Not much going on here.. The entire third grade and all their teachers are away on a class trip to Kyoto. The rest of us are working on a half day of classes and afternoons of parent teacher conferences at the respective students' houses. The school has been positively still. I've been working on my new lesson plans (reality of 19 classes a week hits next Monday) and staring out the window. Its absolutely beautiful outside. I think today it may have hit 70 degrees. There are a handful of open daffodils and one proud open tulip. I think they're all waiting to bloom until I board the bus for Tokyo on Friday. Running outside has been wonderful, though.

On a random happy note: my plan to wait for the outgoing JETs to sell their skis has worked! Yesterday I committed to buying skis from a woman up north. She's a fantastic skiier from New Zealand and had "sweet bindings" (her words, not mine... like I'd know the difference!) put in them after having her knee reconstructed (eek!). She says they've been everywhere and are top notch. They even have tongues of fire down the middle... now that sounds like me, don't you think? ha! I will probably still need boots because her feet are smaller, but she's throwing them and the poles in for free.

Other than that... there's just not a heck of a lot to report! Hope you're well!