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[Apr. 12th, 2005|07:02 pm] |
For those of you still checking this - Leanne's livejournal has moved to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) achtungbaby03
Seemed more appropriate as I'm no longer a "gaijin" and I'm not quite as "genki" as I used to be! So, enjoy the somewhat frequent updates over at achtungbaby03 |
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| No beer and no tv make Homer go crazy. |
[Oct. 14th, 2004|06:43 am] |
Go crazy!? DON'T MIND IF I DO!!!!
So, I get home from a hellish day at work last night and all I want to do is turn on Lifetime and watch my full hour of Golden Girls from 6 to 7. Actually, I'd much rather be watching the hour of Full House from 6 to 7, but ABC Family decided to run Smallville then. Damn them. But, I digress from my real point.
Anyway, the cable is off. Seriously - we wern't even getting network tv. This seriously messed up my night bigtime. I honestly had no idea what to do with myself. I wasn't going to the gym until pretty late, so I figured I'd just go to the internet and watch the debates there.
No internet.
I don't think I've been this starved for media since Japan. And at least I had internet there! I called Comcast to complain, and apparently there is some cable outage in our area. But, the not-so helpful phone person informed me that all our neighbors were getting service, so he wasn't sure what the problem was. Anyway, Friday night around 8pm a technician is going to come over. I don't think I can wait that long. And the Comcast guy acted like it was MY PROBLEM that I cant sit home and wait for the cable guy between 9am and 5pm today. Geeze. |
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[Oct. 12th, 2004|08:23 am] |
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I seriously hate Verizon Wireless. Hate is even too weak of a word for the rage I feel towards this company. When they suck you in, claiming they'll give you a cheap phone, great service and the right to return the phone within 15 days - dont believe it - THEY LIE. Seriously, they lie. I have spent over 4 hours of my precious time on the phone with this moronic company. And, I'm STILL getting billed for a phone I owned for about 4 days and returned. And they're STILL trying to charge me an early termination fee. Ugh. I can feel my blood pressure rising just THINKING about this. And the Verizon people are trained to be so psycho nice and polite, that just enrages me more. Not only are they screwing me over, they're doing it with a giant smile on their faces. And - since I only own a cell phone (SPRINT thankfully), not a land line, I don't want to call Verizon and complain until after 7 when my free minutes start. But, of course - none of the managers or correct billing people are there after 7. So, now I gotta call from work which is highly inconvenient as it's really difficult to find time for a 45 minute phone call. Ugh. I gotta calm down about this. |
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[Oct. 11th, 2004|01:10 pm] |
Columbus Day = Day off of work. I'm quite excited about that. It's kind of interesting - in the nation's capital I get worlds most un-PC holiday off. And somehow, I'm quite ok with that.
Ms. Lyon takes her last tests today - and we all know she will kick some major chemistry-ass as usual.
I think I'm going to go to Pentagon City in a bit here. I slept in and would like to continue sleeping. But, according to the commercial on tv, Express is having a huge sale. I think I should hit that up because I prob won't want to go to the mall after work this week.
Let's hope their low rise, boot cut stretch jeans are on sale. That would make me quite happy indeed. |
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[Oct. 5th, 2004|08:07 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  working | ] |
Once again - it's been forever since I've updated. I honestly don't have any new or interesting stories. I've turned into one of those boring people who is consumed by their job. Seriously though - I get up early, work all day and then I just come home and relax.
Last weekend was fun. I got to see Andrea and Grayden on Friday night in DuPont Circle. Sipped martinis and cosmos and had a great time. Andrea approves of my use of a flat iron on my hair. She should know. She is the queen of awesome hair whether it be curly or straight.
Had Vietnamese food in Clarendon with Phuc and Jen on Saturday. It was sorta like being back in Japan again. Only, it was Vietnamese and the waiters actually spoke perfectly good English. They just insisted on speakin to Phuc in Vietnamese the entire time, completely ignoring me and Jen and instead of carding me for my drink in English - just had Phuc verify verify that Jen & I wern't underage. Just like Japan - no idea what was going on. But, also just like Japan, deliciously healthy food!! Then, met up Jen's brother for Louann's 30th birthday party. I seriously can't believe that a good amount of our friends are either pushing 30 or already there or past it. Makes me less scared about being older - Lou looks about 23!
