What...Storm?

Hey blog readers!  How are you doing?  Well I'm happy to report that nothing serious happened when first hurricane in 2 years to hit Japan, Hurricane (Typhoon 台風) Melor came to shore in Osaka.  The winds were quite strong at night and I really couldn't sleep.  There was strong rain and wind for the duration of the night.  3am was probably the worst time for me.  I just watched the news on my cell phone and hoped nothing would break or fall apart.  The eye of the storm didn't hit Osaka directly luckily.  Unfortunately, other parts of Japan were not so lucky.  Here is a quick story that sums up the storm from The Examiner. Typhoon Melor  School was canceled for most of Osaka on Thursday.  I was glad because I really didn't want to venture outside with all that rain on the streets.  To sum it up, my first experience with a hurricane was uneventful, thankfully!

So today was the start of the 3rd term here at my school.  There are 4 terms total at my school.  Later this month is the school festival called 文化祭　"Bunkasai".  I talked about this event in the past, so look at the archives if you wish.  It will be held on the final Saturday and Sunday of October.  The bad thing is that I have to work on that weekend.  The good thing is that we get "make-up" days off the following Monday and Friday.  Brilliant!  That's another perk of working at a school in Japan.  When you have to work on a weekend, they will will usually give you the following Monday off or a day of your choice during the week!  I can't really complain about that! :)

This Saturday I will volunteer at a local Elementary school down the road from my high school.  They are having an "international festival".  That's a pretty vague term, but basically they will have some foreign English teachers and foreign exchange students from around the area to teach the kids about games from our countries.  From my school, 2 exchange students and I will volunteer to help.  I have to teach the kids from the elementary school about a simple game I used to play when I was a kid in school.  So the best game that I have memories of was Heads-up 7up!  That was a great game!  If you don't know this game, I'll give you the basic rules.  You get a group of students to come to the front of the class and have the rest of the students stay seated.  The seated students have to put their heads down on the desk with their eyes closed.  They have to stick their hand out with their thumb up.  The standing students will walk around the classroom quietly touching one students thumb.  Afterwards, the students who had their thumb touched will have to stand up and guess who picked them.  If they guess correctly, they get to stand up and join the standing group.  Pretty simple right?  Well I will see how it goes tomorrow!

I'm trying to decide where to travel this Christmas holiday season!  Any suggestions?  Until next time!

peace

vince