February 22-28 (Sat-Fri) - I Don’t Like The Flu

Saturday: I woke feeling very, very sick. But I had an extra, early class, so I had to wrestle myself up and get to it. It was fun other than that I was sick. 

My next class, the kids asked about my peppermint-oil necklace, which I wore because I was feeling nauseous. I let them smell, and because it smells like mint, the little girl was convinced there must be gum inside. (Because that’s the only mint you’ll find in Japan!) 

Struggled through my next classes, and by the time I got home I was about to die. Took a bath to try and warm up, was a little worried I was going to fall asleep and drown, but although I did fall asleep, I didn’t drown, so that’s good. Went to bed at 8 and slept 12 hours. Kind of. I hurt too much all over to sleep properly.

I didn’t know at the time but muscle pain, fever, chills, etc. are good signs of the flu. And it definitely wasn’t just a cold.

I’m not surprised I caught it, I should have expected it, interacting with so many people as I do.

And it’s so cold when you have to go places. Walk the corridor, it’s cold. And when you go to the bathroom, it’s cold. And when you wash your hands it’s freezing cold. And if there is a hand-dryer it’s also freezing cold. 

Well I was freezing. Thank goodness for heating blankets.

Sunday: My definition of misery ended when my fever broke. But I was still sick and stayed in bed all day.

Monday: And all day.

I’d just gone shopping before I got sick. Very sad. Here is a an-pan-pastry thing I only got to enjoy half of.

Tuesday: Then I had to work. Then I learned if I’d gone to the hospital and proved I had the flu I’d have gotten work off… but then it’s the last class for almost all my schools and my nursery school this week :( So I persevered through it. Stupidly. Hope I didn’t get anyone sick. 

Last lesson at Yoshikawa, we played games. At first the kids were kind of as rowdy as ever, but they liked the games so I think it ended up fun. There is one special-needs kid in one class, she’s always really shy and like never speaks in Japanese let alone English, but for whatever reason, she was super hyper. She came up to me before class with an enthusiastic greeting, and said she[‘d] had the flu. Maybe that was why. But it was really cute. And at the end of that class, the last one, her caretaker, whom I’ve always really liked, talked with me, then announced to the teacher’s room I would be leaving for good, so they actually said goodbye, and that was really nice. 

At Yutaka, we’re on the ‘what do you want to be?’ lesson, and in previous classes a few students had to ask me how to say what they want to be in English. Here, every single student had to ask me, and it varied wildly, from psychiatrist to power-plant worker to self-defense force (really!). I could understand or translate all of it, but trying to figure out how to say it in English proved more difficult. How do you say ‘clothing-store worker’ more succinctly? What’s a person who makes a car? I couldn’t think of these things on the spot. But I was impressed at the variety. There were multiple manga artists and nursery-school teachers, and sports stuff, but that was about it.

Survived through evening classes. Barely. Made soup. Ate soup. Went to sleep.

Wednesday: At Ito I had my last 3rd-grade lesson. We played games and it was fun. At Kawada I watched the kids rehearse then perform their original Momotaro stories. One group in particular did a very good job, with a good story, clear roles and lines, and a happy ending. And they worked out their gestures and fights very well. It was quite amusing. I’ll miss those kids.

Thursday: My last nursery school class! Oh no! I played games the entire time, and at the end, all of my students came together to make a tunnel which I walked through (I was pretty proud of myself), then they presented me with a photo and board with notes from the older kids. Aww! I’m so sad!! Goodbyes are hard.

That night I made fried rice! It was tasty.

Friday: This was a long day, but Hugh and I team-taught almost all of it. I helped him out with the Miyazaki 3rd-graders, which was entertaining, we separated for 5th-grade, and for 6th we brought our classes together in a big room to play a bunch of games. Hugh thought it all out and it was great. We started with a hockey game, played with foam swords and a tiny dying ball, which was super fun, then the kids had to do a bingo worksheet, which they had fun with, then they made paper airplanes with the worksheet and saw who could throw the farthest, then at last we had a running around game like Simon Says but without Simon. Hugh is a master of this game. We had ‘jobs’ cards in designated squares; comedian, vet, and florist. Very first, he would yell ‘comedian!’ while pointing towards one of the others, and at least half the kids would start for the one he pointed to. Add in stand-up sit-down and ‘I don’t know!’ and it was hilarious to watch and apparently very entertaining to play. The kids had a blast, and it was really a great last class. I think my 6th-grade teacher at Miyazaki might be my favorite English teacher, though she didn’t start that way. The best teacher is the teacher who always improves, right? Miyazaki is definitely my favorite school. Sad to say byebye.

That afternoon we replayed the group activities first with both my 5th-grade classes, then with both Hugh’s 6th-grade classes at Kitanakayama. I enjoyed myself. It was pretty sad to say goodbye to those classes too. There are some real characters there. A couple of the girls were quite dismayed to learn I wouldn’t be returning. ‘If we happen to meet someday, remember me,’ said one girl. So cute!

Maybe it was the running around, or the sheer fun of it, or just another day, but I felt almost not sick by the end of the day.  

Recent Japanese:

jieitai (自衛隊) = self-defense force

rikujou (陸上) = track and field