Or, it might just be that it’s a gloriously
sunny Friday afternoon (the current typhoon season heralds the onset of autumn
and deliciously cool breezes have already erased the memory of sweat and
stickiness, allowing maximum enjoyment of the diminishing daylight hours), the
air conditioning is on (in part to drown out the nonstop noise of the
soon-to-be-new-school construction just outside Mochigase Junior High School's temporary building), the
students are either off at a city-wide sports competition or in their classroom studying for high school entrance exams, the
teachers (those that aren’t responsible for students in an athletic club
activity) are more relaxed than usual, and I am at rare liberty to sit quietly at my ancient laptop and get nostalgic about the firsts of my
lasts in Japan.
Whatever the reason, I’m blessed to feel
this way, especially after a crazy busy month of staying late to
encourage speech contest participants, practice Gr. 2 level kanji in the library with kiddies in the
after-school program, ponder over “extra enjoyable” activities and worksheets
at my teachers’ request, and slap together dozens of the unnecessarily labor-intensive
point cards (modification is only a matter of time) that my students have come
to know, love, and actively pursue in exchange for key-chains, inflatable beach
volleyballs, miniature stuffed animals, and other prizes from Canada.
Whatever the reason, I am happy to be here.
