Students! Students...Teacher!

Students!
Anyone who bothers to come to my Oral I trouble-maker class (as opposed to the ones that I am NOT in charge of) are almost 100% cooperative now! Bwhahaha! Their lazyness is no match for my comedic confusion that keeps them at the edge of their seat, like a dizzy person trying to focus on reading small print on a blackboard. Or something. Although that class is fun, I think I still might like my community center stuff more. There, I don't have to focus on using grading as a tool, taking attendance, and things like that. Plus, everyone wants to be there, more or less, when they have no real requirement to be there.

Students...
This morning, I went to a "last-ditch effort" by one of the laziest English students I've ever encountered to get his grade above auto-fail based on attendance and participation. He got up to do his presentation, a power point about his university life at Kansai University of International Studies. He started with annos and etoos (ums and uhs), and wasn't using sentences basically at all for a time. Then, suddenly, he relaxed for just a moment, and rattled out a nice, long sentence with perfect grammar...until the end of it.

"...and I want to be a child care worker....................desu."

He marked the end of his sentence with a polite Japanese marker...? After he was already totally finished with it? For what reason could he have been brought to do such a thing? *Groan...* Just when my despair was lifting on the possibility of real progress in action, he did a 180 on us. Well, I think he might be able to pass at least now! I'm not in charge of the grades in that one though.

Teacher!
Finally, other news that is probably old to a few of you, but now with a couple pictures!

Recognize a long-haired guy playing English games with children in this headline FRONT PAGE article in "The region," dominating upper-left hand corner spot of the Kobe Shinbun? No? Look closer then...

Oh! It's that falsely-modest guy, Adam! What do you know! Apparently, making English something that is fun is worth an interview and a headliner in this region! The guy showed up after we were at it for about 2 hours last Sunday. I guess he heard the commotion such a rare combination of learning and enjoyment that he needed to see it for himself! I got the interview at the end, and the guy took lots of pictures. I made a couple of ally teachers, got paid, got a steak dinner, got taken shopping, and made the newspapers all for this. Now, if I only got paid a reasonable amount to teach students that didn't want to be in class at all, then I might focus on it more, but right now, I'm honestly enjoying my community center stuff more, and it is actually somewhat sustainable.


One of my friends took me to the big Kobe Earthquake Museum this past weekend too. Pretty interesting. Turns out the worst damage wasn't even in Kobe, it was on the island across the big bridge from it! Awaji Island. Not as many deaths there, because of population density. I think I'll take the folks there too, if they are interested.


The most "surprising" fact of the entire week was when I found out from the same ol' lady who took me to the museum is that "In Japan, you need at least around 300,000 Yen per month to live." My budget is about a 1/4 that, and I only make less than a 1/3 of it! Ouch...


Finally, I've got presents for everyone except for Nathan "The Covered Wagon" Fitzpatrick. I want a bigger present for Richard too since mine is piddlingly poor tribute to a man who has done so much for me out of the sheer goodness of his heart. The rest of you who I knew wanted to exchange gifts...? It's done or close enough!

Don't forget to read the warning labels.