My First (Practice) Adult Lesson

This post was written Tuesday evening.

I taught my first adult lesson today. Unlike the kids lesson, where I felt unprepared and I feel like I bumbled through many parts of it, I remembered most of the structure and points to note. I think I hit every step needed, and there were only a few points the trainer brought up I needed to address. I still need to relax! I’m not sure how I can address this problem, because no matter how many times I tell myself to relax, I still get anxious and it’s debilitating at times. The rest of my problems were minor, but I’ll certainly make a point to work on them.

We also practiced interviewing prospective students today, and while I did much better the second time through, I still don’t feel certain of my skills in this area. I’ll have to practice this more once I reach my school. Speaking of which: in one week, I will be working in the actual school! I visit the school on Monday, but I think most of the time will be spent greeting the staff and other teachers, moving my luggage to my apartment, and applying for my resident alien card and completing other paperwork. I won’t be teaching the first few days, either. The teacher I’m replacing will probably teach next week (at least some of the lessons; I’ll find out soon!) and I will be introduced to each class and start preparing for real teaching!

On a side note, we had a decent earthquake this morning (maybe a 3 or 4? I can’t look it up while writing this post, though I might remember to check once I reach the internet cafe). Nothing was damaged or even fell. I’ve mentioned there is a large amount of construction going on in the building behind us, and that tends to shake the ground pretty violently, but I was able to identify the shaking as an earthquake pretty quickly. Nobody panicked (remember, most of us have been in Japan or at least earthquake-prone areas).

I’ve not put much thought into what I’m going to do next weekend. I hope to meet up with Elizabeth and Eiji, but if that doesn’t happen I have several options worth exploring within my current budget. I’ll need to repack my bags, which I’m not looking forward to! I haven’t accumulated much extra weight, but it was a challenge getting everything properly organized the first time. Meanwhile, I’m off towards the train station to post this and my other topics to the blog, and I can grab a bite to eat as its 8pm, which means dinner time! I’m thinking curry! That stuff was awesome.