Dartboard

And no tricks to boot. Vicky just informed me there’s a so-called “truce” after noon and I can’t play tricks on anyone without them coming true! Bull hicky! Oregonians don’t play that way!!

I’ve never been good at tricking people, so I have no plans in the works anyway, but I say this is April Fool’s DAY, not April Fools Morning!!

Unless Vicky is playing a trick on ME!! Do you think she’s just saying that so she can play a trick on me later without me expecting it… ?!? She’s cunning like that!!!

I’m not going to write again until Monday or Tuesday because this is Yuki’s last weekend on the island and I’m going to spend the next two nights as his house, with his family, helping with the last of his packing and moving. Then our final goodbye is Monday morning.

Lots of tears this week.

I have a huuuuge issue with my tongue. The bottom right side has swelled up and I can hardly talk. I ate almost nothing yesterday because it hurts so much. Even drinking water hurts because I have to move my tongue to swallow and it rubs against my teeth.

I did drink a ton of water yesterday, though, because I don’t know what else to do. I washed my mouth with hydrogen peroxide last night and this morning. It’s very dangerous, I know, but the swollen area bubbled so much and actually it decreased in size a lot. I won’t do it again because it’s so bad for the teeth.

I have no idea what caused this… stress from traveling? lack of sleep? change in diet in Korea? I hope it goes away soon ‘cause I’ll need to talk and be polite with the new teachers when they arrive.

Does anyone know if warm, salt-water rinses actually HELP canker sores (I assume that’s what this is) or if they are just soothing? Any other good medicine or advice?

Pleath help!

The cherry blossoms are blooming already. The hillsides are full of white and pink clusters of cherry trees. It made me go back and read what I wrote about spring last year.

This convenient link is my way of helping you to read that old post I wrote just one year ago!

I forgot to mention one other thing about teacher transfers. I’m going to be the last full-time ALT at Nakagoto High School. After August, Carrie, the Kamigoto ALT, will be coming to my school twice a week to teach classes.

It’s good news and bad news.

It’s good because
…we don’t need a full-time ALT at Nakako, so they are saving money and some poor soul’s valuable time.
…I’ll probably get to teach two days of elementary school each week until I leave—and I really love that!
…I don’t have to work terribly hard to update a successor on what it’s like to move to Japan—but I was kind of looking forward to that, anyway.

The bad points are many too.

Carrie enjoys her school and I don’t think she’s really looking forward to coming down here to teach—although I’m sure she’ll love it as soon as she gets to know the students and JTEs.

When I leave, the elementary school will be completely without an ALT again! Unless the local Board of Education is planning to fix that, those kids will be at a serious disadvantage!

I’m going to have to work extra hard to clean up/out my apartment. I can’t just leave all my kitchen-ware, furniture and numerous apartment items like books, towels, half used bottles of shampoo, whatever, along for the next person. It’s gotta be completely cleared out.

That’s inconvenient.

But seeing as how I can only teach twice a week (the schedule can't change between now and when Carrie takes over so it's got to be set up for a twice-a-week teacher), I'll probably have about six classes next year.

And I thought I had a lot of free time last year with nine classes...

Out to enjoy the blossoms,
Sie

I finally heard word on the status of teacher transfers! –And I’m back from Korea, but I'll write again once I download pictures.— Every April teachers in Japan who have put in their six years at their respective schools are transferred to a new city and a new school. Who is transferring and when they go is all a secret up until 運命の日　(Unmei no Hi—Day of Fate) when they are announced by the school principal and even published in the local newspapers! Some teachers can’t transfer after six years because they like their school and request to stay on longer or are asked to stay by the school board, but the maximum number of years at any school is around eight years. This is to keep the atmosphere fresh and prevent corruption due to long term associations. And it’s rare, but some teachers are even granted early leave because of illness or family problems so who is transferring really does come as a surprise to most of us. Additionally, the teachers only get two weeks during spring break to pack up and move to their new location and have to be settled in by the time school begins in April. It’s a fast turn-around and a huge stress for most teachers, but this year I’ve been looking forward to the announcement because I presumed I’d be losing—or gaining, depending on how you look at it—two English teachers this year.

And today I found out for sure that both full time English teachers are leaving! That’s both sad and exciting. It’s sad because Hatakeyama-sensei, my favorite person and mentor at Nakako, will be going to Nagasaki Minami High School on Thursday and VERY EXCITING because Sasaki-sensei, my least favorite person and arch enemy at Nakako, will also be moving along!! Who cares where—just so long as it’s not here!! As Carrie would write, **does a little dance** Hee, hee!!!! I just met Hatake at the grocery store this afternoon and picked his brain for all the details on the new arrivals. Here’s the scoop…

Two new English teachers, one male and one female, both unmarried. The man is 36 and he went to the same university as Hatakeyama-sensei. They passed the teacher’s test in the same year—the year that only two new positions opened up in Nagasaki—so like Hatake, he has a reputation for being very good at English. He is assumed to be my supervisor, but I’ll find out for sure this week. The woman is 28 years old and currently supervises the ALT at Goto High School on Fukue (another Goto island). Apparently she is cute—and will live in the apartment above me!!!!!! I’m so excited that both of them are single because I can SURELY make friends with at least ONE of them!!! I have a really good feeling about this!!!

There are four others leaving, including Koichiro, the math teacher upstairs, the office manager downstairs and the school nurse. I’m kinda glad Koichiro will be out of here, but I’ll miss the nurse and Hirano-san the office manager. His wife is so great to me—teaching me how to cook and knit and cut fish whenever I asked. The nurse is also really sweet and we’ve had fun conversations in the health room when it’s slow. I don’t know any information on the replacement teachers or nurse, but I hope some of them are young and friendly. It’s really sucked working alongside Sasaki-sensei the past year and I’m ready to start afresh with new faces.

I think I’ll be meeting them tomorrow so I’ll report immediately how things go!