Surprises....

I realized today that things are not always what they seem.  Well, I already knew that, but I had the opportunity to relearn it.

Yesterday I was thinking about how much I love my Junior High School: the teachers, the students, and the atmosphere.  I would lying if I did not admit that I had been wishing that it was my only school.  Well, today I was hit by the same feeling, only this time it was for my Monday school (I am going to refer to the schools by the days of the week I normally go to them.... though some weeks are a little mixed up.  Junior high is an exception since there is only one).  I realized at that point that I love all my schools, and just simply wish that I had more time at each of them, though I would not take away the time I do have at the others.

Long story short, I am enjoying my job and my time in Japan.  

That being said, those thoughts were not the only surprise to come to me today.  The first one being my expecting to have break during third period and instead being whisked upstairs for class with the sixth graders.  Luckily, I was prepared--given that the Japanese teacher uses me as an assistant instead of me teaching, it is pretty easy to be prepared.

I played badminton with the third and fourth graders, being surprised by how well they played and that they even knew the game (it is not one that I have heard about often in my twenty-seven years, though I myself have played it at least once or twice).  The time frame for us to play was really short, but it was a lot of fun.

The final surprise came from one of the teachers being so impressed by my practicing hiragana, that he gave me three books: one for hiragana, one for katakana, and one for kanji so that I can practice and he can speak to me properly.  It was really sweet, and sadly my cheeks probably turned bright red at the sentiment.

It has been a good day.

The Principal, the one I thought did not like me, was very nice and warm today.  He even asked how I was adjusting to the school and commented on my hiragana and my ability to say "o-saki ni shisurei shimasu."  

Oh, my teachers were also impressed by my drawing my own flashcards for class today.  I gave them to the fifth grade teacher so she can use them next year as well.