no pokey please!

a few strange things happened today...

It was so hot...had to use the AC in the car for the first time in a while in the morning...

I had to do a medical check through the city, which is required for all teachers within Tokamachi. I went, but being unable to understand my supervisor I went to the wrong place and waited for 45 minutes. After sorting it out, I went to a new building with little health stations all over the place along a wall...I met some male English teachers from another school who had to meet me there because I only work with female English teachers and they were too embarassed to help me with the medical translations and questioning. So after trying to awkwardly work out some English translations that ended up being like "do you have liver bad," "Is your brain OK," "how about your understomach?" and "you shit?", I had to pee in a cup and wait in line for various exams. It was filled with teachers I work with now and random teachers I've worked with at one-shot schools.

The first was blood pressure. Easy enough. Even understood all the Japanese the nurses were saying. Next, weight...got some strange looks and they said "are you always this light?" Next, eye check...through lots of pointing I got it finished, with a perfect right eye and a defective left. After that, I came to the blood test and the needle part...I sort of froze up not only because I don't deal with needles and shots so well, but because it was in front of the 20 or so people that are sitting waiting for their turn. After moving up for it to be my turn, I decided that it wasn't worth it today...it wasn't worth getting needled in front of a million people and fainting or something and giving the entire Tokamachi school system something to gawk at me and gossip about me even more. So, I politely said "Shitakunai!" - I don't want to do it. "Nigemasu!" - I'll run away. They seemed confused that I would turn down the test and after a short meeting they got it approved and I moved on to the next test while every one else got all poked up...but because I was Western enough to say I didn't want to do something, I got away with it. So no having to face my needle phobia today!

Moved on to some weird x-rays, heart tests, height check, ear test, all with really cool but also questionable medical equipment...like, no lead coverings during the x-rays? huh? But there was a really funny old doctor guy who had to do my lifestyle questioning part, who was totally tickled to be asking questions to the young foreign guy. He was funny. I tried to explain my lung surgery to him...and other things...but he just smiled and laughed and listened to my heart and patted me on the shoulder a lot. He said, "healthy boy. But over skinny"

Anyway, on the way home I turned on the car AC again to cool down...and it was BROKEN. No air whatsoever. I felt doomed cuz I have no AC at home either....but eventually the AC magically reappeared just like the disappearing/reappearing act my car heater pulled on me this winter on the way home through a snowstorm.

Went to Matsudai with Debs to see Annie, and met with Mel there...after that went to a new bar called Yamanne which is sort of young and hip and run by an overly genki happy dude who we all like. Moved on to Tanaka's where we saw some people we are all sort of getting to know a little, and met Keiko and one of Debbie's teachers too.

Tomorrow, Nakajo Junior High. And my second lesson isn't planned. Oh well. Last minute improv tomorrow!