Ooh, I really hate the last day or so pre-travel. Did I pack enough? Did I pack too much? Did I remember all the important stuff? Am I an idiot for taking the bus to the airport (despite having done so often and never having had any problems, even that one time there was a car accident AND a typhoon. Heck, even when I returned to Japan smack dab in the middle of the busy travel season and there was an accident on the highway, we were still only 45 minutes late, which is do-able although would be rushing things at the airport)? Basically I will not relax until I am actually AT the airport, at which point the process pretty much takes over and the only thing I have to do is wander around the duty free store and stop for my traditional pre-flight Starbucks chai latte.

Tomorrow is going to be a bit of a mad rush as I try to cook up all the food left in the fridge and make some granola to snack on (it's a 10 hour flight, I guarantee I'll get peckish) and clean up and make sure every last thing is packed and don't forget to actually go to work.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go obsess over whether or not I'll be ok taking the bus.

It's all very well and good when my students are chatty and open, but sometimes maybe I want them to be a bit more reserved. Tonight I presented a worksheet to my high school class consisting of two boys and a girl, all in the second grade of high school, which works out to about grade 11 in Canadian terms. The worksheet presented the rather unlikely scenario of being on a sinking ship in eel shark infested waters, with a lifeboat that only seats seven (of which you have apparently taken control, presumably with a large gun of some sort), but enough time to stop and think about who you want on the boat with you as you make the 10 km journey to a small desert island.

The theory was that they would debate the good and bad points of each potential lifeboat survivor and then come to a consensus on who the lucky six were. (So, actually, this lifeboat seems to seat nine, with the three English-studying teenagers ruling it with iron fists.) All three easily agreed on saving the farmer and the housewife (because she "could cook the food" and "help everyone else" and oh, the tongue-biting I did). The 40 year old male nurse vs the 60 year old female doctor was more of a heated debate, although they did all agree that at least one medical professional had to make it on. Just to stir things up a bit, I pointed out that it didn't specify what kind of doctor she is. Personally, I'd probably rather take my luck with the nurse than a neurosurgeon, but in the end they managed to agree to save both. So that was four.

The religious leader was tossed almost immediately, as was the wrestler. I eventually had to force them to choose between the male comedian and the female actress, and while my female student was not convinced we needed either of them, one boy felt very strongly that saving the 25 year old actress was of paramount importance. For, y'know, spirit lifting purposes. Of course.

The 17 year old unmarried pregnant girl turned out to be quite contentious. The first thing the actress-saving boy asked when he read her description was "Is she pretty?", although in the end, he and the female student wanted to save her because of the baby. The other boy, though, was having none of that. With the exception of the homemaker and the elderly doctor, he wanted a lifeboat filled with young(ish) strong males, on the grounds that they'd survive longer and would be more useful around the desert island. The pregnant teen, he argued, would require too much care and would not be very useful. "Besides," he said, "think about it. She's 17 and pregnant. She is not a good girl."

So getting pregnant at a young age is now grounds for being fed to sharks? Okay then...

Oh, but it gets worse. The other boy lit up at this, smacked his friend on the arm, and said "Yes. Exactly. She's not a good girl." At which point the female student literally sprang from her chair in disgust and I wondered if I'd be able to bleach my brain out later.

In the end, though, I forced the horny teenager to choose between the actress and the teenager and he opted for the actress.

In the end it was a fun and lively exercise, but it gave me far too much insight into the minds of sixteen year old boys for comfort.

Currently occupying first place in my "I know it's expensive but I waaaaaaaannnnnnt it!" heart, I give you more Fluevogs. Look at them! So cute! So practical! Think how perfect they would be for travelling...sturdy and (one presumes, given the brand) comfy enough to go sightseeing all day in, but also dressy enough that you wouldn't have to worry about packing pretty-but-impractical shoes for nice events.

Sigh.

I think today might mark some sort of record for earliest day of the year to go without turning the heater on at work. It got a bit chilly towards the end but not uncomfortably so and when I asked the students if they wanted the heat on they said they were fine. Spring! It is, I must admit, easier to brave-little-soldier-on in the face of hayfever when the weather is this lovely. It seems less unfair than when I am a miserable sniffly mess and it's freezing out.

Tonight one of my high school students turned to me and told me, in English, that she respected me. I asked if that was because I was in the middle of constructing an elaborate and clearly outrageous lie while radiating innocent sincerity, and she said yes. And that is the secret to connecting with your students: find something you have in common. In the case of myself and this 16 year old girl, we are both lazy and sarcastic and tend to bake when bored. (Also we both find her younger brother to be rather annoying. I am more amused by him than she is, but we both agree that sometimes you just want to smack him upside the head.)

I had 12 classes today! That is, for the record, a lot of classes. Mind you, six of those took place in a two hour period, but still. I always feel so productive on Wednesdays. I went to the far reaches of town, taught six classes, came home, swam, had lunch, did laundry, and went back to work for another six classes. On the other hand, dinner tonight was cake provided by the aforementioned 16 year old girl because right now even making a grilled cheese sandwich is far too much effort.

Spring! It is here! Of course, now I have probably just jinxed it, but a quick look at the extended weather forecast promises temperatures in the double digits all week, and nighttime lows that don't dip into the minuses. I'm really looking forward to that last part as I was getting tired of the constant shivering and the need to wear a hat indoors.

I am extra-enjoying the nice weather as, for the moment, my hayfever is set to mild. Andy has been complaining about the non-stop sneezing and last week one of my students showed up to class with her own box of tissue (never a good sign), but so far I've been lucky. I would like to attribute this to things like doing yoga (surprisingly good for hayfever) and the twice daily cups of ベニフウキ that I'm drinking, as these are things I can keep doing, but deep in my heart I know that the pollen is just waiting for me to relax so that it can clobber me. In the meantime, I shall try to enjoy every day with the sort of "tomorrow, we die!" mentality that encourages living for the moment.