You can call me "Mrs. Leah"

Holy cow. I got a teaching job. Watch out! haha. So I mentioned in my earlier post that I was going to take my resume to a local Japanese school to inquire about a teaching position....I did that yesterday and talked to some of the staff and they were super nice and just asked me a few questions and then they said the school owner would call me. I got a phone call today from the receptionist saying they would like me to come in for an interview. Now keep in mind, all of the staff is Japanese....two of them spoke pretty good english. I had no idea what to expect for my interview! Well, let's just say it wasn't exactly an interview rather than "okay, which do you feel comfortable teaching?" I was immediately hired I guess. No questions asked. I did all the question asking....and they were trying to understand my questions just as I was trying to understand their answers! I still have no idea other than I am going to be teaching "language" as well as "reading and spelling" to 2nd through the 6th grades....even that I'm not sure. I asked if they have a curriculum or anything they go off of....I don't think they understood. I asked if I make up my own tests....they said yes. I am so confused!! haha. I asked what the dress code was....she didn't really understand, but told me "nothing sexy, you  know (as she pointed to her chest area)." So yeah, still have no idea what really to wear. haha. It does seem a lot more casual compared to the schools in the U.S. Then I asked if I could take home some of the books that I will be teaching from so I can be prepared for the upcoming days and thankfully they gave me some of the books. I have no idea what to even expect. I obviously can only understand English whereas my students don't know English very well, so I foresee this to be a challenge. I think my next few days are going to be spent learning some common Japanese phrases I may need to know in a classroom setting! I figure this job is worth a shot, I can try to teach Japanese kids English and maybe make a difference in their lives, it will keep me busy, I can hopefully learn some Japanese in the process, and I can make some local Okinawa friends and learn from them as much as they may be able to learn from me! You know I will have some great stories from this if nothing else! :-)

Last night I gave my first attempt in making curry. I honestly had only had curry once in my life and that was at Basil in Charleston. Then I got here and we went to a place called Curry Paradise, which was a curry buffet, so I was able to try out all the different types of curry. I found that my favorite type was either a basic chicken or beef curry. I saw the curry mix at the commissary and decided to give it a whirl. This is how I made mine.....I cut up boneless, skinless chicken breasts into cubes. I sliced up onion, carrots, and a few small red potatoes. I sautéed all of those until the onions were translucent. Then I added 2.5 cups of water to the pan and brought it to a boil. Then reduced the heat, covered it, and let it simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken was completely cooked and tender. Then I added the blocks of curry (I used mild) and kept stirring until it was completely dissolved and blended in....I served it over rice and it was delicious! Andrew was impressed, as was I! :-) I will definitely be making curry again in my near future.

By the way, if any of you have any teaching tips or advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it!!