A Life Lived

One year ago, I was ugly crying in my apartment after saying good-bye to my kids at home. Now, one year after, I am ugly crying in the school's bathroom after saying good-bye to my students here in Japan as I will switch schools next term. Now, if this is a foreshadow of how all my Julys will be in the future, then I may need to reconsider my career choice.  This was the first school that I visited when I came. I was also at this school when I saw snow for the first time. I made mistakes here and made friends here with both the teachers and students. I learned a lot here. I never expected to feel the torrent of emotions that I felt. These children are amazing. They are so smart, funny and so cool! I love them. People always say that love knows no boundaries and I accepted it but I've now experienced it. We are so different and I don't even speak the language well but in a few short months, I was already ready to give my life to keep them safe and happy. Love ...

I've only been to J'ouvert twice in my life. Once in Maraval with my Aunty Deborah when I was about 15 and in Curepe last year with my nephew (mainly because I wanted to see his reaction). I've tried to describe J'ouvert to people who aren't from Trinidad and Tobago but I'm never satisfied with the words that I manage to force out. I try to explain the historical context and the modern day celebrations but, to me, it falls flat. (This same thing happens when trying to describe doubles. "Doubles is life" is by far the only definition of it that we acknowledge). Some things you just have to experience yourself. So, if you told me last year that the Okinoshima Ultramarathon would remind me of J'ouvert then I would say that that seems impossible. After all, how could a 5 to 8 hour run (INSANE) around an island be similar to a --- It starts with the anticipation. People prepare for these events as soon as the last one is finished. Musici...

We know that we need to exercise. We know that we should encourage our children to exercise daily. We'd love to do this but the days are so long, busy and fraught with admin requests, classroom projects and behavioral issues. It is hard. So, so, so hard.  So... do we just throw up our hands in defeat? Nah. Here are a few moves that I'd like to implement in my classroom to get my students moving more and instill lifelong positive attitudes about exercise and living a more active life. 1. Let's get creative De chirren tired of de ole, beat up ball and broken hula hoop.  Google images I've taught at schools that have unicycles for riding, gigantic tyres for crawling, tall monkey bars for climbing and an array of gear for basketball, tennis, football, table tennis and even frisbies. I've also taught at a school which only had a few broken hula hoops and a football.  I've found, though, that the more creative the schools got with their activities,...