Brrrrrrrrrr

My cold/flu still present, I hurried to school this morning in an effort to avoid being late once again. Whenever I don't teach first thing I have serious trouble arriving at school on time, and in Japan being 5 minutes late for work is a serious crime, often punished by incarceration in a Japanese jail for 21 days (a punishment also awarded for cycling while tipsy). Plus, as a gaijin, there's the perennial fear of deportation. Anyway, I failed. 10 minutes late, another time-keeping blot on my otherwise exemplary record (tho I avoided both the deportation AND the jailtime)

In my defence my speedy cycling efforts weren't helped by the ice cold winds that have picked up around Kojima over the last few days. As one teacher hilarious declared in his most sinister voice this morning, "Winter Is Coming!" It certainly is, and it seems inconceivable that temperatures will drop further in the coming two months. At least I'll be transported to a tropical climate for 3 weeks soon enough.

Today was the Interview Test, which was cause for much joy on my part. Marching into the "Communications Room" (a gadgeted-up classroom that resembles some sort of Command Centre) I greeted the nervy, fidgeted students who were today's lucky victims. The students could be broadly divided into three categories,

1) Those who knew they weren't gonna do well and didn't care (The Cocky Ones)
2) Those who were quiet in class but knew the stuff (The Conscientious Ones)
3) Those who were both quiet AND didn't do well (err, The "At Least You Tried" Ones)

It's amazing what you can tell about someone as soon as they enter the room; which students were quietly confident, and which were staring disaster straight in the face. I'm pleased to say I was fair and balanced throughout, tho a bit disappointed one of my favourites didn't do that well (to her credit she did sheepishly say "sorry" at the end of the interview). Anyway, this week I have another 50 or so students to grade, so we'll see how long my enthusiasm for Interview Tests lasts.

In other news, I'm down to my last few pennies in the bank after paying for all the Korea and Philipinnes things. This means that I have to put my current spending plans; raw horsemeat sashimi (expensive stuff), Christmas Port (I miss port!!), a £500 SLR camera and several expensive items of clothing, aside. I also have to curb my sashimi cravings, survive without a new heater, and drink less beer for another week and a half (god, no!). Next weekend I have free entertainment however; orphans during Saturday afternoon (more on which later in the week), and Shonan Christmas Enkai in the evening, then a Christmas concert on Sunday.

Still, my cold still rages inside whilst sitting in my apartment is like sitting in a fridge. Brrrrrr.