Second week of school

I am so incredibly happy that I now have internet in my apartment. As much as I loved all the free ice cream and sodas at the internet/billiards/massage/karaoke/comic book store across the street, it feels good to have a computer in my lap and be able to be connected to everyone without feeling like I need to eat 280 yens worth of ice cream every time I log on. I downloaded Skype, a program that will allow me to make free calls- so please email me your phone number so that I can call you. BrookeMalley@gmail.com-OK? Alright. I don't have your number. My phone in the US went on the fritz a few days before I left. So I just finished my second week of school and I have quite a bit of things planned for the weekend. My work day is pretty long. I either show up to work around 7:30 or 8:30 and get out around 4:30 or 5:30. I guess it isn't that long, but anyone who has ever been around little kids for more then a few hours knows that it can be really exhausting. I love all of them though and have complete creative control over what goes on in the classroom. Basically I am not working at a "normal" school- it is a private school of sorts for kids who are getting a head start on English before they enter their standard schooling within the Japanese educational system. This is nice because all the teachers at the school are Canadian or American (except for one Japanese teacher that works in my class) and have been really helpful. The owner of the school, principal, and office staff are painfully helpful as well- I think most Japanese people are. Wednesday night one of the other teachers from my school took me to his karate class. Somehow, somewhere along the lines, I guess this dojo has something to do with "Karate Kid" the movie. This place in particular has been open for at least a hundred years or so and had all these great pictures of all the Black Belt teachers that had ran the school over the course of its history. After the karate class we sat around and drank tea and ate soybean cakes and they fit me a kimono.The owners own a kimono shop and are going to take my co-worker Sarah and I to a lantern festival about an hour away from where we live on Saturday. We are going to some famous tofu restaurant, getting dressed up in kimonos, going to see some new Japanese movie, and then going to the festival. I may join the class permanently. It is super cheap (as most things in Kyushu are relative to the rest of Japan) but I haven't decided yet. I'm also excited because I just found out that there is a hotspring about a block away from my house that I am going to go check out this weekend. They are called "onsen" and they are all over Kyushu. Next weekend my co-workers and I may go camping and try and find a few. I live about an hour or less away from a beach in Miyazaki city and another one in Kagoshima. The one in Kagoshima is supposed to be really nice for snorkeling and stuff like that. The other thing that I am doing this weekend is going to a "Welcome" party for my co-worker Sarah and I. The owner of our school is taking us to some all you can eat all you drink place and then I think we are going to go bowl and karaoke. Last weekend my co-worker Patrick took Sarah and I to a Karaoke bar where I sang LaBamba. We met some Japanese girls and sang unti three in the morning or so. I live in a pretty lively spot but there is a very popular area to go out to about five blocks away from my house. It is nice living in a small big city. A lot of things are open 24 hours and its all so bright and flashy. Check out my kids. They are only 2-6. So cute.