NO vember

So, it's been a few days since I've written on here. I've sort of had my plate full, but with nothing really big going on. This is going to be one of those posts that is all over the place. So, when you have many things to say and  nothing major to say, you make a list. Here goes:

+ I had the day off today. It's a random day to have off considering that it breaks up my work schedule nicely. I'm not complaining though. I've asked a few Japanese people what this holiday is about and I could never seem to get a clear cut "BAM BAM" answer but apparently, today is Japanese labor day. It seems like every time I ask someone what a particular holiday or festival is about, I can never get a clear cut answer. Either way, I don't mind these random holidays. There is nothing better than a one day week.

+ Speaking of my one day week, this is the first time in a long long time that I've done almost nothing. Today, I woke up, called my family (for the first time in some time since I've been away quite frequently) and spent the rest of the day lounging about, eating, watching TV, and generally being lazy. Of course, I was a bit productive in other things, but for the most part, I was a lazy bum. It was a much needed day off.

+ Speaking of watching TV, Natalie and I just finished watching Season 4 of HBO's the Wire and we're about halfway through Season 5. And all, I have to say is WOW. What a ridiculously great show! It's so good. I'll try my hand at a full review when I finish with Season 5. Preparing my TV critic's hat...3..2..1...

+ And also speaking of family, it seems like everyone in Houston and Canada is doing quite well. The big news is that my family in Houston just moved to a new house. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to say the least. I'm sure the house is nice and all, and they sound happy about the move. I'm excited to see it. It's just that I feel like I had just started to feel comfortable with the house in Sugar Land, especially considering that I've been away from home for years. It will feel weird coming to a new house.

+ Me and Nat went to a pretty awesome Thanksgiving party with all of the trimmings this past weekend. It's something that was really unexpected since I had pretty much convinced myself that a proper Thanksgiving is something I'd never get to experience while living in Asia. Turkey's don't seem to be a hit with the native's after all. But yeah, the dinner was delicious: Turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams (kind of prepared by me and Nat), bread rolls, and pumpkin pie. The food coma afterwards was definitely well worth it. More importantly was the fact that the party was a lot of fun. One thing that Natalie mentioned recently was on the sense of community that we feel as English teacher's. After all, we are a minority group in a foreign country. Everyone is really friendly and it's nice to see that sense of community. Thanksgiving was fun in that respect.

+ Last week marked the beginning of the truly awkward Parent's observation week at my school. I was very unfortunate to experience such a disastrous event last year but this year, the school I work for has decided to kick up the ante. While I was only observed for a grand total of 40 minutes between 2 classes last year, this year I am being observed in each and every class that I teach for the full class. Yes, even the parent's that I teach are bringing their own 80 year old parents to observe me! Either way, it's no fun. It's just a nerve wrecking experience for the students (who want to do well in front of their parents), the parents (who want to make sure their kids are enjoying the course and that they are getting their money's worth), the company (who wants to make sure the parents are happy), and the teacher (for very obvious reasons). So far, Operation Parent has gone okay for me but since I've only been observed 6 times, I expect that the upcoming week where I get observed 20 times will be slightly more stressful.

+ Concerning Operation Parent, it's very interesting what having a parent in the classroom will do to a child's behavior. There are kids who decide that they suddenly can't say a word (in any language: Japanese, English, or Swahili...doesn't matter). Then, there are kids who can't say anything properly. My favorites are obviously the bad kids that decide that they want to behave really well for their parents. This serves the double purpose of slapping the teacher in the face (in that now we know that the little turd nugget just chooses to be a little turd nugget) and it also shows the parent's how awesome their child and teacher are (NOT). My least favorite of course are the good students that all of a sudden decide to dress up as little turd nuggets for the week. All of a sudden, they think that rolling all over the classroom as if there were an uncontrollable fire in the middle of the classroom is okay. It's not. Turd nuggets...

+ This brings me to my next point concerning Parent Ops. It gives nobody a real idea about what the classroom is all about. Everyone is either on their best (or worst) behavior. It all makes for a very interesting week in Japan. I'm sure I'll look back on this one fondly.

+ Winter is Coming. Yes, that was my attempt to reference one of my favorite books. But what I meant was that it's getting cold. We're scrambling to come up with winter gear before it kicks our ass. Speaking of winter gear, Japan has this awesome thing called Heat Tech clothing. Whatever it is, and whether it's even Japanese...I don't care. I just know that it's warm. Really warm.

+ That probably concludes my list of thoughts. I'm sure that there are more hanging around in what we call my brain but they don't seem to want to come out and play at this time. Our plate is all full for December already. We've got Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, birthday parties, trips out of town, and then Tokyo! It should be another eventful month. I can't wait. Oh also, look out for another photomic bomb on Natalie's Facebook in the next few days.