Japan Diaries 4: Week 71

Week 71: March 6 – 10, 2023

Day 490: March 6, 2023

Monday – Rumoi

Rumoi High School 3.6.23

Today is a beautiful sunny Monday morning here in Rumoi City. I am feeling excited to report back to work at Rumoi High School. As expected, there are no students today because it is "Marking Day" for the teachers. This means that the whole faculty is busy checking the entrance exam papers of the 1st year hopefuls and there are no classes for the other levels.

We were quite busy in the department

I spent most of my morning helping check the essays for the English department. It was a bit challenging, but I enjoyed reading the student’s ideas and opinions about various topics. After the checking was done, I spent my free time studying Japanese. I used the Visual Learning Japanese app to practice my speaking and listening skills.

In the afternoon, the teachers had a meeting and I was on guard duty. 🤣🤣

Aside from studying Japanese, I also spent some time crafting an Invitation Letter for my siblings. They are planning to visit us here this summer, and I want to make sure that everything is in order before they arrive. It was a bit of a challenge to write the letter in Japanese, but I was able to do it with the help of some online resources and a dictionary.

As the day comes to a close, I feel happy and productive. I was able to help with the checking of the entrance exam papers, practice my Japanese skills, and work on an important task for my family. I am looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store for me.

Day 491: March 7, 2023

Tuesday – Rumoi

Rumoi High School 3.7.23

Today is a cloudy morning with a temperature of 5 degrees, and it feels colder than some winter days. I guess it's just a matter of adapting to the weather changes. I reported to Rumoi High School today, and there were no collaboration works for me. However, I had the chance to help Matsuda-sensei with his essays, and I must say that he has improved a lot.

During my break, I called BPI to clarify some concerns and to have my new credit card redelivered to my address. It took me about 20 minutes, and I hope that the toll-free number they provided this time works. I estimated my phone bill to be around 3000 yen.

Time to walk back home. I'm happy to see the sun today as it was cloudy most of the day

After work, I met up with my family to do some grocery shopping. It was nice to have some time to spend with them after work. We bought some fresh produce and ingredients for dinner tonight. After dinner, I attended the Rumoi English Chat Club in Asuka. We had free talking and disappointingly, the topic revolved around shamisen again. 

I went to Asuka for the Rumoi English Chat Club

It seems like I'm the only one here. (I'm just early)

Overall, it was a productive day despite the gloomy weather. I helped out a colleague, sorted out some personal matters, and had a lovely time with my family. Time to relax and recharge for the next day.

Day 492: March 8, 2023

Wednesday – Haboro

Haboro High School 3.8.23

Surprisingly, it’s a very cold morning although the temperature is now 6 degrees. Today, I’m heading to Haboro High School. It’s my 14th visit for the school year 2022 -2023. For this trip, I used my 2-day Moekko Free Ticket.

Here’s my workload for today:

Collaboration work with Okumura-sensei

4th period with Watanabe-sensei

1st period – Comparative Sentences @ 2nd year of Okumura-sensei
4th period – Let’s Make a Resolution @ 1st year of Watanabe-sensei
5th period – Listening Test @ 2nd year of Okumura-sensei

Day 493: March 9, 2023

Thursday – Embetsu

Embetsu Agricultural High School 3.9.23

It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Rumoi. Today, I’m heading to Embetsu Agricultural High School for my 28th visit for the school year 2022 – 2023. For this trip, I used my 2-day Moekko Free Ticket. Before my collaboration work, I had a lengthy chat with Miyakawa-sensei. He handles the subjects of raising sheep and taking care of flowers.

Here’s my workload for today:

Collaboration works with Sasaki-sensei

5th period – Pictogram Test @ 1A of Sasaki-sensei
6th period – Pictogram Test @ 1B of Sasaki-sensei

KitKat Banana Caramel flavor

After work, my family and I headed to COOP to buy groceries. I was able to avail of the latest seasonal KitKat flavor - KitKat Banana Caramel flavor. 

Day 494: March 10, 2023

Friday – Rumoi

Rumoi High School 3.10.23

It’s a rainy day here in Rumoi City. Instead of going to Tomamae today, I was requested to report for work at Rumoi High School to be an examiner for the CBA Academic Ability Speaking Test for first-year students.

Here’s my work schedule today:

Preparing for the Speaking Test

1st period – Speaking Test Examiner
4th period – Speaking Test Examiner
5th period – Speaking Test Examiner
6th period – Speaking Test Examiner

Baby Nicerio's latest sonogram

While I was working, my wife went to her scheduled checkup. Today, our baby's gender was finally revealed. "IT'S A BOY!"

Overall, it was another productive week for me, but what truly made it special was discovering that I would finally have a son. This is something I have prayed for a long time.

Read more:

Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 71
Moekko Free Ticket

Hokkaido 179

Japan Diaries 4: Summary

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