I put the finishing touches on the worksheet I've spent most of the afternoon putting together a little before 4pm. I save it in my folder on the teacher's public server and print out a copy. I look over the sheets one more time, then add them to the small pile of other things I've printed out in the last two days. This one is an information gap, pair exercise to practice giving directions. There's another worksheet in the pile to practice describing a room, as well as a draft of a tentative class schedule for the upcoming term. I write out a short note describing these, as well as the partial bits of things I left saved in my folder so Jeremy can pick up where I left off tomorrow.
It's only Thursday, but I am taking Friday off as one of my four days of summer holiday (natsu yasumi). I put the note and pile of papers in the center of Jeremy's (my fellow ALT and sempai (senior) JET) desk, next to my own, and spend the next few minutes fiddling around, cleaning my desk, and mostly waiting for the clock to hit 4:10, so I can get started on my weekend.
The office is ridiculously empty, and only one teacher looks up as I head to the door. We trade the traditional leave-taking phrases. Osakini shitsureshimasu (Excuse me for leaving before you.) on my part and Otsukaresama deshita (Thank you for your hard work.) on hers.
I make my way down the stairs to the entrance without running into anyone else. I grab my outside shoes out of my locker, which is still labeled with my predecessor's name, and quickly switch shoes, leaving my indoor ones in the locker for next week. Then it's a short walk to the bike area. My purse and tote are wedged into the basket. Then I go through the increasingly familiar routine of unlocking the back tire, kicking the kickstand up out of the way, and backing it out of the row of bikes, past the row of cars, jumping on, adjusting my skirt, and pedaling for the school gate.
A quick check for cars, and I'm across the street, and under the railway bridge. From the bridge to the main road is my favorite part of the ride to and from work, because the street is lined with rice fields which are dotted with the occasional group of crows or an egret and the wide blue sky and afternoon sun are clearly visible. It's a bit of a strange sight for me, seeing as I'm used to corn fields towering above me, but a beautiful view all the same.
I cross the main road and ride past the Lawson's (a chain convenience store), and then turn down a narrower road to take 'the back way' home. The first time taking this route, I felt lost in a maze of winding streets with hidden curves and random crossings. But I've got it down now and while the road I follow twists and curves, it is technically the same road, and I think of it as straight in my mental map of the area. I catch the scent of incense soon after turning. The bigger of the two cemeteries along my route comes into view, and sure enough there's a couple of cars parked on the street. It's the week of Obon, the Festival of the Dead. That's the main reason the office was particularly devoid of life this week, most of the teachers took it off to go home and spend the holiday with family. Extra cars and incense have joined me in my travels to and from work this week.
Jeremy also took part of this week off, but for his natsu yasumi, not Obon. He had the heads up that office would be dead. But the empty office gave me the chance to figure out stuff on my own, and try my hand at working with the curriculum. He'll be in tomorrow and hopefully what I've produced in the past few days will past muster and actually be useful.
I pass the second, much smaller cemetery, and that's my signal to look for my turn off. Then it's through a short tunnel under a busier road, watching carefully for cars from all sides. Now I've reached the green slope that runs up to the paved river walk/bike path. I follow along this slope for a few blocks and then practice my dismount. I feel more graceful every time I don't fall on my face while doing that! After wheeling my bike to it's spot, and doing the unlocking routine in reverse, I head into my slightly-cooler-than-outside apartment and immediately turn on the air con. I'll sit under the fan until I don't feel like a puddle of sweat. Then I'll start on dinner.
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