Hey, it's been a really busy past couple of weeks so there's an overwhelming amount of information, but I kind of don't have time to organize it all, so I'll try to remember back to where I left off. Actually, no, that's too hard. I'm going to do this posting in reverse-chronological order, starting with next Tuesday.

"Kid's Camp"

I've agreed to help out in some kind of middle school/ high school English kids' camp on Tuesday (a Japanese national holiday). They're paying me $100! It will be interesting since I haven't really had any contact with the Japanese youth yet. I hear that schoolteachers are allowed to hit their students, so I want to take full advantage of that authority.

"My First Private Student"

Sunday I have my first real lesson with Naomi, my first private student. I mentioned last post that I was going to have a trial lesson with her to see if she liked my teaching methodology, and I guess she agreed because she's now an official pupil of mine. Her English is really, really horrible. Like really, REALLY bottom-of-the-barrel level, which is great. So I get to design a curriculum for her and all her progress will be a direct result of only my teaching. I love playing god.

"El Pancho"

Tonight I'm going to an office party at El Pancho, a mexican restaurant that you've probably heard me mention numerous times. It's strange... In a city with over a hundred thousand restaurants, this is my fourth time going to this small Mexican one in a distant part of town, always on the request of other people. I'm lucky it's so delicious. As in, best Mexican food ever (and that's saying a lot for Asia).
I wouldn't have gone to this event (my co-worker's birthday party) but I'm really, really trying to make an effort to get on the good side of my co-workers. I got off to a really bad start (being really awkward and overly focused on my job) when I first arrived and it hasn't all fixed itself over time like I expected it to. Not that I particularly need or want them as friends, but it would make things a lot more relaxed at work and probably be for the best for everyone. And it will probably be fun anyway.

"Kyoto University"

Today I went to do research at the library of Kyoto University (one of the best in the country). It took me four trains and a couple of hours to get there and back, and when I arrived at 4:58pm, it was JUST closing and I had to turn around and go home. It's ok, though. At least I got to ride a lot of trains. I like riding trains.
If you're wondering why I would be doing research, it's for a thesis proposal for a Japanese scholarship I'm applying for. Just to let you know, this scholarship application is probably going to be a very long, drawn-out plotline over the next couple of months, so if you think you're going to find that boring, I suggest not checking up on my blog until the summer.

"The Japanese Irish"

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. I brought it up in all five of my classes, and no students here had ever heard of it. I guess none of them are of Irish descent. That's funny because everyone claims to be of Irish-descent back home. I don't know why. Most people are primarily English or French, but nobody wants to admit it. Especially me. I found out last summer that I'm something like 1/32nd Norwegian and I've been playing that up whenever anyone asks me where my family comes from ("Well, I was born in Canada, but my ancestors were vikings. Raping, pillaging, massacring, flesh-eating vikings.")

"Good Feedback"

The head teacher at my school told me yesterday that I've been getting a ton of good feedback from the students. This is rare, apparently. But I'm kind of not surprised at all. Since I only work part-time, I'm still really enthusiastic and having a great time for every lesson, so the students enjoy it and have fun. Also, I think I'm starting to learn more what they have problems with and how to explain things to them. I'm really, really great.

"Meeting the Neighbours and the Revival of Poker in Lions Mansions"

I may have mentioned long ago that I have never seen another foreigner in my building. There were age-old legends that there are two other Nova apartments in our building, three girls on the 8th floor and three guys on the second floor. I thought that these were just fables, but it turns out that they're at least half-true.

As you know, we got a new roommate a couple of weeks ago from England. By chance, the guys' apartment on the second floor also got a new roommate from Australia. So, these two guys were in the same orientation and we got to go down and meet them all. Anyway, the Australian guy brought a set of poker chips and we've now had three poker games. I love it. They're all beginner to intermediate level. This is the best level to play against because they're overconfident but don't really know which hands are good and can easily be bluffed against. Anyway, I won everyone's money all three times. The next best guy, the Australian, is really cocky and thinks it's all just luck, which is great for me because he's determined to beat me (this is going to be a very expensive goal, I hope). Anyway, we've agreed to play every Monday night.

>>>>> I have to go to work, I'll continue this on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Japan's sumo wrestling league, which travels around the country and is really exciting to watch, is in Osaka now, so I hope to go see it live sometime this week. Here's a preview: