Teaching in my Socks...

Hello Again!

This Post came a little later than I was hoping.  I had an incredibly eventful day yesterday.

I began my day with another early rise.  5:30 A.M.and I could not fall back to sleep.  I tired my best to sleep until 7:00, but I can't lay down and waist 2 hours!  There are adventures to have! So I decided to start my day.

OK...  To do list... 

1- Laundry

2- Go buy some things for cooking

3 - go buy food

4 - Get ready to work

I began... 

I gathered all my cloths, which had just been collecting in a massive plastic bag, for I have yet to buy the proper clothes retaining receptacle... i.e. Hamper.  So I took my bag, and ventured to the laundry nook.  (I have started to refer to all of my smaller rooms as nooks now).  

OK!  

Step 1... put in the detergent... 

Step 2 put my clothes in there

Step 3 choose the.... setting.....  hmmmm......

Here we go again...

After a quick call to my girlfriend and a quick leaf through a dictionary I believed I was ready! Just to be safe from total disaster, I washed things that would be alright if they were destroyed.

I hit the button... Nothing happened... 

I hit it again... I realized it was unplugged and the 3rd push proved successful.

This baby was silent!  I thought it was not working at first but when I walked back in, I saw it was running.

FANTASTIC!

Ok... Now while that is running, lets tackle some other things on my agenda.

I decided to go out without a map.  I knew where I was, I knew what I was doing, I knew what I wanted to buy..  I don't need no stinking map.

I was planning on going to the 7/11 again, but on the way, I saw a gas station that looked really interesting.  I was planning on buying some instant food for lunch again so I went to look to see what there was to select from.  To my amazement, there was actual sushi boxes available at the GAS STATION!!!  

Dare I but this gas station sushi??? I was thinking about how long I would have to control the inevitable, uncontrollable, explosive diarrhea...   "I've got 6 hours", I thought.  "Let's give this a try!"

After that I walked across the street from my 24 hour gas station to my favorite pharmacy.  There I bought some food and some things for the noodles I bought.  I refuse to eat plain noodles if it can be avoided. So I bought my things and returned home. 

"That was easy!"

I felt like a champion among men.  I, Dan, have ventured out to buy some necessities, without a map, and I even discovered a new place to buy lunch if I am not in the mood to cook that is only 4 minutes away from my house!  As I walked everything appeared to be more beautiful than usual.  There is something about success that makes me see things more vividly.  Here was one of the places that I saw on my 4 minute walk home.

(I could hear chickens clucking somewhere close by)

I returned home and packed my groceries away.  Now my laundry was done already also! I took that upstairs and began to hang it out to dry. I tell you there is something humbling about hanging the biggest underwear in the neighborhood outside so everyone can see it...  But that is how everyone else was doing it, so who am I to question how things work here.  Also, the excuse that the dryer eats your socks is complete garbage.  I don't even have a drier, and I don't know how I managed to do this, but I already lost a sock!  I did however find a sock that didn't match any other ones I brought whit me.... HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??  I personally checked every sock for holes and matching pairs before I left.  This sorcery is beyond me, but I expect to find a sock somewhere in my near future.  The question is where...

After I hung all my clothes and sat down I got a call from my girlfriend.  

Me: "Hello!!!"

Lisa: "How are you?"

Me: "I'm having a fantastic day! (Details about my successes and etc...)"

Lisa: "Oh... I have one more thing to tell you about the laundry machine"

Me: "Go on..."

Lisa: "You have to clean the lint trap."

Me: "well of course I do, where is it?"

Lisa: "It is in a small compartment on the sides of the machine"

Me: "OK! Well I'll go find it and clean them out before my next load"

I happily walked back to the laundry nook and opened the side compartments.

OH DEAR GOD!!!

