So when I got home from school today I saw something squiggle into my genkan (in Japanese houses the entryway is always at least five inches lower than the rest of the floor to catch dirt and small invaders) as I opened the door. Turns out it was a little gecko whom I managed to catch and take some photos of. I considered keeping him as a bet but decided to let him go because I'm not sure if the local pet stores have heated rocks and worms. I'll have to look into that. These guys live all over my building in assorted sizes and colors.
I've been taking more time out for myself recently so not as many adventures. But I did visit a friend in Gifu city and had a Go lesson yesterday. More info on Go
here if you don't know the game. And I successfully took the bus to Gifu city
and back yesterday for a Go lesson. It was exciting. I like the Gifu station bus stop a lot more than the Ogaki one. Much easier schedules to read.
I've also turned 24 since my last post! On my birthday I went and got some tasty ice cream parfaits with Alice and Ashley after their Japanese lessons. And on the weekend Yumiko and a bunch of our friends had a potluck dinner and then went out to karaoke, the birthday standard here.
Yakiniku is awesome. Says the vegetarian. But it really is good, I like watching the meat cook and eating all the grilled veggies my tummy can hold. Especially the mushrooms. I got treated after helping with another teacher's Halloween party on Saturday.
Classes are going well but everyone has been on a shortened schedule again for the past three weeks because Ono-chu is gearing up for their annual Chorus Festival. I'll miss the main day thanks to a JET conference in Gifu (not happy but it's non-negotiable) but I'll get to see the top class from each grade and when the whole school sings together. And I've been treated to the lovely sounds of my students singing before and after classes everyday.
Some of my students brought a cold into the school a few weeks ago, too, so I caught a nasty cough and a dripping nose cold. Half of my teacher's room is already sick and the other half is getting there too so I'm not alone. Luckily as a foreigner I'm not expected to wear one of the cloth masks (like surgeon's masks) that everyone else wears when they're sick.
Things are cooling down so I might get to use my kotatsu soon. I bought some kerosene for m space heater a few days ago with Ryan. But luckily it's still holding at around 20 degrees at the peak of the day and around 10 at night so my winter quilt is still a bit too warm still.
Anyway, that's all I can think of right now.
