Back to School!

Well, I'm back. Which is good, 'cause I was going crazy.

The hilariously ironic thing is, I was feeling all bad about staying home...last night, Sekiguchi-sensei (one of the English teachers, and our neighbor. She's awesome and really sweet.) came by and said to me, in no certain terms, "I think you always working too hard! You need to rest! You need to take breaks!"

When I came in this morning, also, the vice principal stopped by my desk and said in Japanese what equated to "You always come in early, teach extra classes, and stay late. Don't overdo it...you need to take it easy!" so that kind of made me happy.

But yeah, the hilariously ironic thing, is, for real this time, when I came in today there was a survey on my desk that was sent from the Board of Education. Someone was doing a survey on culture shock among ALTs in Japan, and stress.

-Have you been getting headaches?
-Having trouble staying alert and awake?
-Paralyzed by nervousness?
-Having hot and cold spells?
-Scared and panicky for no good reason?
-Worrying unduly?
-Have trouble getting to sleep at a decent hour?
-Feel run down for seemingly no reason?

And I was like, "haha....oh."

So I'm now confident in saying that I'm not really SICK sick, I just must have had a stressplosion. And everyone seems to understand about it. In fact, people seemed amazed that I came back today.

I really need to like destress somehow. My friends have been saying so for years. It's just how to do it....


And now, for your amusement, the 3rd grade recitation for the culture festival. I've been helping the kids practice this for a couple months now, and they're going to recite the whole thing, in English, in front of the school on Saturday. As an American, it makes me kind of giggle nervously.

A Mother's Lullaby
A big old tree stands by a road near the city of Hiroshima. Through the years, it has seen many things. One summer night, the tree heard a lullaby. A mother was singing to her little girl under the tree. They looked happy, and the song sounded sweet. But the tree remembered something sad. "Yes, it was some sixty years ago. I heard a lullaby that night, too."

Me: Uh oh. This isn't gonna end well.

On the morning of that day, a big bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. Many people lost their lives, and many others were injured. They had burns all over their bodies. I was very sad when I saw those people.
It was a very hot day. Some of the people fell down near me. I said to them, "Come and rest in my shade. You'll be all right soon."

Me: [glancing off to the side, scratching cheek nervously]

Night came. Some people were already dead. I heard a weak voice. It was a lullabye. A young girl was singing to a little boy.
"Mommy! Mommy!"the boy cried.
"Don't cry," the girl said. "Mommy is here." Then she began to sing again.
She was very weak, but she tried to be a mother to the poor little boy. She held him in her arms like a real mother.

Me: Oh man, and people say I'm drama...[shifts uncomfortably]

"Mommy," the boy was still crying.
"Be a good boy," said the girl. "You'll be all right." She held the boy more tightly and began to sing again.
After a while, the boy stopped crying and quietly died. But the little mother did not stop singing. It was a sad lullabye. The girl's voice became weaker and weaker.
Morning came, and the sun rose, but the girl never moved again.

Me: BAD END! BAD END! HIT RESET!

Not to make light of anything that happened as a result of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but....aaaaaaawwwwkkkkwaaaaard.....