The days of drinking and teaching

On Saturday, I went out to drink with the teachers at my school. I expected to be making friends of my own age, but instead, I got sat next to the principal and vice principals. It was fun, but I sorta missed out on making friends. It was also super expensive!

But, then I learned something about alcohol that I had never had to learn in the past. Exercise after drinking actually makes you more drunk! I know, it seems like an obvious assumption, but it was almost fun!

First, we went to a hotel banquet room to have a big old dinner party with unlimited drinks. It was not cheap. I introduced myself again there, to the teachers in more detail, and to some of the parents. It was good. Then, this vice principal who’s been really cool asked if I would go to karaoke, a prospect that did not seem like a bad idea to me. I expressed some concern about the location of my bike outside the hotel before we left, but I was assured that I’d be able to get back. Turns out, they intended for me to take a taxi, which was way more expensive a prospect than I wanted to endure.

A few more drinks and songs after we were dropped off, I thought it might be a good time to leave, in case I needed to get more money from the ATM to help pay, or just to get myself home before an absurd hour. I tried my best to make sure I was covered, expense-wise, then commenced the 40 minute walk home.

More after the jump!

This is where I discovered that exercise brings out inner drunkenness. About 15 minutes into the walk, I was pretty sure there was nobody around me at all, so I started practicing pronunciation out loud. I practiced tongue twisters in English, since I wanted to use them during my self-intro classes, and I practiced Japanese words I had trouble with at times. It was actually really fun, somehow.

I got back to my bike, still thinking I wasn’t nearly as drunk as I probably was, and soon my concern became not appearing to be drunk, as doing so would attract more attention than being a foreigner normally does.

A few wrong turns later, I was lost, but then found my way back to the main road shortly after.

Fun night.

Then, I visited CJ in Kashiwa the next day, and had Indian food. Her apartment has a loft!

Today was my first day teaching. The first class was pretty awkward, since I stumbled over my words and didn’t really take my time. I think the class got the gist of what I was saying, but they were very tired or something. One student was too eager to answer, and constantly gave the wrong responses. My next two classes were actually really fun, though, and by the time lunch came around, I felt really at home with this whole process.

I will post more specifics on interaction with students later.