(Ouch…I think yesterday’s entry gave my reader at the Ikeda Town Office pause, because s/he visited three separate times today.)
Like I said, tomorrow is another day–and today indeed was. I felt much better, though still a little worn out, and I kind of talked to my JTE briefly about exactly why I was so down yesterday, telling her that I was just emotionally tired (not sure how else to describe burnout in Japanese) and trying to explain how it’s sometimes tough for foreigners over here, how we have bad days that are just part of the culture shock cycle, and…yeah. I knew she didn’t really have anything to say, since it’s a little different for a Japanese person to stay in a melting-pot country like England or the US or Canada than it is for one of us to stay in a country as homogenous as Japan, but her sympathy did make me feel better.
Today was a 3-hour sports test for all the students. I’d dressed appropriately, in a t-shirt and sports capris, but I assumed there’d be a tent for the teachers–and I assumed wrong, so I spent 3 hours in the sun (with breaks in the shade) without a hat, sunglasses, or sunscreen. I definitely have a tan and my face is a little pink–I’ll be prepared next time. It was tiring just standing out there in that searing heat, and I’ll bet the poor students are exhausted, though they did still have fun with their friends out there.
One of the boys was attempting to do a 160-cm high jump and was unable to; I think 155 was his record, which is still incredibly impressive. My JTE told me about a boy from two years ago who could jump as high as 180 (that’s roughly 6 feet) and who won the prefectural high-jump competition…unfortunately, he didn’t get into the high school with the track-and-field program he wanted to join, and he’s since dropped out of high school. She was obviously disappointed and regretful that things didn’t turn out better for him, considering what an amazing talent he has.
After work and a brief stop at home, I headed east to hang out with Genna. The original plan was that we were going to play frisbee at Bamboo Park in Yamakawa, but Victor (who would have given Genna a ride) got a late start, so we three just hung out, made pasta, and watched silly stuff on YouTube. I got home about 30-40 minutes ago, and now it’s time to get to bed, to rest up for tomorrow.