Confusion at the post office and the mask of the Ian

Last Thursday at work as I was leaving, I saw a few of my old students who graduated and went on to high school.  I’m not exactly sure why they were at the JHS. (They told me for a test….whatever that means….) It was so great to see them!  They were genuinely happy to see me again, and it made me miss them that much more!    My 3rd graders last year were sooooooooooooo much more fun to be around than my 3rd graders this year.  They actually WANTED to hang out with me and try to use their English on me instead of just the blank stares I get from my current 3rd graders.  I talked with them for a little while before leaving school. 

After school, I went to the post office.  I had four things to mail off: a letter to Grandmother, my absentee ballot, and two post cards to my brother-in-law, Josh, who is currently serving in Djibouti.  He has an APO address, and while I know it’s no big deal to mail things to APOs in the States, I wasn’t exactly sure how it was going to go from Japan……  The post office workers pretty much know that if they see my face there, I’m sending something to America.  There have been a couple of times in which I sent mail within Japan, but nine out of ten times, if I go to the post office, it’s to send something home.  I set my mail on the counter into two piles: American mail and Djibouti mail.  I slid the American pile forward and said like normal, “America, onegaishimasu.  Eameru.” (To America, please.  By airmail.)  Like normal, the lady weighed it and gave me a total.  Then I slid the second pile forward and said, “Jibuchi, (pronounced Ji-boo-chee in Japanese) onegaishimasu.  Eameru.”  The lady looked very confused and asked me where.  I repeated myself.  She then flipped the post cards over, looking for an address.  Since it was an APO, it confused her even further.  I showed her the translation of the word “Djibouti” on my phone, but she was still completely confused.  She asked me if it was in Japan.  When I said no, she was like, “Ooooooh.  OK.”  She put a stamp on it and set it in a pile.  If it actually gets there or not, that’s another story….  If not, I guess I tried……  It was actually quite a comical experience!!

Since Ian had to work in the city last Wednesday-Friday, Margaret and I had time to ourselves.  We had nice little chats with one another, watch a few TV shows together, and I was even able to take Margaret to my Thursday night eikaiwa class.  It was my kids’ class that night, and I gave her a break down of how class would run.  I had a Halloween lesson, so for the first part of class, the kids would learn the new vocab (ie: witch, ghost, pumpkin, etc) and then play Pictionary and Charades to familiarize themselves with the words, then take a short break, and wrap up class by making paper plate masks.  Margaret and I both dressed up for the class.  I lent her my witch hat and cape, and I went as a bunny (picture below).    We were really just too cute for our own good. 

 

When we made masks, I told the kids that they could make anything that they wanted.  I really wanted to convey this message since in my past classes in which we made masks, I also told the kids the same thing, but they weren’t very creative and ended up just making the same thing that I did: a jack-o-lantern or Anpanman (a Japanese character).  I’m not that great in the artsy-fartsy department, but I made a mask of Ian (above, middle).  It wasn’t difficult and looks nothing like him other than a white person with bushy eyebrows and a beard, but when I asked my kids what it was, they ALL immediately said, “DANA-SAN!”  (husband)  Ha!  Ha!    Some kids finished really quickly, so I had them flip the plate over and make another mask on the back side.  My second mask was Kuma-mon, and one of my other students also made the same thing (below, left).  It was a great night, and the kids were pretty creative with their masks.  I only had a couple of repeats, and their masks were so cute and creative! 

 

Friday was just another day at school, but I did have a very embarrassing situation happen.  My 1st graders at the JHS aren’t my favorite class.  There are mostly boys in that class.  I tell you that to tell you this story: I walked into class on Friday afternoon with my belt unbuckled.  I used the bathroom right before class, and I don’t know why, but I forgot to buckle my belt.  It was pretty darn noticeable, too since it was a loose, floppy belt that hung wide open.  Mr. Fujiwara forgot to bring his computer to class, so he ran back down to get it and gave me some papers to pass out.  I was doing that and noticed several kids snickering.  That’s not out of the unusual.  However, one of the kids who sits in the front row kept saying “Belt-o.  Belt-o.”  Me, being the idiot that I am, was like, “Yeah!  I have a belt today!  I have a pink belt!”  He made a separating gesture with his hands and pointed at my belt.  It was then that I looked down, realized that my belt was flapping in the breeze, and I wanted to curl up into a hole.  UUUGGGGHHHH.  To make matters even worse, this was at the BEGINNING of class, so I had to stay in the class for the WHOLE rest of the period, embarrassed and mortified. 

After school and the belt fiasco, I rode my bike back up to Yurari to get that Oppai matsuri (boob festival) t-shirt I talked about in my last blog.  Ian is pictured below wearing it.    I ran into some of my kids along the way, and they stopped me and wanted me to walk with them, so of course I did.  They each wanted to take turns riding my bike, we played tag as we walked, talked about the Halloween party and what each person was going as, and played tricks on one another until I had to take a separate road to go up to Yurari.  I absolutely love kids like that!  They are just too cute and sweet!    

Okay, I believe that’s all for now.  My next blog is about our spur of the moment weekend trip to Nagasaki.  Woo-hoo!