lioness in japan

I just finished six lessons today. My jaws are exhausted from talking. I knew I was in trouble when I was tired by the end of my second lesson of the day. I ploughed on and on and on. I don’t know why I am so tired because I’ve been doing this for several months already…

Not only did I have to speak so much, I had to do it over loud café music sometimes. One student in Ebisu meets me in a very teeny bopper café Bagel & Bagel that blasted Avril Lavigne’s latest album at top volume. I immediately regretted my choice of topic — Michael Moore’s latest documentary on America’s flailing medical system, Sicko. It was esoteric and overwhelming to explain every other word. So much for my enthusiasm for his movie.

As I crawled home on my heels, I decided to open up my weekday rest day, Wednesday. I usually take this day off to meet my language exchange partner and run in the hash at night. I decided to teach in the day but still keep that evening free for my beloved running group.

I’ve been using Brit expat in Taiwan (now in Syria) Daniel Wallace’s experiences as a yardstick of sorts. He thinks five or six lessons are tiring but possible, while seven and eight are just mind crushing.

Now I know how my retired teacher mum feels at the end of the day — grouchy and tired. But I don’t know how she could carry on nagging all night after a day of painstaking verbiage. For the first time ever, I nearly lost my patience when a particular beginner student (a 40-year-old salaryman) refused to admit repeatedly he didn’t understand my instructions “Can you point out the sentences that describe the Mona Lisa picture?” He just stared at the textbook while I asked him for the meaning of each and every word in Japanese. Still nada.)

Please don’t ring me — just message me online. Let my fingers do the talking. The spirit is willing but the flesh is not.

Related posts:

1. Mid-week update
2. Like a proud teacher
3. Taking Japanese lessons again

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