On the up-swing... Well, I think I'm running a record here for most posts in a week. Today was better. I still don't know about Kyoto and such (although I think I'm going to confront Kawaai sensei later and tell her that I am, in fact, willing to stay home from Kyoto...more on that later). But, today at school was better. I was at Segawa today, which is sometimes a struggle, because I spend two days there, two days at Funehiki, and then switch again for one day at Segawa before the weekend. I sometimes feel disconnected on Fridays (well, and on every other day, too, but Fridays in particular = ) But, today I actually made new connections. There is a boy in my 2 nen sei (8th grade) class named Ryo that I have a real heart for. He hardly knows any English, and I think that it's easy to take his lack of participation in class as a show of disrespect. I see it as a front. He's aloof on the surface, but he's actually a pretty sensetive fella. His face absolutely illuminates when you compliment him, and he gets this goofy smile when he gets an answer right. Well, today after lunch I had the opportunity to talk with him a bit. The conversation didn't get much past "What's your favorite color?" but sometimes I don't think that matters. What matters is that he trusts me. He doesn't have to show scads of appreciation for me, I just want him to know that I love him for who he is. Not for how well he does in English class. I think today was a step in the right direction. So, directly after this "conversation," I heard a classical piece that I recognized coming from the music room, one door over. I ran in (just at the end of lunch break) to see who was playing, thinking it was a student. What I found when I bound through the door was that it was a teacher. The music teacher, to be exact, who is part-time like me, so I only ever see her on Fridays. I must admit, I thought she was a bit stand-offish, because she's never really tried to talk to me (if that shows you just a bit of how selfish and judgemental I can be at my chore...God's working on it...), but when I showed interest in what she was playing, an immediate connection sparked. It turned out it was Beethoven (not Mozart, as I had guessed), and we immediately embarked on a discussion of such things, sharing an insatiable interest in "hongaku" (music). And we continued talking, even after lunch break was over. When the bell rang, instead of rushing off to whatever she thought should be next on her agenda (as almost every other Japanese person I've ever met has done), she actually went over to the door and shut it, so that we could have more privacy to talk. Yikes! So we talked on an on...for an entire hour! We talked about our lives, our experiences in college, how long we've played piano, and other random topics. It was great. But the best part about it was.....it was almost entirely in Japanese. I couldn't believe it. Though I didn't understand every word (not even close), we maintained a decent conversation, in Japanese, for over an hour. Amazing. Just amazing. It was so nice to be reminded that, no, I'm not stupid just because I can't speak the language fluently, and what a wonderful break of my stereotype to find that this woman was willing to not only spend time with me, but take time for me. Blessings seem to come here where and when you least expect them.