When I got to school on Monday morning, I realized how busy this week would be. Four classes is the most I’ll ever have on any given day at the JHS. It just so happens that I have four classes a day three out of the four days I’m at the JHS this week! Ugh! When I complained to Ian, he said, “What……it’s almost like you have to work!” me: “I know! When am I going to have time to blog or work on February’s English board??” I actually had to take work home yesterday. A travesty! That’s right…..I had to take my “work,” which is just pictures and a bunch of construction paper, home to cut out and rearrange to make my English board while watching TV. It’s basically like scrapbooking. I remember those days last year when I would be in the office all day, and come home, check my email, reply to the dozens of student questions, grade a batch of essays, lesson plan for the next day, and then maybe watch an episode of some show while washing the dishes. I laugh at those days now. 
Yesterday afternoon, we had an intruder drill. It’s not like crime is very prevalent here, and why anyone would want to break into our cow town Yunomae Junior High School and try to hurt someone is completely befuddling to me, but we had the drill regardless. I’m sure the Japanese do certain things with a purpose, but to me the drill was very backwards. Honestly, it might be that the crime rate is so low here that they just don’t know how to deal with it. At home, if there is an intruder, you are instructed to stay in the classroom, out of sight, and lock the door. Here, the students are to leave the classroom, run down the hallway, and go outside to the baseball/track/soccer/multi-purpose field. That seemed strange to me. If there is someone in the building who wishes to do harm to the students, that just gives him or her a target rich environment. Oh, Japan! Next, the teachers armed themselves. I’m not talking about guns or tasers. I’ve seen these weapons in the classrooms, and I had no idea what they were……or even that they were weapons! It looks like a long pole (slightly taller than me) with a wide U at the top. Once everyone was safely outside on the field, a policeman demonstrated how to properly use the pole. The open U side is supposed to be pointed toward the intruder. It wraps around the intruder’s torso so that he or she cannot advance forward. However, since the back is open, all the intruder has to do to get out of the trap is take a step backwards. Unless there are two people, one on either side of the intruder, that weapon is not going to work. Sorry, Japan. It was HILAROUS to watch them use it, though. However, we all had to stand outside in the freezing cold and wind for about twenty minutes while this drill went on. Ugh.
Last night, despite the freezing temperatures we drove into Hitoyoshi for ice cream with some friends. Mary invited us out because she had a really rough day. Without going into too many details, the story is that she wants to stay for a third year, and her BOE doesn’t want her to. It’s for no reason of her own, and the BOE won’t even give her a clear reason why. They even said that she may have to leave by April instead of when the contract ends in July. It’s complete hog wash, but there’s nothing she can do to fight it. 
On a much lighter note, I never thought I’d say this, but at my age of twenty-five, I’m being bullied. Well, if you want to get technical….bullied AND sexually harassed……by a five-year-old. Last week, I blogged about one of my nursery school kids hitting me, smacking me on the butt, etc. Today it was more of the same!! It was actually even worse. I had two classes combined, so the kids were hyper and crazy, but this kid kept punching my leg and burrowed his head in my….area. Then, he kept touching my lady bits. I kept pulling his hand away, but he’d reach back. I know it’s all done innocently, but COME ON!
That’s all I had to say on this blog. I would have combined it with the other blog that I wrote today, but I was afraid that it would be entirely too long. Tomorrow is my elementary day, so that’s always a good day for stories!
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