Random Thoughts

Well, payday is Friday, and I'm literally strung out to the last yen. Japan has been WAY more expensive than I thought, and, with the American dollar not being as good as it once was, coupled with the fact that Japan is a cash-based country and my bank charges a nice fee everytime I take out cash... it's left me quite skint. This weekend, it'll be nice to eat a nice (and healthy!) meal again.

Something worth mentioning : Yesterday, I did a lesson on families and family trees. For the fluency part of the lesson I had the student draw each other's family trees. As they were asking each other, "What's your grandmother's name on your mother's side," I realized that less than 1/3 of them actually knew their relatives names. Grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles aunts - all anonymous! I guess they only see them once a year, but still! Crazy!

Another thing worth mentioning: LINES are sacred here in Japan. I accidentally cut once (not paying attention, and felt bad afterwards) and was chastised by a very grouchy, older man. What looked very suspiciously like the same man was managing the lines to the buses on the way to work yesterday. He was walking sideways, arms extended, and face stern, making sure that the 3 lines were straight. Shalvin, finding this amusing, stepped slightly to the right, dis aligning with the rest of the cue just as this man passed. The man whipped his head around and lounged, his face furious. Definitely the same guy!