2/15/10 月曜日

Quiet, cold weekend. It snowed all of Saturday. Not enough to stick on the roads, but enough so there was NO WAY my laundry was going to dry. I hung one piece at a time from the curtain rod in front of the heater (it's a flimsy rod) and the rest of it is still drying. Should be ready to bring in tonight. The problem with Saturday was our heater could just not keep up. I spent the day hiding under blankets - it makes for cabin fever. Especially since we only have one computer! I couldn't even cook, because going out into the kitchen meant braving 35 degree conditions, and numb toes despite socks and slippers. It was bad enough when I had to use the bathroom. Sunday, yesterday, was Valentines day. One of the other English teachers in Koga arranged Karaoke for the day. The karaoke place we went to (La Festa) has themed rooms - very elaborate theming, too. Ours seemed vaguely American, like what you might see on main street. Apparently there is a space themed room and a crypt themed room as well.

They have plenty of American songs to sing, so that was no problem. After that, Brandon and I went out to a late lunch as our valentines date - honestly we don't do much for valentines day - I always like getting chocolates, but we had all the ones we just made, so we shared those. In Japan girls actually don't GET things for Valentines day, they give things to the boys. The boys give gifts to the girls on a holiday in March that we don't have. So the question at school today was "did you give chocolates?" Not "did you get chocolates?"

We took a walk around the block in the evening, and some of my students saw us. First time they've said hi to me in public. Today they're telling everyone they saw me and my husband.

It's hard to believe it's almost the end of the school year. No matter what, things will change next month, even if we stay in Japan. Even if we stay at the same schools. We still don't know! If I'm no here next school year, I'll sure miss these kids! They finally seem comfortable around me, and I finally know some of their names! (Or at least their name Kanji and a guess as to how to say it). I'm still so cold! I think maybe tonight I'll try to buy some long socks. The idea with those is that they provide an extra layer. And looking at all the bright colors at Shimamura makes me happy.

[Later]

Whew - three cups of coffee finally worked - I've been shivering and practically falling asleep at my desk, and my handwriting is atrocious on three cups of coffee!
Looks like it's time for another meeting - all the teachers are coming in. I didn't get any handouts, though, so I have no idea what is going on. And I can't seem to write legibly - I'm tired and shivery, but full of energy! I need a haircut - but I want to grow it out, so I'm worried about what they would do to it. I also want another perm, although that I will probably wait on until we're in America. If we stay here until July, I think I'll have to get it done at some point - plus it's cheap here. I just need a good picture of what I want.