Nope, we didn’t do the two together, though it would have been interesting to rock climb with our suits and ties on.
Yesterday was Mid-Year Conference for all the ALTs and some Japanese English Teachers working in Yamanashi. The conference was held in the Misaka Educational Training Center, the “base” school where I work at. I had to help set-up the equipment at the center, but due to communication problems among my co-workers, there were a lot of loose ends that I had to stress about during the day of the conference. I learned a lot yesterday, mainly on what my department really does and really has (this is after 1 year and more of working here). This is what happens when I don’t ask the right person for relevant information. However, I do have to thank some of my co-workers for putting up with my last-minute requests – My bucho-san, Gomi-sensei, Uno-sensei, Hayakawa-san and Sakamoto-sensei. おつかれさまでした！
So there were a lot of glitches involved in the equipment yesterday, particularly with projectors not communicating with the computers. Because the presenter’s were scheduled one after the other, there was not enough time to test the equipment with their files. Then when they were ready to present (after setting up), the projector would decide not to work. A suggestion for next year: Please allot time for the presenter’s to load their files, prepare the equipment, etc. Also, tell the presenters to set-up early to avoid unwanted glitches.
After the conference was over, a number of us ALTs went rock (wall) climbing in a place in Isawa. Jessica, Amanda, Marissa and Rick, Clint (Clive), Nancy, Elaine and I headed out in an entourage of four cars towards Pirania Climbing Gym. I’ve never climbed before, but I can easily see why it can be addictive. It’s the challenge of going up that wall and not falling, as well as the rush of anticipating your next move. I’ll steal some pictures soon.
