Alas, my voice has nearly disappeared!! I have decided to assimilate to the Japanese culture and wear a cough mask. It is dreadfully unattractive.
I still went to work yesterday – no way a cold could stop me! I had five lessons to complete, and was concerned my voice would not hold out for the day. However, one of my English teacher’s came to the rescue and supplied me with a microphone for the day. Thank goodness for that!!
It was a tough day, but students were very patient. The first years proved very shy still, and sometimes very difficult to motivate. Nevertheless, I was impressed with how many students thought it was cool that my favourite Japanese band was ‘One OK Rock’. I was blown away with the third years’ English skills. Each introduced themselves and an aspect of Japanese culture in English. It was evident they had spent so much effort and time into preparing these presentations. I was truly grateful for this, and even learnt about some new Japanese culture!
On a different note, it seems that as the only foreigner in Soja, students will recognise you anywhere! Regardless of whether I teach these students, they often know who I am and eagerly wave and greet me at supermarkets, train stations, or even while riding my bike! My popularity here must be increasing ;)
So fingers crossed my voice slowly comes back. Especially before my singing debut on Friday!
