A Week of Romance (i.e. Romance Films)

Reading: Marie Antoinette: The Journey, Antonia Fraser
Listening: Time Goes By, Every Little Thing

I finally finished The Historian. With Fraser's Marie Antoinette biography to follow, I am getting my fill of European history. Yum!

Monday, September 3
Opening Ceremony for the fall school term. As with all opening/closing ceremonies, I remained in the staff room, where I studied Japanese and wrote lesson plans. Nobody invites me, and I do not invite myself. On this particular occasion in particular, I did not mind the exclusion. Our gym is undergoing renovations, and the ceremony was held on the hot sports field. My co-workers returned from the proceedings sweating like pigs.

After my workout and shower, I indulged in a dinner of chicken noodle soup, salad, and a fat, toasty mini baguette.

Tuesday, September 4
Though Opening Ceremony was held yesterday, today was our first day back in classes. I had a mere two lessons with the third-years--translation classes that nearly put me to sleep along with the students.

In the afternoon, I attended 茶道部, where my struggles to properly learn 柄杓点前 continue. My memory refuses to retain the intricate movements required at each step. I must gambaru harder. Next week I will take notes. For the Sweet of the Day, we ate ayu (sweetfish)--soft cakes in the shape of fish, with chubby mochi and anko-filled bellies. The girls ate the sweets tail-first, but I devoured mine from the head.

I left tea club early to meet several girls for dinner at 6:00 pm. Tonight, I was Hostess for Chick Flick Night, and I had planned for eating at Ru Cafe. Shortly after leaving school, I learned that three of the others were running late. In the meantime, Grace and I met up and browsed the nearby geek shop, where I found a new NANA manga and bought どこでもヨガ, a yoga program for my DS. The others finally arrived after 7:00, just in time to place dinner orders.

I ordered the Pasta of the Day, a veggie-filled spaghetti topped with grilled fish and pesto. We followed with desserts: the luscious rolled fruit cake for me, grape and white chocolate pudding for Jenni, and lemon cheesecake tart for Alesha. Psychologists warn that "Food isn't love," but I beg to differ.

Back at my place, we watched The Notebook over Wendy's freshly baked banana bread. Though I agreed with the others that the movie tells a sweet story, I found it too sappy (with an awkward chronology) for me. All the same, elderly Noah remarking, "That's my sweetheart" about the white-haired Alli made me cry. Old folk love stories always get me.

Wednesday, September 5
Today I returned to classes with the first-years. I nearly yelled at Class One. They refused to participate in the activity, whined over having to use English, and laughed over the way I pronounced karaoke. By the by, I pronounce karaoke perfectly fine. カラオケ, not carry-oh-kee. And if I were to laugh at every word they mispronounce in English . . . Class Two saved my sanity by actually enjoying the lesson and making a good effort to communicate in English with one another.

At home, I worked out, showered, and prepared a simple dinner of kamameshi and gyoza. I put on The Holiday, another love story, and a DVD rejected from Chick Flick Night. (I had picked up three love stories from the rental shop.) Though the movie was so-so, I determined that I will marry Graham, the wonderful character played by otherwise-scumbag Jude Law--a charming British book editor who's good with kids.

Thursday, September 6
With a full day of five classes, I treated myself to lunch out at Jolly Pasta. After my tuna-tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette, a baked potato with cheese and chopped anchovies, and a cafe au lait, I could return to school calm and happy.

In the afternoon, I went through the weekly torture of 華道部. Both Tea Club and Flower Club are conducted entirely in Japanese, but the difference lies in that Tea Club Sensei recognizes that I understand the language and Flower Club Sensei does not. In Flower Club, I am asked whether I can read hiragana when I am clearly taking notes in kanji. I explain that I can read Japanese, but I am encouraged to use the severely abridged English textbook while the students practice with the original Japanese versions. Furthermore, the club advisor takes a certain pride in creating arrangements superior to mine. She throws me pitying expressions and wonders aloud whether I understand what we are doing. I should quit, saying that the Japanese is too difficult for me.

Returning to the lovely teacher housing, I ran into my neighbor Michael and his friend/roomie Michael laboring over their growing Italian-style garden. Mike One will take me to Japanese classes with at Miki City Hall next week. Volunteers help learners of all levels. Will my volunteer help me reach levels of pera pera-ness?

I worked out, showered, and put on the final film in my Romance Week Series--Memoirs of a Geisha. The scenes were beautifully shot, but I couldn't get over the accented English spoken by Japanese characters played by Chinese actresses. Ate nothing for dinner but half a carton of fat-filled milk. Why have I been on such a milk fix lately? Maybe a calcium deficiency?

Friday, September 7
I arrived early at work for a breakfast of cold water. I had one third-year class in the morning, during which I merely sat in the back and studied Japanese. I am now sitting at my desk, watching Anderson Cooper podcasts and waiting for my last class of the day. Ahh, the luxury of Fridays. Chris will drive down tonight. I will have a hug, we will have a yummy dinner, and I will take a refreshing shower with LUSH 蝶々の夫人.