So today has been rainy and FREEZING but luckily I had a really good day at Tokai and an equally successful Japanese lesson to make up for it. This morning I got to school early because I took the train instead of carpooling with my English teacher. We left for the train station at 7a.m. which means I was supposed to get up at 5:30 but of course I woke up around 6:15. I hopped in the shower, knowing that I wouldn't have time to dry my hair. That was my first huge mistake-I didn't realize how ridiculously cold it was going to be.
I got to school early and pretended to look busy while really pondering how I was going to survive the freezing teachers room all day. I forgot to grab my jacket on the way out of my apartment this morning (huge mistake #2). But luckily, I was wearing "heat tech" under my blouse. "Heat tech" is a brand of under-armor type clothing that just came out at Uniqlo (popular clothing store in Japan). I went to Uniqlo about a week ago and was blown away by the crowd of women that surrounded the heat tech section, while the other aisles in the store were pretty much empty. I patiently waited and finally managed to grab a pair of dark gray pants (size L of course) and a light gray long-sleeved shirt. Mission accomplished.
Unfortunately, my heat tech wasn't going to save me today, so I made a hot cup of tea to warm my hands. It was seriously unbearable. I was then told that tomorrow is examination day for the students, so there would be no English club activity after school and all of my classes would be cancelled except for one! Then one of the English teacher's FINALLY closed the windows and turned on the heaters. My day was starting to look up.
A few hours later, I had class with the same teacher. I was prepared for the worst because I know many of the classes at Tokai are low level, but I was completely shocked when I started to give my self-introduction. The students were attentive and quiet, they asked questions, and were totally into my worksheet. After this, we played a game [one side of the room starts by passing around an envelope filled with questions and the other side of the class starts by passing around a stuffed animal. I play music while they pass, and when I stop the music, whoever is holding the questions has to pick one and ask whoever is holding the stuffed animal] and they absolutely loved it. Some students even stayed after class to talk to me. I was so relieved.
After school, I went to the ATM in Jusco (supermarket) and then bought two small pieces of cake for my Japanese teacher because she's always so nice and gives me presents when I visit her on Tuesday's (and she teaches me for free). It was raining pretty hard at this point and I still had another 15 minutes of walking or so before reaching her house.
At 5:30, she was waiting for me in front of her house, like always. Before we started the lesson, she gave me her winter coat (a huge, fluffy coat that Japanese people wear inside in the winter because it's so cold and many people don't have central heating systems). I glady accepted the coat along with a pair of foot warmers. Then she gave me a present for my birthday-a cute Christmas decoration that her friend made and a really pretty hair piece. On top of that, she made me a really good sweet drink and a cup of hot tea. I was so satisfied. Today she taught me how to tell time and how to say "from" (time) and "until" (time). We didn't study very much though, which was kind of a nice change.
Today she showed me how to make little rice snacks. In the store they sell small blocks of mochi. She toasted two of them and then showed me how to make a sweet and salty snack out of them. She dipped the first one in soy sauce and then wrapped it in seaweed. She sprinkled a light brown (sweet) bean paste powder over the other one. They were actually pretty good and it was fun to watch her make them. At one point, I told her that I was going home for Christmas and she insisted that I make these rice snacks for mom and dad so she packed up some seaweed, powder, and two rice cakes for me to make when I get home. "Omiyage" she said-a present for mom and dad from Japan.
One of the best parts about my life in Japan is that every day is a new adventure. I never know what's going to happen next. Whenver I'm having a bad day, something good always happens that reminds me why I'm here and why I like Japan so much.
