carefully compiled

i'll never ever get used to...
formal introductions in a language i dont really understand.
saying, basically, "i'm sorry i have disturbed you" as i leave the staff room at 4pm when all the real teachers are still hard at work, doing something important.
sitting for hours at a desk, being paid to do nothing of consequence.
kids muttering "gaijin-san?!" to each other as i pass by.
not being able to introduce myself to the parents and grandparents of my precious students.
elementary classrooms with 38 kids to one teacher.

i could certainly get used to...
precious darlings who don't think twice about grabbing my hands and dragging me around the entire school grounds to show me exciting things like their school bunny rabbit, spring flowers blooming, and the ever-thrilling monkey bars!!
kids who are surprised that i am a true life english teacher who lives in their town, not a fun plaything that comes to himi by boat each day in order to provide recess entertainment.
discovering something new every day, as i ride by on my red bike. who knew himi had a golf center?!
seeing the above mentioned darlings at the grocery store and having them incredibly jazzed by my presence.
cutie old couples holding hands as they walk down main street.
being able to understand more and more of the kids' questions and comments. ["oh, wow, i'm surprised you are our english teacher!"; "are you an american?!"; "who are you?!"]


today the thought entered my mind that if i could teach at elementary schools full time & marry someone great, i could live in japan for longer than this one year. fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, neither of those are slight possibilities.

in other news, my camera broke in okinawa when i dropped it off the back of a bike. no photos for a good while, till i decide how best to go about replacing it. if i had 20,000Yen hanging around...