Plodding along.

The last week was rather uneventful. Even events that should have happened (such as rainy season) just weren't going to happen. It's all good though, as it meant an opportunity to relax and take it easy which was sorely needed. Although with the heat rising, sleep is soon going to become an issue again.

Monday was a return to dance class, and AbSlance brought her boyfriend Josh. Since the last time I went 2 new girls have joined the class. They appear to not have a clue. One of them cannot do the simple arm rotating warm-up exercises yet she can put her leg behind her head. And so can I it seems. I had been planning to return to class for a while, but after the last cycling accident I had a lot of trouble with my left leg. Not any more. Last Monday I managed to get it right behind my head. Maybe I did dislocate it after all...

English Conversation class on Tuesday was good, simply for the reason that Christine and I have taken it into our own hands to do what we want, so we plan games and exercises around a theme. Kind of what we thought we'd be doing last September when we started, only to be shot down in flames.

Boney M made a surprise appearance at school on Wednesday. Not in the flesh though. I don't think they're friendly enough these days to stay in a room together, let alone fly to Japan to make an appearance in front of an Elementary school class. I had to teach the kids the months of the year, so I used the marvellous calendar song from their "Oceans of Fantasy" album and made a suitably shite dance routine to match. The lyrics to the song are deep, but not too deep for a learner of English. Repeat after me: "January, February, March, April, May, June, July" and repeat. Now change: "August, September, October, November, December". And repeat. They don't write songs like that anymore.

On Thursday evening LeeJay (new nickname Johanny thanks to one of her schoolkids who can't pronounce her name after the best part of a year) and I headed to best izakaiya (bar/restaurant) in Kuse (the best out of 4 that is) before returning to hers and watching the film "Half-Baked". This was unfortunate for everyone around us as we spent the rest of the week quoting lines from the film and almost wetting ourselves while all else wondered what was going on.

Christine and I went to support Johanny on her last softball match of the season only for her to find out when she got there that her last match is in fact this Friday (although I have no doubt when she arrives this Friday they'll tell her her last one's next Friday). And she apologised to us afterwards as it was her worst game yet. Unlike her team, the team she played against had talent. Her team is ace though. It consists largely of Mums and older women who play twice a month as a hobby. Some of them have been playing for five years. I hope they haven't improved over this time, because I can't imagine how bad they'd have been back then.

All the new Okayama ALTs start in August, so I volunteered to help out with their orientation and had to head to the city early on Saturday for a meeting (travel expenses were paid and were very impressive!) and after this I met Johanny to look for outfits for the big sayonara party that takes place on July 9th. It is a smart-dress do, but as usual we are doing our own thing. That's if it works out- pictures will reveal all. Then we dropped our stuff at Fionas, said goodbye to AbSlance and RayVon who were heading back to Shin-Kurashiki and headed back out for food (our favourite curry restaurant in Okayama's CRED building) and then to the Fudge bar near the symphony hall. This bar is like someone's basement filled with really eclectic tat, and owned by interesting, friendly people. So we got drunk there and headed home to watch Mean Girls.

Sunday night back in Katsuyama where Johanny and I headed to Uenodan for desert (not having had dinner) and then as I prepared to make calls and think about bed I noticed a plague of tiny flies in my kitchen- climbing the walls and flying around the light. Having no fly spray I used a sponge to rid the wall of pests and used hairspray and the hoover to get rid of those that were hanging around the light. I will bug bomb the apartment for the 15 millionoth time tomorrow. I'd do it tonight, but I'm off to the gym. The shock of seeing exercise machines may render me useless.