here's to you, konan chu

today my head sensei saw my "christmas mix" on my desk and we listened to it all the way through in the teachers' office. it's july. that's why i love my school. it seems to be a little more relaxed than other schools (according to what i've heard from other ALTs). my kyoto sensei (vice-principal) occasionally breaks out into whistling or song. mostly whistling. i sit next to the (unorthodox) young lunch lady. we frequently show up at school wearing similar outfits, which i've learned is "kigau" in japanese. the students think my english teacher and i are "best friends". they also think that we love GUSTO (a family restaurant chain here)...possibly because we mention it in almost every skit we do or we end the skits with "well, let's go to gusto" "good idea!" it's been an amazing two years at konan chugakko. that's not to say that i haven't been "bored out of my mind" or irritated at crazy questions like "do you have apples in america?" ah, yeah. there's a lot that i will miss though. this week we are teaching the 2nd graders future tense (I will~.) i had them listen to "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan (arigato to claudio for translating it so the students could get the full meaning of the lyrics, you rule.) it's quite fitting considering i am leaving in a matter of weeks and i hope that the students do remember "Ms. Ashuri" or that i've made some sort of impact or rose some curiosity in foreign culture or assuaged fear of foreigners or made English more fun, etc., etc. i hope i did something good. lord knows i will miss them.