What's the Matter?

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6

I dislike Nishi mornings. They are just so much harder than they should be. And I was determined not to miss the train, so I had to watch the clock carefully. I was fine taking the train. There was the gaijin guy in my apartment again. I wonder who he is and why he's here – he's not a JET, at least as far as I know. He's obviously here long-term, as he looks like he's going to work consistently on the morning commuter train. He also definitely speaks English as I've seen him reading English materials before.

I had a nice leisurely walk into work and got there just in time. I finished White Fang and have now started listening to “Pollyanna.” I got a chapter into it when I realized that it was going to be just like “A Little Princess” and “Heidi,” the story of a perfect, innocent, godly child who with their simple presence manages to transform the world around them. Honestly, it's a bit difficult to listen to, almost nauseating. But, we're going with it. I remember watching the movie as a child, but I only remember the end. Oops. (SPOILER ALERT: It all ends happily ever after.)

At Nishi, I was again teaching lessons, this time with the female teacher. It was better than with the male teacher, but the students were not terribly interested in learning most of the time, and were much more interested in goofing off. I find it very frustrating. I need to talk to others who have worked here to see if I can get hints. I need to think of other lessons they might find more interesting, but, as it is, the school has TOLD me to teach the next two lessons on directions, so that's what it'll be, whether the students want to or not.

I spent time between lessons working on my lesson plan for Kogyo. I think I'll always be behind with Kogyo lessons and that annoys me. I made a Mario (as in Luigi's brother) and made a worksheet with arrows pointing to the different parts of the body. Hopefully the Nishi boys will appreciate it. I then went through and worked on making a list of all the possible ways to not feel good. I eventually figured out that there were (1) injuries, and (2) illness. I made those into two separate worksheets.

By this point in the day, it was late. My JTEs weren't around, and it was 4:30, so I packed up my bags and left. As much as I hate to leave Nishi on time (I feel guilty!) I also don't... enjoy being there. I don't feel welcome. The teachers say good morning, but otherwise ignore me. Even the male JTE, who works next to me doesn't talk to me. In fact, he spent much of the afternoon napping on his desk and then left hours before I did. Apparently, that's not frowned upon in Japanese schools. Nishi doesn't provide me with school supplies (although the Koko teachers were horrified when I said this, and insist that I should ask and Nishi should provide.)

I listened to Pollyanna on the walk back. I saw a purple dump truck. I met up with Jane and we walked back together. I had a nice rant to her about how frustrated I get teaching at Nishi. Some of my Nishi students said hello to me cheerfully close to the station. Then I felt a bit guilty.

Worked on coordinating my night bus schedule with my JTE at Koko. She's going to Malaysia next week with the second year students, but she's still taking the time out to book my tickets for me. We texted back and forth and she eventually got me booked from Kyoto Station to Tokyo Station, then Shujuku Station to Kyoto Station. I thanked her profusely and asked what she wanted from Tokyo. She said I didn't need to get her anything, but she likes sweets. Done.