The Kids (cont.)

Class with 1-1 has been a painful experience from the get-go, so I will save them for last, as I can hardly remember their names.

2-2

My second year class only five students, and exceptionally small number for a class, even for Togi Highschool (although I sometimes attend a home ec class with only four students). There are four girls, and one boy, and most of them took the class because they knew that it would be an easy 30% (the passing grade in Japan).

I shall start with Miharu, my favorite in the class. In comparison to the others, I only consider her English to be the best because she tries the hardest, and she has an impeccable vocabulary. When I speak to her, it is only because she doubts herself, that she doesn't understand. Miharu is very pretty, but not popular (she is not unpopular either), and she lives in a takoyaki (octopus balls) restaurant. I have yet to visit it, although I desperately want to. I plan to embarass her completely on the occasion.

Her dream is to work with a foreign company, and I think she will once she learns how to pronounce words. She is the type to work so hard on something that she over corrects, and her pronunciation is the perfect metaphor for that. The vowels are always over exaggerated, and the the fricatives sound she's conjuring spitballs up to her teeth.

Next to Miharu is dear, shy Mike, who I dismissed as the too-cool-for-school girl a little to readily. She is dating Keisuke, a very popular boy, but it is being kept as a secret. When I mentioned it in the middle of 2-2 home, Fujii looked at me with that sort of wide-eyed expression that told me to keep it quiet. Later on, I find out that Mikei was a victim of ijime (bullying, and, in her case, through indifference), and suddenly all things fall into place. This, coupled with the fact that her father is incredibly strict and unforgiving to his girl's mediocre grades, makes Mikei incredibly withdrawn and afraid to speak up. Her sister, Anna, is the last remaining bad girl in 3-2, and the only one to not drop out. Everyday, Anna becomes increasingly unpleasant. If I spoke Japanese, I would be more comforting to dear Mike, who's home (single parent, which usually brands a child as a pariah in Japan) and school environment are not good. All I can do is try to make her happy at least in my class. Yesterday, she came to school with her hair blackened, and not the brown, presumbly rebellious color before. I said I liked it, and she just shook her head and said she hated it. Keisuke kept his mouth shut.

Keisuke, is also in my class. He does seem to like Mikei quite a bit, although she does seem far too smart for him. I often say that Keisuke has deer-in-headlights syndrome everytime I talk to him, but miracle of miracle, he's come back from Australia with amazing listening abilities! He now understands everything I say! He still can't speak for the life of him, but he understands! Whenenver I ask him how he is, the asnwer is invariably "hungry". He reminds me of my brother in highschool in that respect; thin, wiry, athletic, and eating all of the time.

The right side of the class is Remi and Miho, who are basically the same person. I tease them and call them either Mimi, or Reho. Whenever I ask what they did over the weekend, one will answer and the other just nods and says "the same, the same." So, I tease them.

Remi is a smart girl, but lazy. When I first came to Togi, Etienne left me a note that said that 2-2 was a class filled with students who "hate English only a little less than they hate math" and a girl who "is talented, but to lazy to bother", and I am always trying to figure out who this girl is. At first, I thought it was Miharu, because she was the only one mentioned in the note ("Miharu really is great, though") but now I've come to realize it is Remi. She wants to be on an international hotel's staff, where she will speak English. I try not to sneer at other people's dream, but it seems so low key for some one who can do more. My respect for her is becoming less and less the more I learn about her.

In Australia, she accused her host mother of stealing money from her. However, as the woman has had many many exchange students, and had never been accused of stealing before, I'm more inclined to believe her. Remi lied about not shopping on a day she did, and I think on that day she may have spent more than she realized. I don't think she is being malicious, but is simply believing only the truth that she sees as self-evident. Clearly, she didn't make any mistakes. I need to get her to learn how to step back and be responsible as opposed to being such a drama queen. The host mother is now suing our school for defamation of character.

I assume Remi is popular, even though I find her hair style dorky and unattractive. She is the baseball team's manager with Miho, and that usually lends one a little fame.

Miho has beautifully long hair, which she uses to hide the fact that she is sleeping. I, of course, don't let her get away with this. Her English has steadily gotten worse as time has gone by, and I wonder at how to push her. Even Australia has not improved her. She and I will have a talk if this keeps up. I do not envy her at all, since I am a strict teacher.

She is the student I know the least about, mostly because that's what she wants. See how she succeeds.

Of 2-2 home, I hope that all of them will take my class next semester, but I fear that there will only be three in it, if I'm lucky. 2-2 home is full of shy people, and my brash personality makes them feel too awkward. Ganbare! 2-2 home! Take oral class and actually learn how to speak, not just read and write!

Listening to: David Bowie Song by the Flight of the Conchords
Eating: vegetable stirfry without rice. I hate diets.
Class was: sad. I'll no longer teach 3-2 in one month's time!