October is typically the beginning of sweater weather.
And of course there is Halloween.
Even though Japan doesn't technically celebrate Halloween it has been the best thing that has happened to me here.
Tomorrow is Halloween, which means it will be the end of my Halloween lessons. I have no idea how to plan a lesson that is not about Halloween.
Japanese people have no holiday to wear costumes. When I was in elementary school I spent like 9 months a year thinking about what I was going to be for Halloween.
Some Japanese people have asked, "So ... have you ... like ... dressed up for Halloween?"
At the Jr. High I passed around a picture of myself, dressed up like a princess, when I was probably six and some of the students felt awkward just looking at such a crazy picture. Or maybe it was just the boys that are too cool and they could give a shit what some American was doing when she was six.
After I played "make the pumpkin a jack-o-lantern while you are blindfolded" at the Jr. High I went to my favorite elementary school to join various people, in the area education department, to watch a demonstration English lesson.
After the lesson I sat in on a meeting about incorporating English in the classroom. I sit in on a lot of these kinds of meetings at this school. I never have any idea what anyone is saying.
During the majority of the first hour of this particular meeting "Caity Sensei" or "ALT" was being said or people were just gesturing toward me.
I have also been video taped while teaching lessons at this school. Which is all just awkward considering how lazy I am. I cannot get it together enough to learn Japanese or even brush my teeth every morning. At work today I spent about an hour googling people. Then I googled myself (whatever, I do that) and I remembered how much I want to be a journalist when I grow up.
About half way through this meeting people starting asking me questions. Which I found to be unfair since I had just been sitting, listening to people speak Japanese, thinking only about how I wish I had thicker socks on because my feet were cold and how I wish I had bought that brown blazer I saw at that yard sale on Elam St. this summer.
Two hours later, when the meeting was over I stood up and walked out, only saying goodbye to one person. I drove away feeling kind of guilty I did not linger because most of those people spoke English and I was talked about a bunch. It is just that at the end of the day there is only so much Japanese I can take.
But I am watching something on TV about teaching English to adults. That is what a dedicated teacher I am being.
And thank god I still have one more day to make paper plate masks and put my devil ears on Japanese students.
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