These last couple weeks have been like the roller coaster that you both want to keep riding but also stop at the same time. Like every day since my arrival, each day of the last week has offered new experiences, varying in their degrees of comfort and enjoyability (many things lacking in joy were due to my lacking of sleep.) Monday completed my attendance at all four of my schools. Even before stepping through door, this school is my favorite due to the expedient 5-10 minute bike ride, compared to my 30-40 minute bike ride to the other three schools. I understand what Aileen meant when she said it feels like a city school, as opposed to my other schools. The children are a lot more active, and aggressive, The first day at each school usually consisted of an introduction to the office in the morning, a larger formalized introduction in front of the entire school. At the two elementary schools, this speech was also followed or preceded by my passing through the hand gates of the students. The larger of the two elementary schools seemed to have a quasi-hazing tradition with the ALTs, for they pumped this English teaching song, “What’s your name”, through the sound system in the gym…and expected me to sing and dance to it! Embarrassing, it was, but possibly therapeutic.) My favorite part of that experience was when I got to clean my hands afterward, since I shook the hands of about 600 students during the song. I give my personal thanks to the maker(s) of hand sanitizer.

Went to Niihama for an overnight beach party this weekend. I enjoyed the scenery more than the people’s drunkenness, but the latter was amusing sometimes, too. The weather was perfect. The campground turned the lights off at 10:30, and our conversations and the ocean were lit by the full moon. Played soccer for a while with some brits, aussies

Things that the U.S. should adapt from Japan:

Faucets over toilets – When you flush a toilet, more water is used to fill the tank back up again, so why not raise the spout for that water above the tank and turn it into a little sink in which you use to wash your hands? The water then falls into the toilet bowl to be used for the next flush.

Grocery stores moving the bagging process to after the register – At the grocery stores around here, your groceries are kept in your basket after you pay for them, the cashier puts a couple bags in your basket, then you walk about 10 ft to a table in which you can put your groceries in the bag. Convenient!