More and more to do at work. Which is great. I also haven't massively screwed up anything lately to my knowledge. And that feels awesome. Aaron, my lawyer appears to have gotten to the point that he isn't really checking what I write and create for him and just blindly signs it. It's a great feeling. (though honestly, he really shouldn't do that - hehe!)
We got a couch finally. It's so comfy. I could seriously sleep on it. But, I wont as I have my big new cushy queen sized bed to enjoy.
More news to come soon hopefully. But, be warned - it's mostly gonna be work stories I think... |
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[Sep. 27th, 2004|09:53 pm] |
My job is seriously kicking my ass. I get home from work exhausted. I eat some dinner, watch the Full House reruns on ABC family, and go to sleep. Welcome to the real world. Apparently, Japan was NOT the real world!
Props to Jennifer for dominating her PhD cadency exam today. That girl is gonna be famous someday. |
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[Sep. 24th, 2004|02:33 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  creative | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Animotion - Obsession | ] |
Romaine Head is a real person. Not a made up name! I met her at a meeting yesterday. It's real. And she didn't seem to appreciate me trying to stifle my laughter every time someone said her name. That's something I gotta work on.
The Jehovah's Witnesses were out in full force today. Handing out the Watchtower to everyone. At least it wasn't the Jews for Jesus. Then again, Jews for Jesus don't knock on your door at 8AM on the weekends wanting to chat.
It's such a small world. The other day, I was waiting for my train to go home from work, when I saw a guy who went to Allegheny. I don't know any Gators here in DC and turns out he lives with an old friend of mine from college. Such a small world. It's fun catching up with people and seeing people in the "real world" dressed in business clothes and having real jobs.
I'm getting a bed tomorrow FINALLY! Queen sized Sealy. I can't wait. I hope a whole night on it is as comfy as I think it's going to be. It's gotta beat the air mattress! That thing is putting a permanent crick in my back.
Job is going well, but a bit frustrating at the moment. I'm still learning the ropes, and sometimes I really have no idea what I'm doing. My attorney is so nice, but every time I make a mistake I feel absolutely horrible. When he points out the mistakes he's so nice about it, but I still feel like a giant loser.
More news to come! |
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[Sep. 21st, 2004|10:40 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Journey - Don't Stop Believin' | ] |
A lady from GW University called me today to schedule an appointment with her lawyer. Her name was Romaine. I thought that was fairly unusual, but let it pass. Maybe it was a family name or something. Then, she gave her last name.
Head.
Her name is Romaine Head.
As in lettuce.
I just hope to all hope that she married into that last name and her parents didn't actually name her Romaine Head. As in lettuce. |
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| Get a haircut & get a real job |
[Sep. 15th, 2004|11:01 pm] |
Yay for being among the employed in the city. Love my new job! I'm paralegaling for the head attorney @ a non-profit labor/union group. I'm also pretty much the executive assistant for him as well, as I get to keep him on task, schedule all his stuff, make sure he's presentable for court and keeps his office clean. I absolutely love bossing people around - so this job is perfect. My office connects to his, so I get to barge in there all the time and announce that it's time to put on a tie and get to court. And, I don't have to do all the boring stuff like reception work and messing with mail and stuff - I actually have people under me doing that. Plus, I get to do briefs and research for labor law stuff - so i'm having a blast. Great pay, great benefits, great colleagues and a great big office - what more could a gal ask for?? Check out the website of my company!
http://www.iupa.org/ |
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[Sep. 12th, 2004|08:25 pm] |
It was an fun weekend. Went to a few house parties and went out in Georgetown. We even did some tanning at the pool. Kindiya visited which was super fun. I'm definitely planning on going to NYC in the near future to visit her!
