Magic Carpet 24/7
Not much happened Monday other than I stayed in Uchinoura and finished watching Season 1 of 24. Let me tell you that 24 is a great show. But since I cannot go into detail about it since people who are reading this blog have not yet seen all the episodes, there is not much to say.
Yesterday, I taught in Uchinoura JH like I usually do every Tuesday. I only had the 1st graders to worry about (which are quite the handful) and then some free time till lunch. So, I crafted my party poster to invite the school to my house on Saturday. I was asked to also think of games since the children will have to be entertained. Fortunately, I found this great Web site that gave me some great Christmas party games that can be adapted to non-native English speakers. I am also thinking of having several funny presents and Christmas cards for everyone.
In the afternoon, all the Uchinoura schools gathered in Ginga Arena (where my office is) to perform what they had prepared in their music classes. I was really amazed by their talent and at how entertained I truly was. It was not boring at all until the professionals came in at the end and bored everyone to sleep with some amateur Japanese operettas of some sort. I was especially proud of the Kishira JH students that performed this percussion ensemble with taiko (Japanese) drums of different size and bamboo sticks/instruments. I think they really wowed the audience and were a hard act to follow. I also thought that the graduating class at Uchinoura JH performed very well. They sang a song titled ‘Tomorrow never knows’ that has that said in English (when the whole song is in Japanese) only one time. Their only flaw was this one boy in the middle of the choir that was singing much louder than everyone else and was simply horrible. I think that without him, it would have sounded near perfect. I feel really bad, because he is a really nice kid. However, the truth is the truth.
Later in the evening, Cristina and I visited Kaz for some wine and conversation. She had just returned from a week-long trip in England for a funeral. Cristina fed her fish while she was away and she brought her back some great Cadbury chocolates. As a side note, the Brits think Americans sound stupid (pretty much all the time, but especially) when we say ‘Cadbury’. Apparently, Cadbury is pronounced cabree.
As a side note, the nights are getting chillier and Cristina and I find ourselves sleeping, resting, eating, talking, watching movies, making crafts, writing and reading on the hot carpet. This is THE miracle heating device in Japan. When we were in Kaz’s, we found ourselves struggling to get off it even for a minute to use the bathroom.
Anyway, I hope that December is finding all of you well and I certainly hope to hear from you all (even if only by email) in light of the upcoming holiday season.
Yesterday, I taught in Uchinoura JH like I usually do every Tuesday. I only had the 1st graders to worry about (which are quite the handful) and then some free time till lunch. So, I crafted my party poster to invite the school to my house on Saturday. I was asked to also think of games since the children will have to be entertained. Fortunately, I found this great Web site that gave me some great Christmas party games that can be adapted to non-native English speakers. I am also thinking of having several funny presents and Christmas cards for everyone.
In the afternoon, all the Uchinoura schools gathered in Ginga Arena (where my office is) to perform what they had prepared in their music classes. I was really amazed by their talent and at how entertained I truly was. It was not boring at all until the professionals came in at the end and bored everyone to sleep with some amateur Japanese operettas of some sort. I was especially proud of the Kishira JH students that performed this percussion ensemble with taiko (Japanese) drums of different size and bamboo sticks/instruments. I think they really wowed the audience and were a hard act to follow. I also thought that the graduating class at Uchinoura JH performed very well. They sang a song titled ‘Tomorrow never knows’ that has that said in English (when the whole song is in Japanese) only one time. Their only flaw was this one boy in the middle of the choir that was singing much louder than everyone else and was simply horrible. I think that without him, it would have sounded near perfect. I feel really bad, because he is a really nice kid. However, the truth is the truth.
Later in the evening, Cristina and I visited Kaz for some wine and conversation. She had just returned from a week-long trip in England for a funeral. Cristina fed her fish while she was away and she brought her back some great Cadbury chocolates. As a side note, the Brits think Americans sound stupid (pretty much all the time, but especially) when we say ‘Cadbury’. Apparently, Cadbury is pronounced cabree.
As a side note, the nights are getting chillier and Cristina and I find ourselves sleeping, resting, eating, talking, watching movies, making crafts, writing and reading on the hot carpet. This is THE miracle heating device in Japan. When we were in Kaz’s, we found ourselves struggling to get off it even for a minute to use the bathroom.
Anyway, I hope that December is finding all of you well and I certainly hope to hear from you all (even if only by email) in light of the upcoming holiday season.
posted by Jesse Montano at
10:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home