were shot, but missed him.

as information came out, it seems that one student had brought the gun, one student brought the tiny bead-like pellets, another boy actually pulled the trigger, and several others were involved.

school violence in not only an american issue.

how do we deal with it? as teachers, as parents, as students, as human beings...

english with Zara, part VI

yesterday was week four with Zara.

he talked about airlines that are recruiting. we asked each other "interview questions." he wore the black jacket he wears everytime. and it looked as good as always.

that morning i debated about what to wear to work because i'd be going straight from work. i wore black pants with tiny white pinstripes, a lavender/plum colored short sleeved collared button-down, and a cream colored three quarter length sleeved cardigan. i wasn't too impressed with myself but figured it'd do. but then, at work i passed Mr. Oto (a guy at work, who, deserves his own post soon) in the hallway and he complimented me on my outfit.

and i don't mind impressing Mr. Oto a little too. ;)

english with Zara, part III

i just got home from my third monday of english with Zara. not only is he all of the things i said before, but he's a thinker.

we talked a lot. about life. about family, being rebellious, marriage, careers, dreams, compromise and values. i said a few things i usually don't say out loud to people. i don't know what got into me. so i qualified it all by saying that inside, i'm a fairly negative person, despite having a seemingly only happy-go-lucky attitude.

to which he said something along the lines of, "people around you might tell you that saying those kinds of things is negative thinking, but i don't think so. i think most people think those things too; they just don't say them. i think you are a encouraged person, no, i mean (then, in japanese:) 'you have courage.' you aren't...scared for saying that? (in question form, unsure of his english)"

"you mean, 'afraid of saying that.' well, because if they say them, then they become real."

"right, and other people are afraid to say them, but you aren't."

oh if only he really knew.

roll call: Mr. Gold

Mr. Gold may very well be the person i respect and admire the most at work. granted there is a lot to be said for what i don't know because of the language barrier, but regardless, he's got a good head on his shoulders and he really cares about the kids at school. they might not realize it, but he cares so much about them and doing what's in their best interest. of course, he's still super strict and frequently yells at students in the staff room when they misbehave, but it's because he cares. he expects a lot of them and i respect that.

he was my phys. ed. teacher when i was a student. i still remember one day we were playing softball and he said, "how many people are lefthanded and need a lefty glove?" i raised my hand. he looked at me in complete shock and exclaimed, "you understood japanese! you are amazing. here, get a lefty glove." while it may seem like such a little thing, i was so proud to have impressed him. and i continue to crave his attention and approval now.

he is one of the busier teachers in the middle school, being the coach of a nationally ranked swim team, in charge of how many other who knows whats, but he always has time to laugh and joke and talk to me. we joke around a lot and he always comments on how awesome i am for always trying to improve my japanese. and he calls me "you" in really crude japanese, considering we are coworkers, but it's somehow comforting. he likes me enough to be overly casual. other teachers call me "jo" or "jo-sensei," but for some reason he is different.

he is a little rough around the edges, but is definitely one of the most sincere people i've met. when you get past the hard exterior, he has a heart that matches the gold chain around his neck.

school daze: baseball

the japanese high school pro baseball draft was today.

a student from where i work, a senior in high school, was drafted by the seibu lions, a tokyo team. now he's five months and graduation away from being a professional baseball player.

these are the things little boys' dreams are made of.

baseball in japan is not "the nation's favorite pastime." no, here in japan, it's serious business and hours of sweat and tears. even nights when i leave at 8pm, i can stil hear the clinking of baseball bats and yelling coming from the brightly lit fields.

the baseball players are notorious for sleeping in class. they practice for an hour before school and at least four hours in the evenings. on sundays, they practice from nine am to seven pm. i always see the boys running from the high school to the baseball fields after school. they have no time cushion. the discipline is so strict it's unbelievable. the younger students must get there first and get all the equipment ready. they also seem to be constantly on edge looking around for older baseball players; they must stop, bow, and greet their seniors whenever they see them.

our school even has a small dorm for baseball players who live too far away to handle the practice schedule AND commuting to school (which for some students is up to an hour).

but it's all worth it for some, to have a chance at becoming a pro baseball player. and this year's draft has no doubt sparked the hopes of many, who get up at dawn to practice and play well past dusk at least six days a week, all year round.

school daze: passing notes

*****************************
Dear (girl's name)

Do you like (boy's name)?

From (girl's name)

*****************************

written in blue sparkly pen on a pink disney themed memo.

confiscated during english class.

oh to be 13...