Working Weekends
For some unfathomable, ungodly reason, this past Saturday was a school day. Now I’m a lazy oaf at the best of times, so working 6 days a week is ridiculous unless I get paid overtime or it’s in order to finish my honours research paper. So with much consternation did I rouse myself at 7am to go to school on a Saturday!
Curiously enough, nobody else seemed to be bothered at all in the slightest, or if they were they hid it with sleek professionalism. I was only able to mask my grumpiness after a few cups of coffee. The students at least looked how I felt, with many a bottom lip being dragged through the hallway.
Following the day’s classes was a PTA meeting/pseudo-cocktail party held at the school (collectively known in Japan as Enkai’s), to which I gladly retreated to! I have been to many of these things since arriving to Japan, as it seems to be the substitute for going out on one’s own. The transformation witnessed by staff always amazes me. During the day my colleagues are stone-faced educators, oozing professionalism and work ethic. And yet, when the ties are loosened and the beer starts flowing, they’re you best friend(s)! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this disconnect, as I’m more accustomed to folks acting pretty much themselves regardless of whether they’re in the office or sharing a beer. This particular enkai was a small affair, barely lasting 2 and a half hours, of which I spent the majority learning Japanese culture from the new science teacher. Of course, this ‘culture’ I speak of mostly involved us taking turns downing beer glasses, a thing I’ve never seen from a co-worker before. He is now my best friend!
I’ve written before (LINK) on how kids here cry at the drop of the hat, regardless of gender, and this week was no exception. The elementary kids are the worst, who will bawl at the merest hint of physical injury. At elementary schools it’s kind of cute, as they’re still lil kids, but if I see another damned Junior High teenager crying because a teacher reprimanded him, or he has a boo-boo on his arm, or the wind changes direction, I might just swear out loud! In Afrikaans, of course, lest my cursing cause even more tears!
In the classroom I have taken to pinning up an English comic-of-the-week at the back, next to the many pictures of naked Zulu warriors prancing about, all in the hopes that the students find some manner of humour in learning this language. I doubt many, if any, actually read the damned things, but at worst reading Calvin and Hobbes or Garfield once a week entertains me, which is really all that matters when one thinks about it!
A 5 day public holiday is fast-approaching in early May. Entitled ‘Golden Week’, I had hoped to visit a friend in Taiwan and get some more stamps in my passport, but it seems flights are rather… inflated… in prices for the holiday. I’m tempted to just drive to someplace new in Hokkaido and see what I can see. I have yet to visit Asahikawa, which might be nice…
The maths teacher just erupted in what I think was rage during his class. It seems the students weren’t paying sufficient attention to his ministrations. I wonder how many students will be crying now…
The Nerve Centre of the Chaos. Maths teacher not included.
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