Marathone Thursdays

3.13.08

Normally I teach five classes on Thursdays and four on Fridays. Since one of my Friday classes has recently moved to Thursdays, I am now teaching six, one hour classes in a row on Thursdays. There were a few little bumps along the way, but generally speaking, it was a good day.

As a teacher, it is encouraging to see my student's improving; even if the process is slow at times. I am extremely pleased with the performance of one of my students. She decided to switch into one of my more advanced classes because the time was more convenient. Her previous class was much too easy, and as a result, she became bored. She seemed to fit in with the students in her new class and I'm really glad that she switched.

In Japan, the end of this month marks the close of the school year; whereas, in America we end around May or June. Many of the students at Hands On English are graduating and starting junior high school or high school which will resume in April. Lauren had a graduation party with one of her classes today because all of them have finished junior high school. She supplied them with the materials to make felt coasters as part of a fun in-class craft. I had a chance to look at the finished products before leaving school today. They were very cute!

Yesterday, Leah and I went to read to Peggy. She was rather tired but had enough energy to listen to The Tale of Mr. Tod. I made me happy to see that she was so interested and excited to listen to the story. After we visited Peggy, Leah and I went to a little cafe. The menu was completely in katakana but I managed to read it to Leah and order for the both of us! I was so excited to be understood and acknowledge. To top it off, I was rewarded with a delicious lunch of "pizza toast". Leah had shrimp pilaf.

Tomorrow I will be meeting up with Laura Kim, one of my friends from college. It will be good to see her and spend the day celebrating her birthday. I think I'm going to take her to eat okonomiaki--Japanese vegetable pancakes. :)

Random Side Notes: I was talking to Lappy today and she told me to look at ted.com. I was looking around the site and found this really great video about marine life. I should also mention that the weather is getting warmer. Today I wore a three-quarter sleeve shirt and a button down sweater instead of my usual four layers of shirts. Spring is here and I can't wait to see cherry blossoms!