I swear, all the religious psychos decided to come out of the woodwork this week/weekend. On Friday during my lunch hour I was accosted by the "Jews for Jesus". As I kept running away from the people in matching "JEWS FOR JESUS" tshirts hanging out pamphlets, I'm not entirely sure what they stand for. According to Glori, they're Jewish people who believe that Jesus is in fact the massiah. Interesting. Here I was my entire life thinking that was one of the main things that separated Christians and Jews... But whatever - I totally think everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs. I mean - that's one of the main things that America is based on. Believe that Oprah is the daughter of God for all I care. But, once you start chasing me down, giving me testimonials and trying to spread the word, I get annoyed. To me, religion is a very personal and private thing.
So, after being accosted by the Jews for Jesus all over the damn DC area, I was riding the subway home. I was looking forward to a nice relaxing commute, play some tetris on my cell phone and listen to some MP3s. Not a chance. Another Christian political organization (all wearing matching Tshirts) decided to be singing hyms the entire way from Metro Center to Ballston. Loudly. Yelling "AMEN" every few seconds. And yelling about some Congressional race or something. I did my best to drown them out, but it was sort of hard, when a tshirted guy is sitting next to me singing at the top of his lungs. I swear there has to be a rule or something against doing that on the DC Metro system.
In Chinatown on Friday I was accosted several times by people who wanted to show me interesting religious papers and have me sign things.
And, John Kerrys supporters always accost me on the way to the subway asking for money - and don't seem to believe me when I say I've already donated quite a bit to the campaign.
People just need to quit accosting me. That includes the Mexicans waiting for the bus that yell dirty things and me and Jen in Spanish. Actually, they're fairly hilarious, because Jen translates what they say. But still - they need to stay away from me - especially when Jen isn't around!
I'm pretty sleepy now after my big weekend. More news to come soon. |
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[Sep. 7th, 2004|05:58 pm] |
I seriously hate Comcast. Our tv cable is doin great. I'm really enjoying our 700+ channels as well as "comcast on demand" where you can start movies at the beginning for free whenever you want. It's awesome.
Our wireless internet through comcast is an entirely different story. On the day it was installed, it quit working about 10 minutes after the Cable Guy left. He came back the next day and it worked again. 10 minutes after he left, it stopped. Another Comcast person came by today. I was super sure it would all be fixed, especially after the helpful person on the phone informed me they knew just what my problem was. The guy was in our house about 2 minutes when he informed me that he wasn't the correct cable guy. "I'm the router guy, not the networking guy" or vice versa or some other crap like that. I could have screamed. So now, ANOTHER person is coming out tomorrow.
Ugh. We're paying for internet that doesn't even work. Seriously people, how hard can it be!?!?!? Guess I'm going to have to call comcast AGAIN tonight and inform them we're not paying for internet that doesn't work. Doesn't seem like i'm asking a lot does it???
In other happier news, there is a bunny and 2 squirrels that live in my backyard. They are unbelievably tame and friendly. For some reason, no one seems particularly excited about this except for me. You can actually feed the squirrels. No one seems to care but me. Alas. They're cute, furry and friendly. How cool is that? And from what I can tell, completely rabies free. Ahh - I love this house. Aside from the crappy wireless of course. |
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[Sep. 4th, 2004|04:44 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Ani DiFranco - Napoleon | ] |
Today is a great day. There is a 90210 marathon on FX. You have no idea how great this is for me. Unfortunately, they're the 90210s from the later years. No Dylan, Andrea, Brenda.... and Gina is on the show and I'm not a big fan of her. Still, it's great to be back in the Peach Pit. Yay for Comcast cable and our 600+ channels.
The weather is beautiful, I no longer have to steal wireless internet from the neighbors. The Comcast wireless is working well. We're a less than 5 minute walk from the Metro and about 1 minute away from the mall and movie theaters. Only annoying thing about Ballston is right outside the metro stop is the bus stop. The bus doesn't come that often - and people just hang out there. They tend to be predominantly Spanish speaking and every freaking morning, they catcall at me in a mixture of Spanish and English. It's sort of the whole Joey from Friends "How YOU doin" thing. Only creepier. I have a feeling that is gonna get real old real fast.
