My favorite new word is aquiline, which means resembling an eagle

I am in love…with the English language. You see even that ellipse there is made possible by the wonder that is English! Did you know that there is such a thing as an aptronym? It’s true! Just take a look at these names: Sally Ride the astronaut, William Wordsworth the poet, and Lorena Bobbitt the, well, you know. It is so interesting! I am currently reading Richard Lederer’s “Crazy English: the Ultimate Joy Ride through Our Language.” I know, I am here in Japan and I should be thrilled about learning Japanese and all, but then here came this book and well, I fell head over I am heels for it. (When you think about it, why is it so amazing to “fall head over heels in love” when you do everything else that way too?) Lederer’s points out many other redundancies and confusable English in this book.

Anyway, that’s what I have been reading lately at work. It’s amazing that being an ALT is considered work at all. I teach about three or four classes a day (out of six plus lunch) and the rest of the time is doing whatever. If I have to make some worksheets or cards for games then I do that, but otherwise I read, drink way too much coffee and tea, and write in my journal. This week my ni nen-sei (2nd grade which is actually the equivalent of America’s 7th grade) teacher gave me a special assignment for her elective English class: slang. That’s part of the reason why I checked out the above from the Takasaki library.

As for getting to school, I have a handy new addition to my life here in Japan. His name is Bobert. Fitting huh? He is a Suzuki Alto and also what they call here a “K car” because he is so teeny tiny. And all my groceries usually fit too! It’s about as splendid as a peach cobbler on a Sunday afternoon. And that is saying something.

Next week I am looking forward to my first time teaching at an elementary school. I am somewhat prepared with the flashcards and such, but I am yet to check out the CDs that come with the helpful book "teaching elementary English classes in Japan" or something like that. I am very hopeful that 1) the students will not spit on me (this actually happened once when I worked at NOVA), 2) the students will be excited about learning English, and 3) That I will be amply supplied with coffee between classes. And if all else fails I could just start doing mickey mouse jumping jacks--gets them everytime!