She played and she played as loud as she pleased.

Holy Crap I am so exhausted. I am surprised I can even type I’m THAT tired. Last night was an enkai in Saijo. I was only out until around 10… but unfortunately I had had too much to drink. I didn’t really have a choice about that part. In Japan, at a big party, everyone bullies you into drinking alcohol and they refill your glass every time you have a sip. And if you don’t drink it, they ask you to so they can refill it. It’s rude to not refill people’s cups here. It’s just good manners. Unfortunately, good manners get you a bit drunk. But I wasn’t all that drunk. I was just ill from all the wine I drank. Kodama-sensei special ordered it for me since I don’t like beer. That’s why I had to drink it. So, I drank nearly the whole bottle by myself. I shared as much as possible…but people (many of whom I’ve never met!) just came and refilled my wineglass over and over and over again. Geebus. So, I went to bed with a bit of a sick stomach and I woke up more hung-over than I’ve been in a long time.

Then, today at school, I had four classes in a row. That means that I was up on my feet running around being genki from about 8:15am-1:00pm. Just running and running. The hard part is the staying genki and excited about teaching the same thing over and over again. I had my first lessons with the new 1^st years. They are all great. I enjoyed all 3 of those classes. Thrown in there, I had a 2^nd year class. God, they suck so much. They can take a good lesson and make it suck. And the teacher I was with knows NO English, so he was no help. Gawd. I was counting the seconds until I could leave that class. I’m not looking forward to Monday, cuz I will have the other 2^nd year class, and they are just as bad, if not WORSE. Ugh.

I need to plan my lessons for next Monday, but I just can’t. I have absolutely no energy at all. I am just too tired. Duncan mentioned that he and Yuka were gonna hang out tonight and asked if I may want to join them. I’m sure I will. I’ll just be so tired.

Anyway, here’s my list for today.

1. I am somehow still standing.
2. We are watching a movie in English Club this afternoon, so I can hopefully ust relax then. I hope Duncan comes again today. It’s always fun when it’s the 4 of us (me, Duncan, Ayaka, and Kasumi). I think we may watch Lilo & Stitch. They love the movie and know it well (in Japanese). So, I think it’ll be easy for them to understand the English since they are so familiar with the Japanese version.
3. I’ve allowed myself a cup of coffee today. After my classes wearing me out, I feel that I deserve that little bit of caffeine.
4. The new 1^st years are great. Even students I didn’t like when they were 6^th graders, I like now. They all seem very willing and ready to study and learn English. I hope their motivation continues. And it’s nice to know a few of their names already (when I say a few, I really mean 3).
5. Tomorrow I’m going out with Yoko to a “mysterious and beautiful place.” I’m very excited to chill with the fabulous Popcorn (her nickname, cuz she’s silly). Afterwards we are either going to her house to cook dinner and watch a movie or we are going to go to Matsuyama to shop and play and sing. Either way it’ll be lots of fun. I’m not sure if the other ladies of the crew are coming. If so, that’d be wicked. If not, well, then Loco Yoko and I will rock out anyway.
6. In English Club today, we watched Nightmare Before Christmas. It was most excellent.