Tuesday, October 1, 2013

All Work and No Play Makes TBL....

....a bit of a grumpy, stressed out mess!


 Another pretty park that allowed us access to a wonderful bike trail along the Santa Ana River.

Not that I have been slaving away teaching masses of classes and walking lots of canines, but getting it all up and running and started has scrambled my brains a bit.  Especially when trying to figure out my schedule using Japan time!

Most of the "rivers" I have seen in Socal have been very  dry, but this one had lots of greenery growing in it and flowing water.

A lovely bike trail in great condition.


It's got me all mixed up!  I almost missed teaching my first two classes thinking for days that my first day would be yesterday, Monday, afternoon.  Good thing I took another look and discovered my first day was Sunday afternoon, which is Monday morning in Japan.  They are 16 hours ahead.  So, I greeted my first students on Sunday afternoon with a "Good Monday Morning!" You can imagine how I might be a tad confused - we won't even talk about how I messed up my availability for future weeks, having to use Japan time on a confusing work schedule.

Okay, we'll talk about it.  One of my trainers emailed me that I had put down that I was available for times there weren't even classes! I "fessed" up and told her I had trouble with the time conversion and would do it all over, but that I was balking at having to wake up 2:30am Pacific Time to teach a shift of classes.  Trainer responded that I did not have to do the entire shift, I could do the latter part meaning I could teach between 6:30am and 9am, which is night time, same day in Japan, 9:30-midnight, their most popular class time. 

Oh, and we have the time change coming soon don't we?
Fun!


A very busy highway on one side, a peaceful oasis on the other.

My first two classes went really well.  I had two students in the first class who appear on my screen as avatars - they get to see my lovely face, poor things, but they didn't seem scared by that vision.  The 45 minute class flew by with little problems.  My trainer, who was spying observing, came on after the students logged off briefly and said I had done well except I had talked too much and had "talked over" the students sometimes which is considered rude in Japan.

I think that was my nerves showing and I resolved to do better in my second class.  I don't want to be thought of as rude!!



Lots of water birds enjoy this place.

Second class, one student and we were practicing some "business phrases".  "Brainstorming" was the title of class, so you can imagine it started out with a long discussion about what that term actually meant.  He had never heard of it before and wondered at what age children in the US are taught brainstorming.  Yes, it was an interesting 45 minutes and was actually fun as we did some role playing and he thanked me very much at the end.  I wasn't as rude with my interruptions and babbling, so said my patient trainer.  Who by the way lives in Mississippi.  Another time zone!



I'm looking forward to teaching four classes this Friday morning, doing a dog walking gig over the weekend as well as a Saturday evening class.


In between that Mr. Tennis and I will get out and see some more of this beautiful new area we live in.

Have a wonderful week!

P.S. We are the lucky recepients of free movie tickets thanks to The Maven who generously shares the free passes she gets through work.  Here's a very good one we saw over the weekend, directed by Ron Howard:


Don't let the Formula One racing subject scare you off, this had a great story and some pretty spectacular film work.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like it all went pretty smoothly! I love the scenery you are sharing with us from your new area. Best wishes for continued success.

Vicki @ lifeinmyemptynest said...

I think the whole thing is so interesting - global and computer education - probably the way of the future!

Olive said...

I know of this. I have to figure out Korea time which is thirteen hours ahead. You have a mighty fine brain.

Unknown said...

Consolation thought, you could be an airline hostess in Air Japan.....
So they are learning American English and instructors are supposed to know Japanese way? how about our ways. Anyway you are doing a good job and I know you will enjoy the exchange.
Beautiful photos.

Chatty Crone said...

You are impressing me. Two jobs and trying to figure out all the things you are trying to get done. And your jobs sure sound interesting. I don't think I could do it! Sandie

Mr. Tennis said...

I look forward to exploring the rest of the Santa Ana bike trail. It runs a total of 26 miles from Corona to the Pacific Ocean.

Mr. Tennis said...

I look forward to exploring the rest of the Santa Ana bike trail. It runs a total of 26 miles from Corona to the Pacific Ocean.

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

Whoa!
You do have a full plate, don't you?
The 'English' class and the dogs... sounds like quite an endeavor.
Just figuring out the time zones...is brainstorming enough. I would imagine the fresh air and riding bikes is fun and relieves some of the stress of your TWO JOBS!!!
I agree with Olive, you have a mighty fine brain...
Pat

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

That time change would be quite confusing! It sounds like you worked it out fine, though! Your photos are gorgeous...reminds me of old linen postcards...

Mr. Connor said...

What great pictures of the area. A wonderful bike trail. Times zones ~ well Japan ~ Australia ~ east coast US & Mid-west US ! My head hurt trying to think about keeping all those straight. How about a wall of clocks each at a different time zone ? ? ? GO TEACH ! !

Robin Larkspur said...

Beautiful photos! Great to see you and Mr.T out on your bikes exploring all these lovely places.
I would be miserable at trying to figure out the time zones. Good luck with all the calculating, but you will most likely be a whiz at it very soon. Imagine that! You were talking too much. LOL!!

RURAL said...

Wow, do they never sleep there? Midnight is pretty late for me..lol. Good for you to get this all figured out, do they have some sort of sliding scale, or something on the web that will do the time conversion for you?

Jen

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I want to see that movie but today I'm going to see Prisoners. Glad you caught that time difference and hopefully your schedule will fit together soon. That park looks amazing. So glad your out and about discovering new areas. Over 25 years here and I haven't been to the places you have been in your first year!
Debby

Alice Kien-Zella said...

You rude? NEVER. You are such a sweet thing, wait until they get to know you. Sounds like you are teaching the student English and you are learning their culture, and in time they will learn the American culture through you also just by interacting back and forth. I am glad you work out the time difference and got to do other things too, such as gigs walking, spending time with hubby checking out new areas, movies and taking BEAUTIFUL pictures to share ....
Keep up the good works!

Alice Kien-Zella said...

I mean dogs walking not gigs walking, I blame it on the anesthetic from yesterday's surgery.