I wrote a really long recap-of-the-last-month post yesterday, only to have Blogger freaking eat it.
I really need to be prepping for my first Indian culture lesson tomorrow–I have so much to do! The huge world map I blew up and pieced together isn’t finished (the piecing together is, as is the outlining of the continents–it got me major brownie points with my bosses and superintendent at the BOE today, woohoo–but I have to figure out which countries I think are important enough to point out, as well as label in major cities, like Chennai and Atlanta, and write the names in katakana for all these things), I have to figure out what I want to say and how I want to say it and maybe find images to attempt to print out before my class (as well as coloring sheets if I finish early–I found Diwali coloring sheets; why couldn’t I have found them in October?), I have to dig out and go through the music CDs I brought with me from India (or maybe I’ll just bring in Shankar/Menuhin and leave it running to give them some mood music)…oh, I have to figure out how to stay warm, since I’m wearing a salwar to work tomorrow!
This is just venting and whining. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, due to the massive stress of the looming recontracting deadline (February 3rd). At least I’m not the only one who’s really undecided–a lot of people are, which is comforting. As I posted on the Tokushima JET forum, the major things on my mind have been recontracting, homesickness, and remembering how to teach–thanks to my being sick during the last two days of class immediately after returning from India, tomorrow will be my first time in an actual classroom in over a month.
This is going to be an expensive week, too–Julie was in Ikeda, so she and Hannah and I went out for dinner, and I have my junior high’s start-of-term enkai (drinking dinner party) on Friday night (the last one was quite expensive, as enkais are wont to be sometimes, but…ugh), as well as an international society new years enkai on Saturday night. I’m actually kind of looking forward to the junior high enkai–I haven’t seen these teachers in over a month. My JTE today, when she called to tell me about it, told me she’s looking forward to seeing me again (she’s picking me up, actually), and I saw my really sweet and constantly cheerful school secretary at the BOE, and we had a pretty friendly exchange.
And yeah, this isn’t a recap…yet. But soon! Maybe tomorrow. If I can plan my Friday eikaiwa classes and the second half of my West Mountain Elementary School class for next week during the day tomorrow (I’m hoping to make my next lesson international music–woo, Irish fiddling), then I’ll write a really fleshed-out entry tomorrow night. And I’ll save a copy in Notepad, to make sure it gets posted this time.
(ooh, the BlogThis! window ate it again. Luckily, I made a copy and am going straight to the source to make sure this goes up this time!)