But, I discovered that the Harris Teeter grocery store (by the way - what the hell kind of name is that!?) is located within walking distance of my house. As is basically any other store that you want.
Plus, Chris jump started my car this morning, so I can drive to all those places if I want. Hooray! |
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[Aug. 29th, 2004|12:59 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  giddy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Ryan Cabrera - On the Way Down | ] |
My new crush is Ryan Cabrera. He has amazing hair that you just want to run your fingers through. He's not your typical hottie... but he's def got great hair and charisma. I only heard about his existence a few days after I got back to the States. Then, I caught his appearance on TRL at Devs. There is just something about him. I'm already smitten. His song "On the Way Down" is super catchy too.
He's 21. That's only a 3 year age difference between us. Granted, I'm not quite as cool as Ashlee Simpson, but that's a small hurdle I think I can deal with. I know I'm way cooler than those 13 year old girls that scream for him on MTV. One thing I'm not sure if I can deal with is his use of the words "delicious" and "scrumptulescent" on his weblog. Once Mr. Cabrera is mine, I'll help him work on his vocab a bit.
Click here to check out my new crush. |
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[Aug. 27th, 2004|03:05 pm] |
I definitely think I made the right choice in moving out of Pennsylvania. Reading a study by Forbes.com definitely convinced me that I made the right choice. Forbes did a study on 40 major cities in the USA for young single people and ranked them overall on: nightlife, culture, job growth, number of other singles, cost of living alone, coolness and public opinion.
#2 is the DC/Baltimore area.
Finishing LAST on the survey @ #40 was... u guessed it... PITTSBURGH. Next to last was Cincinnati. Buffalo didn't even make the list. Cleveland was in the lowest 10. Philly was only 15 out of 40.
Uh huh - definitely glad i moved out of this area of the States:-)
http://biz.yahoo.com/fo/singles04.html |
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[Aug. 22nd, 2004|09:43 pm] |
It's official: I love Washington, DC. It's just one of those cities where you can lose yourself. It's so diverse, there is so much to do and most of the people there are absolutely amazing. You can sit on the subway and hear several different languages spoken. The subways are clean and convenient. Any kind of restaurant is available to eat at 24/7. I have so many friends here in DC who I haven't seen in forever. Jen's brother and girlfriend are great, going out with Shek was fun and I got to catch up with Carmello. Hetal is gonna be here next week and Andrea is back at Georgetown. If we can only convince Emily and Velika to move here, the whole group will be back!!!!
Jennifer and I signed a lease for a super cozy townhouse in Arlington, VA. We're so lucky - we're right by the Ballston metro stop, which means it takes us just minutes to get into DC for work or fun. I just love it - I'll post pictures ASAP.
I went out in Adams Morgan with Andrea and crew the other night. I forgot how much fun that could be. We somehow even got talked into doing some karaoke, bringing the house down with an excellent rendition of Salt n Peppa's SHOOP. All my karaoke practice in Japan definitely was put to good use. I think I'm definitely going to have a fun time here.
Now, on a sadder note - I don't seem to be updating as much as I used to. I just don't seem to have the time or will or something to do it. If you want to know what's going on in my life, just shoot me an email or an IM. I may continue to keep this up, I might not. Only time will tell. So, for the moment - the best way to keep up with my life is to just ask :-) |
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[Aug. 10th, 2004|07:46 pm] |
Wow - it's been a while...
