Went to a party tonight to meet the local bike club. They had hired some local girls to stand in as girls for two hours. Not strippers but the modern equivalent of geisha. Hard to explain but these girls (one of which was very uncomfortable) were getting paid 300 bucks minus finders fee to be conversation pieces. I made conversation and felt like a tool.

There better damn well be some discussion on this subject in the next 48 hours.

Today I taught 1st graders the days of the week. Then I showed 5th graders how to respond to the question, “How are you?” I signed autographs for 3rd graders. Later I played PR man when a bunch of grandparents showed up to see a 6th grade class. I didn’t get lynched so I guess things went OK. Finished the school day off playing alongside the elementary school band on a borrowed cornet. They’re quite good by the way.

Then I donned my gear and rode to the neighboring town of Miyazaki to pay a bill. Did you know if you remove the E from “neighboring town” you get a nigh-boring town? Anyway, I took a different road to Naruko through the mountains. While coming out of a turn I saw a dozen or so furry brown animals in the road. At first I thought they were dogs, but as I slowed down to avoid a collision, I realized they were MONKEYS with red faces! They loped off into the forest and I continued on into town. At the convenience store I waved at two kids and fielded questions about my bike from two old men who had one tooth between the two of them.

On the way back I got a bit aggressive on the turns. Aggravated by the van I couldn’t pass on the way up and emboldened by my protective gear, I took the turns sharper and faster than I had on the way up. As a result, I actually touched down the left footpeg on one particular hairpin. Yes, the bike was still stable, and pulled upright on the way out. Yes, I thought I was gonna dump the bike. Yes, it scared the crap out of me. And yes, I’ll probably do it again.

So that’s what I did today. What about you?

Upgraded Wordpress again, so if you have any problems posting comments, please let me know by email.

Wow I’m pooped and it’s barely lunchtime. First was 2nd grade open season on yours truly. Immediately after was 1st grade- let me tell you that there are few things more exhausting than a couple rounds of “Head, shoulders, knees and toes”. Follow that with 6th graders running around a gym and a class with the 4th graders, which were the best of the lot.

I just ate lunch so I have a 15 minute break! Then comes 3rd graders and I’ll be shot.

Oh did I mention I got to do my T-rex impression? Hehe, these kids are fun.

I had my first classes this week. A few things I’ve learned:

Never trust your schedule, because they could change it or cancel classes anytime. I was informed on Tuesday that one of the classes they had assigned me to teach didn’t exist. Hm.

Last class of the day is impossible to teach, because everyone is either asleep or itching to get out of school. See eraser tricks, below.

Always have a game or something prepared for if (when) the second grade teacher has nothing planned (like today). Games are great. Posters are okay, but interactive stuff is better.

Finally, when you have a student that simply won’t pay attention and is turned around in his seat talking to the friend behind him, it’s a LOT of fun to grab the eraser off his desk as you’re walking around the room. Ask questions to other students; if they answer them correctly, have them try to guess which hand the stolen goods are in. Every once in awhile go back around and give the mischief maker a chance to get his item back. The longer you can keep it going the better: today, my students guessed incorrectly 6 times in a row! And for the kids that still don’t get it, grab their pencil case off the desk and start rummaging through it in class. “Ahh, you don’t need this. Hmm, this looks interesting, I think I’ll put it in my shirt pocket.” Et cetera. It never gets old!