I love loooonnnggg weekends!

Friday was a workday so they could teach us how to use the new computer program that we have been using since August. They played boring computer videos teaching us how to take attendance (which we have done four times a day for about 85 days now). Then they made us watch more boring computer videos about how to use the gradebook program that we don't have to use until next year. Finally, they set us free at 10:00 to go "practice using the program." Yeah...okay, sure! Shortly after that, Mary, the principal, came to my room to ask if I would be on the SST which reports to the CSC by contacting the CSE. After having her explain the alphabet soup (SST = student support team, CSC = Case Study Committee, CSE = Chairperson for Special Education), and my role, I agreed to do it.

I went down to talk to Debra (the CSE) and she explained further saying that she was happy I had agreed to be the SST chairperson. Huh? Mary never said chairperson! I'm sure of it! I don't want to be the chairperson of anything! Too late now! Debra thought that was pretty funny because that is how she got to be the CSE . I also found out that there hasn't ever been an SST here and that with all of the new staff in Special Ed and the counseling office, they decided that they needed one. So I am now the brand new chairperson of the brand new SST and I have really no clue what to do.

After going to lunch with my team at a Thai restaurant (it was gross and the company was, um, less than thrilling), I finally got my car back! Woohoo! The top looks great and, better yet, keeps my dry while driving around town! It was a long two weeks without a car, but I got it back just in time to get Kitty to her vet appointment on Friday. That turned out to be a joke though because the vet was busy delivering puppies, so Kitty didn't get seen. I didn't mind because it was just a formality anyway. The vet is supposed to see the dog within 72 hours of her entry into Japan. When I took her in the day after we arrived, the vet was off duty so they set up the appointment for Friday and she was delivering puppies, so now the next appointment is in February. The receptionist took all of our official papers and gave me some more official papers to add to my stack, but never asked anything about where Kitty is being quarantined! Go figure! :)

Saturday was a very unique day! Evelyn invited me to go to Yokohama with some of the high school teachers. I've only been there once, so I said yes without asking what we were going to do. When we got to the train station I learned that we were going to the Yokohama Ramen Museum. Hmmm...ramen? As in noodles? Yup!We rode the train to Yokohama and had lunch in a mall attached to the train station. It was called the Yakitori Club, and it was very good. Yakitori basically means meat on a stick. I actually tried miso soup (very popular here, but not very good, in my opinion), cold ramen (looked and tasted like spaghetti with Italian dressing on it), and Japanese cole slaw (it didn't have much dressing on it, so I actually liked that). I had fried chicken, and the others got samplers with all kinds of things on a stick...hot dogs, meat balls, chicken, pork, asparagus wrapped in bacon. The food was great and we had a really good time.

We then walked through the pouring rain to the Ramen museum. It was extremely crowded! The downstairs was decorated to be a replica of Tokyo in the 1950's (when ramen got popular). We wandered around and realized that the basic idea is that you can try lots of different kinds of noodles if you want to wait in really long lines and pay lots of money. It was neat to see, but we were glad that we had already had lunch.

We walked back upstairs to the gift shop and found the museum display. It was all in Japanese, but we watched the little movie explaining the history and got the basic idea. I "translated" the movie for everyone and we decided that was more interesting than whatever the real narrator said. :) We then found the "My Cup of Noodles" display. It was actually pretty funny. You buy a cup and decorate it. Then you hand it to the lady behind the glass and she sterilizes the cup, puts noodles in and you go to the next station. They have you choose four freeze-dried ingredients (corn, cheese, chicken, peas, etc) to put in and a flavoring (seafood, chicken, or curry). Next you watch them put a top on, seal it, and shrink wrap it. They hand you a bag to puff up with air and you have your own special cup of ramen noodles (that you can wear like a purse)...just like we ate in college...and at SRCS...and, well, now!

It was definitely an interesting day! Not many people can say that they have been to the Ramen museum. :) We headed home in the rain and then I went home to watch TV. Sunday I stayed home and read, did laundry, and waited for my landlady to come. Today I waited for the gas man to come fix Josh's heater and I'm now at school because I was having internet withdrawl. Basically it's been a nice, relaxing weekend. I've gotta get my notes ready for tomorrow though, so Sayonara!