As you've probably already guessed - I'm back from Japan. It's quite odd being back yet also strangely comforting. I'm quite frightened by all the trashy people I keep encountering in public places. I'm quite frightened by the trashy American talk shows as well as all the overweight people. Now, hear me out... Being overweight doesnt make you a bad person. But, compared to people living in other countries - Americans are just a fat nation. The Japanese always mentioned to me how fat Americans were. I never really took them seriously, but after living away for a year - holy crap! Everyone, even little kids are fat. It's quite sad - these people must be so unhealthy! Now, I'm not the skinniest person in the world, and I'm lucky I can eat lots of bad food without gaining too much weight. My BMI number is really normal. But, if it got too high and i gained too much - I'd do something like EXERCIsE more or STOP EATING AT FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS. Now, granted, Japanese people tend to be shorter than Americans... but there is very very few overweight Japanese people. I had maybe 4 overweight students out of over 2,000. And, it isnt some big genetic mystery. Japanese eat out only once a week or so, and when they do - they don't sit and eat a whole pizza by themselves or massive doses of fast food. They eat normal portions of food. It's a part of life to walk or ride your bike a few times a week instead of driving. So many of my Japanese colleagues used to comment about how when they first heard about me, they assumed I'd be really overweight (as well as loud and opinionated and bitchy - but that's a story for another time!) And - just to be clear - nothing wrong with being overweight. It's just unhealthy and appears to be quite a problem in America and that can't be good.
Yet, I love being back. I love being able to shoot the breeze with store clerks, I love being able to run to Taco Bell and get a chicken soft taco. I love going to Express and finding jeans long enough! I love turning on the TV and getting lost in ridiculous tv shows. I love DRIVING!
Tomorrow, i'm off to our Nations Capitol for a few more interviews. I already know which job I'm taking, but I wanna cover my bases just in case something happens. Or, in case a law firm wants to offer me lots and lots of money ;-)
I can't wait to see Devon. That's another great thing about being back in the States. I can see my friends. I get to see Jen too in DC! I'm super excited. More details will come soon about my big move. |
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| 21 questions |
[Jul. 29th, 2004|01:33 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Dixie Chicks - Ready to Run | ] |
I'm sitting here online, avoiding cleaning out my microwave and fridge. They're not filthy or moldy or anything - but just lots of crumbs and general unpleasantness I don't really feel like dealing with. So, in an effort to avoid my responsibilities, I was wondering...
When I get back to the States, should I...
A. Continue Posting under the Gneki_gaijin name
B. Go back to posting under http://www.livejournal.com/users/achtungbaby03/
C. Give up posting because I shall have no time, blogging is passe, etc...
Let me know what you think. Shoot me a comment or an IM. I enjoy blogging, but sometimes I fall far behind and you can't exactly post certain things since you know certain people just might be reading it.... But, if you start your day with a coffee, cigarette and a hit of Leanne's blog - lemme kno! I don't want to disappoint.
Note: Seems dumb to post under the Genki_gaijin name because I'm not particularly genki outside of Japan, and I certainly won't be a gaijin in the United States... something to think about... |
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[Jul. 29th, 2004|02:01 am] |
I seriously can't believe it's Wednesday night. That means tomorrow is THURSDAY and that means that on SUNDAY I leave japan! i really have mixed feelings about that. I'm so excited to go home and start the new chapter of my life in Washington, DC. It's gonna be St. Elmo's fire starring Devon, Jen, Andrea and Leanne... minus the cocaine and crimped hair. Then again, I'm really sad to leave Japan. I'm leaving so many friends and people that I'll never see again. Brian won't be next door anymore for advice, gossip and general fabulousness. I won't be gawked at and treated like a celebrity ever again. I'm quite happy about that, but adjusting to quiet anonymity in DC will definitely be a change. So many emotions!
Tonight, I had dinner with Jen and some of her adult English conversation students. Had a very interesting debate with one of the male 40 something students who swore up and down that Japanese men get bored with their wives as time goes by and need to cheat. He picked up a chicken skewer and said something about how when you have chicken for 20 years, sometimes you just want a french fry. And that's ok. And, he claims it's all ok because they go home to their wives and family. I asked if Japanese wives are allowed to cheat on their husbands then, and he acted like I was insane. Of course they cant! Bizare! Fun debate though - really showed some cultural differences. He thinks women are selfish when they divorce their husbands who cheat. silly man.
