Cracked it!

Finally! I have discovered how to team teach with Noda-sensei! Sensei and me have had something of a love-hate relationship since day 1. I always dreaded teaching with him, because he left the entire lesson up to me, and it was always such a hit-or miss affair. In retrospect, it has probably made me a better teacher, but the road to that has been a little bumpy. Anyway, things are different now, and we work a lot better together. And now, the answer to good lessons which make me, the kids AND sensei happy is MUSIC! And it was staring me in the face all the time. Dummy. I won't go into detail, but this week, for the first time ever, we were united: in disbelief that out of the 75 third graders (14-15 years old) in the school, 5 of them knew or had heard of John Lennon's 'Imagine'. Shock-a-rooney. So we have decided to take the bull by the horns and introduce the kids to a song that at first glance is beautiful and idealistic, but by the time someone is 15 years old, they should be beginning to question its message. Jings!

Speaking of music, I am in a musical wonderland just now, with all the new stuff I am listening to. If anyone is in need of some new sounds, then let me know. I can put together a zappy CD for ya, and send it off! Maybe the stuff I'm listening to isn't new (I don't think it is), but you need to remember, that I have more or less been out of the Western musical loop for over two years now, and there's a lot of stuff that has come out during that time. I have a lot of experimentation to do when I get home! Maybe I'll try to get a job in a record shop when I get home as a stop gap...

Travels in my more immediate future are on the horizon. I want to go to SE Asia this winter break (sick birds and suicide bombers be damned!). I'm hoping for Cambodia, as it's pretty cheap to get to from this end, but I still need a travel partner. I would travel alone, if only it wasn't Christmas. We'll see. I've always wanted to visit Cambodia, and I want to go before it becomes too much like Vietnam or Thailand: overrun by white backpackers with degrees and a burning desire to find themselves. I think at the moment that it's not quite that bad. And I might not get such a good chance to do it so cheaply again...

Must be off!