Happy New Year!

Today is the 1st of April, and it's the first day of the new school year. Seven new staff members arrived in Azuma today to take up positions at Azuma Junior High School. I went to the welcome ceremony at the Board of Education and then went back to school, as the new teachers entered the school gates for the first time.

The JTE I have been teaching with for the past 1.5 years left. We went out for lunch on Wednesday, and then yesterday he gave me a present, told me not to open it until I got home and then said goodbye. It was a Nike Tracksuit and a card with one of the nicest messages I have ever received. I will really miss him. But at least he isn't going too far - we can still meet up whenever we want.

So, today I met my new JTE, and she seems really nice. I think we will have fun teaching together. She took the textbooks home over the weekend to study them, which made me wonder if I should be doing the same thing, but then she explained that she hasn't used this textbook before. Phew!

The other teachers seem cool too, although we've really only said "hey" to each other so far. As time goes on, I'm sure I'll get to know them well. And while 7 new teachers have come to the JHS, no-one at the primary school left so no-one came. A complete reversal to last year.

So, yeah, looking forward to another good year in Azuma!