Did some practice karaoke with Jen tonight so we're ready for our big karaoke night tomorrow. We discovered that we sing the Dixie Chicks really well. Definitely will be singing some country tomorrow night!
Time for bed! So sleepy!
And, in really big and exciting news - I have a interview for a kick ass job at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, DC! Woohoo! Who knows, after this gig, maybe President Kerry will appoint me as an ambassador to some cushy island with no political turmoil and fabulous beaches. That would be the life! :-) |
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[Jul. 26th, 2004|04:07 pm] |
My new hard drive arrived from Compaq and so far everything seems to be working well. Yay! So, let's hope the computer problems are all solved!
It's been quite a while since I've had a good long post. I honestly can't think of anything that interesting that has been going on.
Summer vacation has started, so I'm done teaching. It's quite weird not having to go teach every day. I've mostly been packing and sleeping.
Jen and I went clubbing on Friday in Shibuya. Had a good time. We also went to see the fish market in Tsukiji - the biggest fish market in the world. That was quite an amazing experience. It was sort of like going back in time (cue Back to the Future theme music). The Tsukiji fish market is in Tokyo in these wharehouses. Every morning ships from all over the world arrive with fresh fish. Then, at the market it is killed, cleaned, gutted or auctioned. Next to the warehouses is sushi restaurants, where Tokyo citizens wait in line at about 5am to get the freshest sushi available. Now, I can't stomach sushi any time of day, but I seriously can't imagine having sushi for breakfast.
The tuna auction was the most amazing. Hundreds of tuna are laid out on the floor in one of the warehouses. These tuna are as big as people. Fishermen and fish buyers run around the place inspecting each tuna. They have this sort of mideival looking sword thing that they hack into the tuna's mouth with to inspect. The tuna's tail fin is chopped off, and everyone inspects it. They grab pieces of the meat between their fingers and smoosh it around apparently smelling and inspecting it. Then, suddenly at about 4:30am, auctioneers arrive and start yelling and within about 5 minutes, all the tuna is bought. People take it away on rickshaw things, bikes, or these very odd motorcycle things. Then, you walk through the fish stalls. Here, workers reach into huge tanks of squid, eel and fish and grab a fish. Whack off it's head and start gutting it. Blech. The floor of all these places is covered in blood and entrails. Gross,but still sort of amazing to see this all in action. Jen and I definitely wished we would have worn boots instead of flip flops!
Here's some info on the fish market http://www.photo.net/japan/tsukiji-fish-market
Tomorrow is Brian's birthday, and tomorrow Jen is staying with me until we fly home on Sunday! woohoo! |
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| This is the end... |
[Jul. 17th, 2004|08:54 am] |
Here's some good news. My mom said the FedEx man delivered my hard drive yesterday. So, my parents are going to forward it to me so at least I can have internet access for my last week or so here.
Today is the last day of school for me. Summer vacation (all one month of it) starts tomorrow for the kids. So, today (saturday of all days) is the closing ceremony at school. Here, the kids get yelled at in the gym for a few hours on how they have to behave all summer and can't embarass the school or themselves. It's sort of funny - the Japanese teachers seem to think the kids are just going to go to hell in one month. Even more amusing, is it's not really VACATION. The kids still have to show up at school almost every day for their forced club activities. So, if a kid was by chance starting to dye their hair, pierce their ears or deface their uniform - the teacher would notice the day of or the day after.
I've been told to stay in the staffroom today alone until 10am. 10am is apparently when my goodbye assembly starts. No idea why i had to show up at 8AM then, but oh well. I have mixed feelings about this being the end. The 8th grade students made me a big book today filled with letters and pictures of themselves. One girl drew me on the cover of the book as a giant anime character. It's really cute. I'm really going to miss my adorable kids every day and watching them smile when they finally understand something. I won't miss the constant comments about my breasts or the general lack of communication that goes on in Japan. Still, I know I'm really gonna miss it.
Hopefully within one week I'll have my hard drive! Then, maybe I can apply for more jobs! Really gotta get movin on that one! |
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