School begins...ugh

Well, here I am, back in the grind.

School got rolling again on Friday, a full day for me with three classes, and a short lunch meeting. But it was followed, inauspiciously, by the kiddies on Saturday morning. I'll start there, since you'll want me to get my complaining out of the way first.

We've changed up the program, so it's a lot different now. Whereas before I was stuck with the lowest level kids all day, now I get each of the three groups for one 50 minute period. The rotation means I don't get stuck with the same kids all day, which is great, but the change in schedule and the rotation of kids makes for a stressful day. I'm sure it'll ease up soon, when things become more familiar, but it's tiresome all the same.

My university classes, on the other hand, are looking to be the most promising so far. I was slated for two, but picked up another when I was asked by a colleague if I'd teach a small group of exchange students from Korea and Taiwan. I agreed and am glad I did, since they are all really motivated and try really hard. It adds to my workload a bit and takes time in my schedule, but I've still got four days off a week, so a little extra work isn't so bad. I hope to take these students on a few field trips (in lieu of class time).

My other two classes seem to have good students and aren't so big as to prove terribly difficult to manage. I predict a busy but not so tough semester, where my university classes are concerned.

This fall is looking busy, though, in a fun way. I've got two visitors on the agenda, friends from Virginia, one coming in late November and the other coming in mid-December. That'll keep me well entertained! Possibly another friend from Hawaii might visit in January.

Sooner than all that, however, is a rather suddenly planned trip to Seattle and Hawaii at the end of this month! As my schedule has worked out, with Monday and Friday classes and the kids on Saturdays, at the end of October and the first week of November, I have two Monday holidays in a row and a Saturday off from the kids. That means that rescheduling one day of Friday classes gives me 12 days off. I'm taking it and running! I leave Japan on October 26, arrive the same day in Seattle, where I'll visit my friend who's going fighting breast cancer. (Her tumor has a name, and she's kicking it's ass.)

My friend, however, already had plans to go to San Francisco for the Halloween weekend, so I looked into flights and found (through a bit of research), that there was no difference at all in staying in Seattle for four days and returning directly to Japan (in which case, because of the date change, I'd still miss work that Friday), or flying from Seattle to Hawaii to stay for an extra six days. So, heck, I decided to hit Hawaii for a while! I'll stay there from the 30th until the 5th, arrive back in Japan on the 6th, and be back to work on the 7th. Sounds like a great plan to me!

That's it for now! Hope all is well with you!

Aloha,
chip