The person that lived here before me must have not known about this little chamber of The Sorcerer (I have now dubbed my laundry machine "The Sorcerer" because every time I deal with it, horrible or explainable things happen.  Please note this for the future)

In this hidden compartment of The Sorcerer, lied the most horrible substance I have ever seen.  Imagine years worth of wet pocket lint molded to the side of the netting in a washing machine. It was so vile and I didn't yet posses gloves, so I had to dive in with my bare hands and pull the wet gooey mass out of the netting.  Every time I got deeper into it, it got wetter, and started to become some sort of a putty.  Eyes watering and gagging I cleaned the vile mess out of the machine.

Just as I was pulling out the last handful (that's right, handfuls of this nasty stuff) I got a phone call again.  

WHO IN GODS NAME IS CALLING ME RIG.... (it was my boss)

(Hands still covered and stinking of Sorcerer putty, I grabbed my phone and began to talk)

Me: "Hello!"

Boss: "Can you come to the school right now?  I want to take you to lunch with my family"

Me: (mortified from the question and gagging from the smell of my hands that I had to hold right by my face I tried to give the happiest sounding response I could muster at the moment) "Of course! I'll be right over!"

After scrubbing the skin off of my hands, I left for the school.

My day started out good but had one road bump so far.

I got to the school, and I was escorted to a very close restaurant called "sakura".  I sat down and we ordered "lunch".  That's all my boss said.  "Lunch please" and a moment later, I was drinking hot tea, and served a plate of delicious food, and even given and Ice coffee after the meal.  During my dining experience, the woman that was running the restaurant started talking to me.  She was not expecting me to know Japanese and when I was able to talk with her she was amazed.  She asked me to teach her English in my free time, so I am trying to set up a meeting on the side of my work.  She also said that we can speak Japanese together also.  It looks like Dan just made his first friend in Japan!!! 

I was at one moment having the best time ever, sitting and eating really good food and talking to my new friend (who made a special dessert for me as well to say welcome to Japan), but I was at the same time horrified because I was sitting with my boss.

Lunch ended and I walked back to the school with my boss and he told me that there was a new gift he had for me.

That's right... He bought me a bike

Now I am mobile!  I can get around to farther places. I think the most hilarious thing that anyone has ever seen is watching me try to ride a bike in Japan.  The road rules are completely different and the entire time I was riding, I am constantly thinking... where is gods name on this road should I be right now?!  I think I will stick to walking everywhere until I get more comfortable with my bike riding.

Ok now back to my "to do" list.

I was planning to go buy food, but the lunch took up too much time... Time to get ready for work.  

I got all my things on and I left my house.

My new teaching outfit!

I walked to school and when I got there I had a new revelation.... I can't wear my shoes inside... I spend so much money on these new nice shoes and all I can do is walk to work in them.  So I took them off and stepped inside.

This is my classroom

I walked into this room and put my bag down.  I needed to get ready for my students.

I got the chalk set, and the chairs arraigned, and everything I might need.

LETS DO THIS!!!

Then my student arrived..  That's right... student... Singular...

My first class was with one elderly lady.  She was in her 70's and I had no idea what I was doing.  After an hour of me trying to figure out her basic English level, she left.

Now I was told I have a full class of students coming.  Now I was getting ready.  And sure enough,they flooded in.  I was expecting to have a teaching partner because that is how it usually is in Japan... but nope!

It was me and about 10 kids that didn't speak English at all... 

It was later in this class that I realized I was not wearing shoes...  I was honestly in a suit and Jacket in front of a class of students and in black Walmart socks... It was awesome!  If I didn't think Japan was awesome before, I sure did now.  Nothing like relaxing and working at the same time.  I love it here. 

Later this week I will compile a post of my most memorable moments form this first week.

Please keep checking for the posts.

After my class, I was given a break and then taught more.  On my first day I taught, adults, elementary, Junior high, high school, and middle school students.  All of them were amazing.

The teachers told me to not speak Japanese so I didn't.  I again got a list of new things that I heard in class that made me want to laugh.  I will also put them on another post later this week.  I am compiling the list of funny things the kids didn't know I understood.

With my first day done, I returned home.

I believe this was successful.  I got a lot done, but my house is a mess.  Because I had the lunch when I was not expecting to, I had so much extra to do today.

I must be going now.  I will post again tonight after my class today again.