Work Hard Play Hard

That's me washin'

Friday night was my official welcome enkai, this one was different from the other because it was all the staff as opposed to just the English teachers.

So my orientation was Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which meant I wasn’t in school a lot of the week. I got a call from Noda Sensei on Friday morning to say I needed to make a speech at dinner, shit! So before cycling to town I went to work and printed out my speech I had made before, then Noda rang and said we’d need to tweek it a bit. Time was running tight! After orientation I peddled home as fast as I possibly could manage, showered, changed and zipped back into town to meet Noda. I meet her in a coffee shop but we both forgot a pen so I go off to buy a pen, going from shop to shop thinking each would have one, but no, I’m deliriously tired and starved btw. Eventually after about 15 minutes I run back and poor Noda is jumping around. We need to go, quick! No time for writing! We run up the street while she tries to tell me I’m smart I don’t need a sheet to read from, then she speaks Japanese phrases at me followed by ‘remember?’ Before I've time to answer she says ‘good hannah’.  Dear lord I can barely remember the good evening part! I start to laugh at the two of us running up the street and her attempting to teach me while she has no idea I lost her a good paragraph ago! We arrive both in fits of laughter with me no wiser than I was. We manage to write a tiny speech down while in the bathroom, just smile she says. Well I have had practice in that so I should manage, fingers crossed! They made plenty of speeches about me in Japanese while I sat and nervously awaited my turn, smiling of course. I stood, SMILED, said my bit and I was free. The drinks were poured, the Kampay ‘cheers’ was done then before I finished my first sip the English teacher beside me leaned over and proclaimed he was drunk and so was the principal on my other side! They were overly impressed at my attempts to serve them food and pour them drink before I did my own. With a few drinks on board the teachers loosen up and begin to tell you weird and wonderful things. The vice principal began to apologise for not talking to me enough and claimed it was because he thought I was beautiful and I made his heart bleed when I looked at him. He followed this by saying he and his wife have a bad relationship so I quickly changed the subject! He was very funny though, putting on a big show for everyone proclaiming his love, holding and kissing my hand at every opportunity! I was invited to join the Rowing club whose coach was actually in the Olympics in Syndey and Atlanta, the Art club where the teacher wants me to show her how to wood block, and the handball team (whose coach is the v.principal and whose heart I make bleed!).  Then again come Monday morning there will probably be lots of flies on the wall for them to watch. It is a Japanese trick, work hard play hard, come Monday morning ‘it never happened’ is usually the attitude, very funny! Still I will weasel my way into those offers hopefully! I had such a great night, they are such lovely fun people who I can’t wait to befriend more.