spreading my wings--a story of an almost routine saturday

that almost is for you, babe. you know who you are.


so, I'm getting my act together. I'm more and more prepared for my classes and prep time is getting fast and faster. technically I'm allowed less than 10 minute of prep/clean up/set up time for each class. but in actuality it's still more like 30 min/ class. but getting faster. I've moved classes to different textbooks to make the planning easier too. but all in all, I'm still working way too much. but the bossman knows this and says he'll help.

but what this all works out to is that I didn't get up until almost 9:30am on Saturday and didn't make it in until 11:20ish. Kevin uses my room from 11-11:50 on Saturday morning for his kids' class and so I go into his room, I have some more breakfast, put on my make up, change into my professional clothes and shoes. take a deep breath. take a deep breath again.

11:50 he's out and I'm in. I set up my next classes in as much order as possible.

12-1245 "talking about abilities"
1245-130 "giving compliments"
135-225 kids class, Halloween lesson "Are you a princess? No, I'm a fairy"
230-330 Private lesson, we talk about how kids learn language and (as usual) don't touch the material I prepared, I don't mind much, though.
400-445 "guessing words from context" both students are absent. bossman-M shows up and we get icecream. I also grab some lunch. I'm freakin starving.
450-600 I finish preparing for the evening classes
600-650 Private lesson on all sorts of ways to say, "I don't understand"
700-900 Group lesson on Halloween, trick or treaters, costume parties, extreme gardenting
900-920 approach one of my group lesson students to renew his contract. he signs on the dotted line.
920-930 finish my paperwork and change into sneakers
930-midnight have dinner and drinks with students and teachers, about 20 of us. a student asks what we mean when we put words in quote with our hands. we have a dinner impromptu lesson. my explanation is that we mean something completely different or even the opposite. ie my apartment is really "nice" This is bossman-M is my friend and "bossman" They're amused. I feel like a teacher. I have another beer for good measure.
midnight-2ish, singing and more drinking with Kevin, Yoshi, two students we refer to as "the ganga boys" and a new teacher at a neighboring school, Sara



(so karaoke has many English songs. as they know we have money and like to sing too. also, many american/english songs are popular with Japanese people. so to help them out there is a katakana "translation" of the pronunciation above the English words. and then the "MTV" bits that accompany the songs are enough to reduce me to giggling tears some nights. god knows what this pic has to do with U2 or the other 2 dozen songs it can be found in. )







(Sara took a long time to pick her first song, as most of us do. I explained, and then demonstrated with Kevin, this game is not about talent. it's all about off key passion. and it really is.)



2ish Sara, Kevin and I get a cab back to his place, because its closest, watch the first episode of LOST and fall asleep.
940am, alarm goes off and I help Sara get to the train station so that she can do her new teacher things and I catch a series of trains home.
welcome sunday morning, and that's my saturday.

but back to the "almost" part.

I've been here two months, I tell Sara. 8 days she says nodding her head vigorously. and I felt compelled to step up and take her under my (still fledging, in many ways) wing. make sure feels comfortable to sing. make sure she can get back to the train station. ect. if felt funny, but natural. it's my turn to step up and help take care of the new one. Come April it will definitely be my turn because a lot of teachers, both the NETs at KM, and the NET in my building here are being replaced. but it felt good to take someone just a little under my wing.