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Today was my first full day at Wakamatsu Junior High School. How should I sum it up…? It was very different from the high school; it was non-stop exhausting, extremely hot and humid, disgustingly stinky and very repetitive. I’m really sick of my self introduction now. I’ve answered the same 20 questions for some 200 students in 9 different classes over the last two weeks—and I still have at least three more to go. I taught all four classes right in a row and I’m afraid to say I was not my spry self by the end of it all. Then I also had to eat lunch with the kids, which normally might have been quite fun, except I wanted to curl into a ball and whimper through the rest of the afternoon. (Yes, it’s still me…my dramatic self and all!)

The front entrance of Wakamatsu Junior High School

I think this says "Wakatamatsu Junior High," but I don't know for sure.

Luckily, the two afternoon classes which I’m suppose to teach were canceled because the students needed to practice for the school sports festival which is this weekend. I was asked to join them outside, but I opted to stay inside the air-conditioned staff room and regroup for a while. I studied Japanese for a good long while and then when I started to feel like I could handle shaking another 50 grubby junior high hands I decided to join them outside. And it was hot. I was dressed smart because I had to give my speech in the morning, but even in the shade I was sticking to myself.

The kids practiced the all-school dance (about a 8-10 minute affair) a total of four times and only lost one to the heat. A girl fainted and fell to the ground during the second or third time they were going through the dance, but her peers just kept right on going. I must have been the first to see her because no one seemed surprised…or even like they were going to do something about her for what seemed like several seconds. It was probably just my panic imagining that it was taking so long for someone to notice because once the teachers moved, they were running. They rushed over and dragged her back to the shade and gave her tea, all whilst the school finished their dance! I thought maybe this was a common occurrence since not one of her peers even blinked when she fell, but she was the only one we lost today.

Here they are dancing away. I'm surprised at the student body's enthusiasm for this all-school activity. Good luck getting any American public school to be this happy while dancing together.

One of the two school teams (A and B) running.

The school has a pretty amazing view of the ocean though!!

Had to be patriotic for this last one!

I just got back from karate practice. I missed both classes last week because of the typhoon and my enkai on Friday night. I hadn’t forgotten much though and learned a whole lot more tonight. My uniform is suppose to arrive by Friday and I’ll be looking real official. I can’t wait to make the great whipping noises with each punch and kick that only a proper karate uniform can duplicate. You just sound like you’re moving so much faster when your whole uniform talks. My T-shirt just doesn’t do it for me!

I also had my first tennis practice with the dentist last night. He teaches a community class on Monday nights and Catherine and I have added it to our already busy list. (Catherine doesn’t do karate, but she now does kendo two nights a week!) I just told them I’ve never played before so they treated me like a true beginner. Japanese people usually understate all their abilities so if I say I’ve played tennis a few times, it doesn’t mean I’ve literally played only three times, it means I’m just an amateur. So I’d prefer not to give the wrong impression and let them believe I can hit the ball over the net and inside the court more than 25 percent of the time. Everyone there seems really cool; some are really good, some are poor, but everyone has fun playing together. There is this cute boy who graduated from Nakagoto High School two years ago (I’m guessing about 20 years old) who enjoyed chatting it up in English with me. I’d love to exchange some Japanese/English lessons with him because he’s about at the right level that English wouldn’t dominate, but I don’t think two young unmarried people can hang out without the rumors flying. We’ll see what develops.

Alright, it’s almost midnight. I have to go to bed now!
Fifty grubby junior high hands,
Sierra