Gotta love Shogakko sometimes

I've been in a bit of a funk for the last few days; I guess it's going to happen with a job of this nature. Since my work is largely dependent on if the three English teachers need me for classes or not, there are days where I'm too busy to think and days where all I do is sit at my desk. I can usually find something productive to do with the time, but translating documents for hours on end gets old. You get sorta angry just sitting at a desk sometimes, so those are the days I leave as soon as my time is up, or earlier if I have business at the Board of Education, which I did this past Thursday.

I love my section of the BOE. Whenever we three JETs show up there's business talk for sure, but even as busy as they are, the staff always make time to dick around with us. When I get there, my co-worker/supervisor asks me if I'm there to kick it, and I say yeah and we laugh and stuff before I hit him up about a few issues and concerns I've had. I'm whispering because while along with work matters we're also bouncing around the idea of going out for drinks, it's a busy office with 100+ people who shouldn't be bothered with our idle chit-chat. As we're conversing though I hear a small voice from down the hall . I thought it was in my head since I barely heard it the first time, but after turning around I see a small girl with glasses crooked on her face.

She was of the special needs children at a elementary school I go to. As I say hello, I began thinking “I don't know why she's a special needs kid; she's always so cheerful and pretty quick in English class.” Figured out why soon after. In the second or two it takes me to turn and wave she starts yelling, and “BRIAN-SENSEI! BRIAN-SENSEI!” rang throughout the 2^nd floor of the BOE. Remember, 100+ people, and the BOE Director's office is a meter to our left. So cute, it was absolute gold; you couldn't pay for better publicity. Everyone starts mad chuckling, and as much as I wanted to laugh I held back so that I could properly talk to her. Took a good deal of energy to hold back my grin though, cuz that really made my day.

When I say I was in a funk, I was in that bad funk. That “feeling all unappreciated and stuff... [sad face]” stuff, but this little girl snapped me right out of it. No way you could be depressed in the face of all that adorableness. Not only that, but it shows people that wouldn't normally know how just awesome I am at my job just how awesome I am at my job -- so awesome in fact, that kids on occasion go berserk from the joy of being in my presence. Shogakko, banzai.