Updates updates! I am so sorry for not posting!

Hi all,

When I first started this blog, my idea was to update this daily. However, I just got lazy because there are so many things to share and I figured that uploading photos often on facebook will more than suffice!

But of course, I should really give you more details! But as I said, too many things! So I shall just summarize some for today's post.


Living in Fukuoka
I've settled in pretty well. I can take the public transport without fear as I've gotten all the cards and know the routes that can get me to the major places. I've memorized my home address and I can walk around the neighbourhood without getting lost. I love cooking for myself and I think my cooking skills have improved or mainly soup boiling skills. Lol. I love buying udon/ramen and then putting them into the soup that I cooked. I love making pasta too! I love grocery shopping and 100 yen shops. I get along very well with one of my neighbours - Lori and she's like my the other half these days since we hang out with each other often.

The only negative things are the bugs... I've met a big spider in my bedroom... it cast a shadow on me when I was watching tv and I freaked out when I saw it. Lonely Planet Japan was a good weapon to smash it to bits. I've also seen the dreaded mukade (Japanese centipede) in my shower room. It was lucky I didn't step on it when I enter the shower room. I can still visualise the way it wriggled to hide under my tub. ARGHS! Luckily I sms my only male foreign neighbour Mahendar who's a 3rd year ALT from India and he rushed over with his girlfriend and the mukade died of many slaps from a slipper. (actually the grossest thing was when Mahendar picked it up to throw away, it was still alive!!!!!) There's a cricket living in my ceiling which I do not know how to get rid of because it jumps so fast and I do not want it to land on my face. Met another gross spider while I was showering and it died under endless sprays of hot water. And a gecko(lizard) decided to sneak into my house when I opened my door to enter the apt. I saw a shadow dart into the porch but as it was the same colour as my porch's stone floor, I couldn't really see it until I used my long umbrella to poke the area and out flew the lizard. ARGHZ! I didn't kill this as I figured he will be useful to help me eat up the numerous spiders along the stair well so I took a long time to chase it out of my apt. Oh, there's a dead cockroach on my balcony after it scared me while I was hanging clothes and it died under bubble foam insecticide.

Working in Fukuoka
Work life has been pretty good. Boring sometimes because I have so much free time to play with that I get sleepy and tired often. So by the end of the day when I reach home, I am really tired... strange to say.. from doing nothing much! My working hours is that I muz report by 8.30am and I can go back at 4.15pm.

This is my timetable:

Monday:
10.00-10.50 Class 1-4
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab
16.00-17.00 English Speaking Society (CCA)

Tuesday:
No lessons
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab

Wednesday:
09.00-09.50 Class 1-1
10.00-10.50 Class 3-4
12.00-12.50 Class 1-6
13.35-14.25 Class 1-2

Thursday
11.00-11.50 Class 1-5
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab

Friday
11.00-11.50 Class 1-3
12.50-13.25 Lunch with English Speaking Society members
13.35-14.25 Class 3-4
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab

So there's lotsa free time but I spend much time planning lessons because over here, they don't really use IT equipment to teach. Strange for a country with such advanced technology! So for me who's used to using powerpoint, I find myself having to DIY posters/cards/display boards for teaching and having to think of ideas that doesn't require me to use the projector but only the chalk board. Yeah... CHALK board. I hate breathing in the chalk dust. The only projector is a portable one which I have to lug around and set it up in class which takes much time. So.... sigh. Back to basics!

The students are generally ok, I haven't met any scary or horrible kids (hopefully not) since my school is supposed to be a pretty good academic school and since they are 16-18, they are quite mature.

That's all for this post... will try to update more...