Welcome Party....

Friday ended up being a really busy day.

I went to my normal Friday school and first thing that morning, we had an earthquake a tsunami drill.  It was a lot different than my junior high's drill.  Instead of going outside and heading for higher ground, we are suppose to just head for the second floor of the building.  I guess the temporary school is considered to be high enough.

During second period we had an all-school recreation period, in which the students all joined together and competed in three different games.  The vice-principal had me join in the last game, which involved ducking under a bouncing ball.  It was a lot of fun, and nice to participate.  

After school, I headed directly over to my junior high to continue helping our two students with their speeches.  Both were doing a lot better than when I first worked with them last week--it is amazing to see the progress.  Now if I could only convince them to have confidence in themselves, things would be perfect.  I have discovered though that there are not many Japanese people who have a lot of confidence in their English ability.  It is really quite sad because they would do a whole lot better if they just believed in themselves.

Anywho, directly after finishing helping with speeches, I ran home to get changed and ready, then headed to the welcome party in Ishinomaki, catching the bus over.  The woman who helped me set up my apartment and cell phone (my IC) is a member of the "kiwi club."  Basically, it is a club of people who want to learn to speak English better.  They are taught by native English speakers and will often throw parties and things to facilitate communication.  The welcome party was in celebration of their two new teachers.

We ate a lot of food, and went around the room introducing ourselves.  Most of the two hour dinner was spent in conversation, and several people got up and moved around.  Basically, a traditional Enkai.

After the party finished, we broke off into two groups.  One group went to go find some place quiet to continue their conversations, and the second group went to karaoke.  I wanted to spend time with Miyuki, so I joined the karaoke group.

We sang for two hours.  It was a lot of fun.  One of the ALTs managed to get us a VIP room, and we had a ton of space, so we spent the first part of the session up and dancing.  At the end, the four men sang "I will always love you" (Whitney Houston) to the four women.  It was pretty hilarious.

I did not get home until nearly midnight.  A long, but very fun day =)