Friday 27th October - The Party Weekend awaits!

After a bit of a taxing week preparing Halloween lessons and shopping for enough "American Candy" to motivate 250 students, the Tokyo Scavenger Hunt weekend has finally arrived. I have used some nenkyu to leave school an hour early today to make sure I get to Nagano for the 16.48 Shinky to Tokyo. Will be away for the whole weekend so hope to update you with some pictures and news next week.

This week has seen my Japanese lessons take a bit of a leap forward. At the beginning of the week my offical JET coursework arrived, for which I have to submit an exam EVERY month...and pass. Wednesday, I met with Justin who taught me about "u" "su" "mu" "ru" "ku" and "gu" verbs which totally messed with my head and left me slightly bemused. The first hurdle was when Justin suggested Tullys instead of Starbucks (their chestnut lattes are lovely, but I had been craving a Starbucks spiced pumpkin latte ALL DAY!). The second was trying to get to grips with the verbs and their polite progressive form..... ZZZ!!! But I have to know these things for the exam so am eternally grateful for the assistance.

On Thursday, I had my lesson from Makoto. These lessons are approached in a completely different manner with Makoto merely talking at me in Japanese, whispering the answers to me and then shouting "sugoi" (cool!) when I reply! He is teaching me everyday Japanese conversation which is vital for my weekly shop at Apper Rand (Apple Land).

Well, better go prepare my one lesson I have today and re-arrange my desk a little. Over and Out!