Adult English Class

I had my second adult English class tonight. It's an hour a week, and I don't get paid. I was asked by my vice-principal at one of the schools, and felt it would have been rude to say no.

"Hey, Cliff! Would you like to teach some of the teachers English?"
"No, not really."

I am going to try to get vacation hours out of it. 8 weeks would equal 1 day off work, or something like that. It turns out, though, that this class is really easy and fun. Right now, I'm also doing an extra kid's class that I AM getting paid for, and I'm coming to dislike it. I'm trying to teach them to read in between me saying, "Kaname, don't hit your brother.", "Kaname, stop climbing on my back.", and "Kaname, stop drawing pictures of poo on your English folder."

In my now-almost-one-year since I've come to Japan, I've discovered that I don't like teaching kids under 3rd grade. It seems that 3rd grade is the magic year that they begin to calm down. So it makes perfect since that my adult class is just awesome. Last week, the first class flew by, doing only half of the things I had planned.

The class consists of 3 teachers and 1 assistant teacher. In 2-3 years, Japan is making English a mandatory lesson for 5th and 6th grade, so these teachers are looking to brush up on their skills. I don't expect my class to turn them into great speakers as I highly doubt they will study on their own. To them, it's just a fun hour. But as long as it's fun for me too, I don't mind.

Random Things #2

Just a few more random bits:

Took the 4th grader kanji test (Kanji Kentei 7 kyu) on Friday. That comes to 640 kanji. Not really that great of a feat when you consider that I'm not even a third of the way finished, and that I probably didn't pass the test. Passing is 70%, and I think it is going to be border line. I'll find out in a few weeks.

Have another karate test at the end of the month. I'm going for my orange belt. Have to perform a few basic kicks and punches, plus three kata. I was freaked out about the last one in January, but I already feel ready for this one. 

Last week, a third grader wanted me to sit next to him at lunch. The kids did rock, paper, scissors to decide where I would sit, and he lost. He made a big fuss about it and sulked all during lunch. Apparently when his mom came to pick him up, they came to the teacher's room to apologize to me about it, but I had already left. So they drove to my apartment to apologize, but I wasn't there either cause I had karate.

Also last week, I had a second grader run up to me wanting to be picked up. He's in mid-run, when he's intercepted by his teacher and given a severe scolding. I give a 'what did he do?'-look, and the teacher angrily begins to repeat, 'His eyebrows! His eyebrows!', while lifting his head up and shoving his bangs out of the way. The kid had shaven off his eyebrows. I'm assuming that as punishment, he wasn't allowed to play.

And finally, the new Coldplay album is awesome.

Random Things #1

This update is the first of two that will go through a couple of things happening to me right now.

I finally made it to the dentist about two weeks ago. I should have gone in December, and before I knew it, it was June. The results came back and...I'm a failure at life. I was told I had a cavity. She said it was small and I had the option of leaving it alone and taking care of it, or getting it drilled. I went for the drill. Why? Because I was the type of kid in elementary school that secretly wanted to break their arm. Whenever a kid showed up to class with a cast, it was cool. It:s not that I think having a filling will be cool, but I kind of wanted to have the life experience of having a cavity drilled out. So I went back last week, they gave me a shot, and then they drilled. I didn't feel a thing. Instead of a silver filling, they gave me a white one. My tooth looks perfect, so technically I can still say I have no cavities.

I began the process of getting my driver's license this week. Getting a Japanese license is one long bureaucratic process. I drove down to Naha on Tuesday to fill out the application to take a written test. Then I drove down to Naha yesterday to take the written test. I will next drive down to Naha in a month to take the practical test, and if I pass, I will drive down to Naha again to pick up my license. It seems to take the average JET three attempts to pass the practical. When all this is done, I'm looking at about 6 Naha trips. This wouldn't be so bad if driving down to Naha didn't take me 2.5 hours. And no, you cannot do all this in one day. That would be too practical. 

While I was in Naha, I decided to apply for yet another passport. Passports and I don't get along. I got my first one when I was 17 and lost it after I came back from France (only to be discovered after graduating from college). I applied for another one about 2 years ago to go to London. However, I filled out the form with the name Cliff instead of Clifton. I guess the people don't check the passport name with that birth certificate you are required to send in. I didn't think this was a problem, though, until I needed a visa to come to Japan. The name on your visa has to match the name on your birth certificate, which has to match the name on your passport. So I applied for a third one last March with my correct name. It took 4 months to get. I had to overnight it in mid-July to the consulate in Miami in order to process my visa in time. What was wrong with this third passport? Because it was my third one, it made them suspicious, so they declared it a limited passport. Only good for one year. Back to the present, this confused the people at the consulate in Okinawa, so they are requesting my original birth certificate instead of going through the normal process of accepting a previous passport. Four passports in less than 10 years. Three in the past three years. I'm getting a passport a year and I'm being charged $100 each time.

*growl* Angry Criff hates all governments.