August - English Class, Chris, Cosmoppe, Yukuashi Karate Competition & English Camp

This month is school holidays, so instead of doing nothing Yuki organised for me to do some after school care English classes with elementary kids (K-3). It was really fun but teaching young kids definitely takes a lot more energy than my usually junior high school student. They were all so cute though.
Chris (Powell) came and stayed before returning to Australia which opened my eyes to the different world of relationships in Japan. Everyone thought he was my boyfriend and even though I said he slept in a different room, they said it didn't matter. In Japan guys never stay over at girl's places unless they are engaged. Why not? The answer I got was "Guys cannot be trusted not to come in during the night and jump into the same bed"!!!! Also girls and guys can't be friends... there always has to be something going on. Although I think this thinking is very backwards, it has made me aware that I better be careful about when guys visit that I might get myself a bad reputation for doing nothing at all. Anyway it was great to have Chris here for a few days before he returned to Oz. Karaoke is also great when he is around.
On Saturday 26th it was Yukuhashi Cosmoppe. Unfortunately the weather wasn't too great, we had a storm come. The rain was heavy and the lightning over us. Chris and I got shocked my the static electricity which was quite scary. It shows don't hold metal, or an umbrella in a lightning storm. Pretty stupid actually. But the rain did stop and like last year the fireworks were really good.
The following day was a karate competition my sensei organised. Jared (new ALT), Joy, Yuki, Airi and my next door neighbours came to watch. My aim was do improve on the last tournament. The photo is of Shiori, Rika and me. We all won our divisions. Next tournament in December 3rd. That night there was a enkai (party) for everyone who helped organise the event. The beer and shochu flowed steadily. We went to a snack bar afterwards and sang karaoke. Lots of fun!
The 28th to the 30th was an English camp. The first day was a bit of a struggle considering I got home at 1:30 or something. I think I was still a little bit effected in the morning. The camp went really well and the group I was in charge of were great. I taught them how to make lamingtons which they loved. We had a small and we toasted marshmallows. Oishii!!!