No, It's Just Another Monday Morning

Misty Water-Colored Memories
It really feels like this weekend was a dream or something. A little surreal that we went to Narita to pick up Naomi yesterday morning, and that I was making gyoza with Jessica and the Chiba gang only a day ago. It was a busy weekend, yes, but I needed a break and it felt good to get out of town. Things have just been intense for the last few weeks, and spacing a gap in the routine gave me the breathing room I needed. I cried when I said my goodbyes at the bus yesterday, though... it’s getting harder to say goodbye to old friends because I know I only get to see them about once a year these days.
Monday
Today has been relatively slow, but I still feel like I have been bustling about. I had to clean up and put away all the Bunkasai stuff in my classroom this morning, but it looks better now that we have new curtains. The rainy season officially started last Thursday and it’s presence is really apparent today. I guess we were just lucky with the warm, sunny weather all weekend.
My kids were really sluggish this morning (gloomy weather, Monday morning, before lunch... no surprises there). I actually taught my first-years the words “jumping jacks” and made them stand up and stretch (considering I was the only one jumping).
A Chat with the Junior Boys
After lunch, I had my first “post-lunch discussion” with three junior boys. The boys were shy at first, but quickly opened up and were really candid. I feel really comfortable talking to with the students, so it’s good that they feel comfortable talking with me (especially if it means they will try harder in English to accomplish that). I told them about my weekend and we talked about bunkasai a bit. I was asking a lot of questions, so I opened the floor for them to ask me anything, and of course, the first thing that came up was the boyfriend question...again. I told them I didn’t have a man in Japan. That seemed satisfactory. They asked about my opinion of other teachers, but I was pretty PC, obviously. I really don’t dislike anyone at school, so it was honest. In hindsight, I would say the first lunch was a success. I think I’m meeting with three girls tomorrow, so it should be fun.
Running in the Rain
I could really use a run after school (before J-class), but it’s raining outside. If I have a full month of this to come, I am tempted to run anyways (and just get wet), but we’ll see what happens when it comes down to it. Nothing else to report for now.