Light Day

Yesterday was very difficult. The students wouldn’t listen to the directions for the game. Thery were constantly talking during class. It was very frustrating and wasteful. Today I was worried that I might have the same kind of day.

I arrived at school and a child tried to kick me in the face. It took a long time to convince him that he should apologize. The day didn’t look good. But, I entered the office and they told me the 5th graders would be swimming during English class. Half of my classes were cancelled and I could spend the day preparing for other schools and studying.

The weather is sunny, but cool and breezy. Life is good!

Third Birthday

Friday night I took a train to Hakone to meet a friend. She lives in Kanto so we must travel to meet. She brought birthday presents for me. I was happy to celebrate my birthday for the third time.

Saturday we were sightseeing but the weather was mostly rainy and misty. It was impossible to see Mount Fuji. I took some photos, but I want to buy a new camera to get better pictures in places like this.

After I returned from the trip I was very tired, but happy.

Kimono Wearing

Tonight I went to a party. My friend is a hospital director. Every year they have an anniversary party in an Edo Period home. Since the event is a little formal and it is in an old house, I wore a kimono. Two friends joined me and wore kimonos as well. They were very beautiful.

We watched a concert and I was kneeling properly the whole time. My legs hurt a lot afterward. Some friends told me their secrets for keeping their legs from falling asleep.

It was sunny and warm today, so the kimonos felt hot. We thought yukata would be more comfortable, but June is too early to wear them. Soon…

Wet Camp Fire

Today, the fifth grade class went to camp. This morning it was raining very hard. I felt sorry for the kids. The rain has stopped now, but they won’t be able to cook on the camp fire. Several teachers went to the camp to make curry for the students.

Egg Hunt

Today I taught a special class at an English tea house. Because tomorrow is Easter, we learned about traditional games played on Easter. Our favorite Easter activity is the Egg Hunt.

Easter eggs are made by hard boiling eggs and then coloring the shells. Often we make pretty designs on them. Usually we try to use pastel colors. We think that pastels are very fitting for the Easter season. It is the time when soft, beautiful flowers are starting to bloom, and grasses and plants are sprouting.

For an egg hunt, one person hides all of the eggs. I hid them in the garden of the tea house. Then all the guests search for the eggs. We had a lot of fun. I wore a pink shirt and a sky blue linen jacket.

The weather was warm and sunny, so I drove to the class with my sunroof open.

Weeping Plum Blossoms

I went to Yuuki Shrine again on Saturday. The flowers are past full bloom and are starting to wilt now, but they were almost perfect. The weather was sunny and clear. We arrived just after the tour buses left, so it wasn’t very crowded.

We walked from my house near Tsu High School. It was a long walk, but the spring weather is so nice. I felt very refreshed afterwards.

We met two young ladies who wanted to speak English. They were very good speakers. It is nice to meet new friends. Also, I met a teacher I used to work with.

Friday Fun

Friday night my friend will come from America. I am excited. It is expensive to come to Japan and the language is difficult, so my family and friends rarely come to visit. This is only the third time in four years.

She wants to do very Japanese things. She will get to watch a school graduation ceremony. I also plan to make her eat many Japanese foods.

Hopefully, the good weather will continue. It would be nice for sightseeing.

Another friend might come in the Summer.

Becoming Intermediate

Today I started studying Japanese from my new book. It is called “中級へ行こう”. All of my books before now were considered ‘Introductory’ level, so I am happy to finally study at ‘Intermediate’ level. Japanese is very difficult, but it is a very special language. I want to learn to speak it well.

Also, the weather was very sunny today. I opened the sun roof while I drove to Japanese class. Soon it will be Springtime.

Another Visitor

My friend who works for Nintendo of America will come to visit in March. She has never visited Asia before, so we plan to do many traditional things.

We will visit sites with old temples and shrines; and places with old houses. Hopefully we can find some festivals with long history. We might go to see ancient crafts as well, like paper making and calligraphy.

Hopefully we can see some plum blossoms. I think the cold weather will delay the flowers long enough. Also, I will take her to eat many kinds of interesting Japanese foods.

On March 20th we will travel to Osaka to see the sumo tournament. I enjoy watching sumo on TV, but this will be my first time to see it live. We are going with some friends who are expert fans.

I am very excited because this will only be the third time that someone has come to visit me. My friend will write a guest article on my blog and will help teach some of my classes.

Top Open

I love having a car with a sun roof. Recently the weather has been getting sunny. Although it is still cold outside, on a sunny day I can open the top. On a stressful day, it is very relaxing to feel the sunshine on my face.